Erath, Louisiana is a small town with a very unique line of history. It was founded by August Erath. He purchased land from the Primeaux family to begin a community in 1892. He helped Erath by bringing the railroad through Erath in1893. The railroad ran from New Iberia to Abbeville. Then in 1899, Erath became a village. A sugarcane refinery was built in 1909. Sugar Cane became one of Erath's biggest resources.  Other resources were seafood and hunting.

 Dr. Joseph Kibbe was the first Doctor and is called "The Father of Erath" because he helped establish Erath in the beginning.  Erath's first Mayor was Frank Williams.  The Williams family helped education in Vermilion Parish long ago.  He became the Mayor in 1899 when Erath became a village.  By 1923 the town had grown and Erath became a town. Many people helped build Erath during those early days.  Now Erath has 2,187 people.

Erath has been through  many schools in the past. In Erath the first school was in 1893. It was a one story little school. Then the second school was in 1903.  Both of those schools were on Kibbe Street.  The second school was a two story school. Then the third school was built in 1923 on Broadway. That story was a three story building.  In 1950, Erath had had 12 grades.  The Erath Elementary part was built in 1957. This later became Erath Middle School.

In 1942 Dozier was a tiny wooden building and in 1954,  Dozier's brick building was built. Erath Elementary was built in 1957. From 1911 until 1941, the African American children went to school in the home of Robert and Frances Dozier.  Integration of Erath schools happened in 1968.  Dozier closed then.   Dozier Elementary reopened in 1972 for all Erath children in grades 1, 2 and 3. 1974 was the year Kindergarten opened. On March 7, 2000, Erath Middle School burnt and the fourth grade students were moved to Dozier Elementary.  Pre-K children began coming to Dozier in January of 2001.  Dozier is now a Pre K-4th Grade School.  Erath Middle has 5th, 6th and 7th Grade.  Erath High School has 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th.

Erath had many horrible tragedies. In 1917 World War 1 was the first war. Some Erath men died.  In 1940 a really bad flood hit in Erath. 1941 brought World War II.  The Korean War began in 1950.  In 1964 Hurricane Hilda killed eight  Erath men.  In 1965 the Vietnam War started. In 1991 American men served in Gulf Storm War.  Many men from Erath fought in the wars. There was another flood in 1984 and in 2001. Many hurricanes have hit Erath.  Hurricane Hilda hit on October 3, 1964 and Hurricane Lili hit on October 3, 2002.  Hurricane Lili left many homes damaged, but no one died. 

Erath has grown a lot through the years. In 1976, Erath celebrated America’s Bicentennial. Erath has celebrated the 4th of July for more than a half of a century now.  In 1991, the Acadian Museum in Erath opened with many old and wonderful artifacts. Erath celebrated it’s Centennial in 1999. 

Erath experienced tragedies too.  On September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita's storm surge flooded Erath. The three schools were damaged and had to be platooned to other schools in the parish.  In March 2006, all three schools went back to the "home" schools. In June 2006 Dozier Elementary was placed in FEMA buildings on the Matte Property on Hwy 331. 

September 13, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit Galveston, Texas but the flood water of the storm surge once again put Erath under water.  Erath High, Erath Middle were both flooded again. The "older Dozier" building also flooded. However the FEMA building structure didn't.

On  May 16th, 2008, Erath became 109 years old. The small town of Erath, Louisiana has had an interesting life!

Helpful Links, Lessons and Ideas
Erath, Louisiana Interactive and Story	Vermilion Parish Area PowerPoints (Includes Erath)
Erath History Link	Erath Printable Story for Kids
Erath Time Line Printable (To read)	Erath Timeline to Create Printable
Acadian Museum Link	Erath July 4th Celebration
Spirit of Erath Articles and Photos	What's In a Name Lesson (Naming of Each Town)
Rubric to grade Timeline	Family Tree printable
Vermilion Parish Schools: Hurricane & Weather Links!	Hurricane Hilda 1964 Links! (Vermilion Parish Schools)
Vermilion Parish: (Erath) Hurricane Rita in 2005	2008 Hurricane Ike's Storm Surge (Vermilion Parish)
Louisiana Literacy Strategies Interactives: Vermilion Parish	3rd Grade Social Studies Louisiana Interactives
Vermilion Parish Lessons and Facts	Louisiana for Our Kids Site!
Graphic Organizers
Written by Hannah Trahan, Bailey Bodin and Hailey Cessac June 17, 2005   Revised October 15, 2008