The Great Days of the Garden District, and the Old City of Lafayette

A vivid snapshot of mid‑nineteenth‑century Lafayette unfolds along the winding lanes of the Garden District, where brick banquettes, white picket fences and blossoming azaleas frame the lives of its early residents. The narrative opens on a crisp February afternoon in 1852, introducing the Layton family as they step from their Italianate mansion into a world of river‑kissed streets, flat‑boat planks turned into sturdy “gunwales,” and bustling community rituals that defined a proud, independent city perched just upriver from New Orleans.

Built from the collective memory of teachers, parents, archivists and local families, the work weaves together rare maps, period photographs and personal recollections into a dependable guide to a vanished era. Readers are invited to wander through elegant villas, hear the creak of jalousies, and sense the quiet ambition that shaped both the neighborhood and the Louise S. McGehee School’s half‑century of growth. The tone remains warm and scholarly, offering a respectful tribute to a place that still lives in the stories of its descendants.