New Iberia dates from mid-1779, when a group of some 500 Malagueños
colonists led by Lt.Col. Francisco Bouligny came up Bayou Teche and settled
around Spanish Lake. In 1814, the federal government opened a post office, and
it was officially known as "New Iberia," but postmarks shortly
thereafter reveal that the town was being called "Nova Iberia" (with Latin
for "new"). The town was incorporated as "Iberia" in 1839,
but the state legislature resolved the situation in 1847, naming the town New
Iberia.
During the American Civil War, New Iberia was occupied by Union forces under
General Nathaniel P. Banks. The
