Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana is known for two things. Crawfish and its eponymous bridge. The town is the “Crawfish Capital of the World,” or “la capitale mondiale de l’écrevisse,” if you prefer it in French. And why not, it is Louisiana after all. The first weekend in May each year the town hosts the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival, a celebration of all that is crawfish and Cajun. The rest of the year, they have the bridge.

The town itself was named for an early Acadian pioneer, Firmin Breaux, who by 1786 was one of Bayou Teche’s largest land owners. It was Breaux who built the first pedestrian suspension footbridge across the Bayou in 1799, which quickly became a local landmark; the bridge proved to be such a prominent feature, it was later incorporated into the town’s name.

In 1817, keeping with family tradition, Firmin’s son built the bayou’s first vehicular bridge, increasing commerce to the small town. That bridge has of course been replaced several times over the years; first by a draw bridge in 1845, then later a turntable bridge, which was was burned by Confederate soldiers in 1863 to prevent the passage of Union troops. The burned 1855 bridge was later moved to the neighboring town of Ruth, where it remained until recently. When replaced, the town returned the borrowed bridge to Breaux Bridge, where it now serves as a event stage and fishing pier.

The first steel bridge appeared in 1899; unfortunately it collapsed shortly after construction. However, it was reassembled, and managed to stay upright until 1950, when it was replaced by the current design. Following the town’s crawfish designation in 1959, colorful paintings of the creatures were added to the bridge’s overhead support structures.  As a lover of mudbugs and all things Cajun, I look forward to returning one day for the festival; until then, I have the bridge.

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