Evangeline Today

The Ville Platte Gazette was establsihed in 1914 by T.G. Ashlock as a weekly paper under the name “The Weekly Gazette,” and it was a small, four-page, hand-printed paper.

The Gazette office has been at its current location on Court Street since 1972, in the building which was formerly J.H. Buller and Sons General Merchandise Store.

Louisiana State Newspapers purchased The Ville Platte Gazette in 1987.

The Ville Platte Gazette covers all of Evangeline Parish, which consists of Ville Platte, Mamou, Pine Prairie, Turkey Creek, Chataignier, Lone Pine, St. Landry, Bayou Chicot, Belaire Cove and Basile.

Evangeline Parish was officially established in January 1911, after a 21-year fight, beginning in 1890, to separate this parish from St. Landry Parish. Evangeline Parish and its communities are the home of many well-known festivals and events, including The Cotton Feestival, Smoked Meat Festival (Festival De La Viande Boucanee), Cajun Music Festival, Courir De Mardi Gras, Crawfish Etouffee Cookoff, the Swine Festival, Louisiana Tounoi and the Boggy Bayou Festival. Ville Platte is also the Swamp Pop Capital of the World.

The Ville Platte Gazette is located at 145 Court Street and is now a bi-weekly paper that is published on Thursdays and Sundays. The mailing address is P.O. Box 220, Ville Platte, LA, 70586. The main phone number is (337) 363-3939, and the fax number is (337) 363-2841.