"The Gateway to the Coastal Wetlands"
Kaplan is called the "Gateway to the Coastal Wetlands". Like the other Vermilion Parish areas, hunting, fishing and farming are all alive in Kaplan. As the parish's second largest city, Kaplan, Louisiana has a unique history.
In 1896, the Holy Rosary Catholic Church was established. Kaplan got it's name later when Abrom Kaplan bought the Jim Todd plantation in 1901. Kaplan grew quickly and was established in 1902. On July 14, 1906 was the first Bastille Day Celebration. In 1911, the Eleaszar Theater was built. In the year 1916, the Kaplan Telephone Company began.
Kaplan schools have been through a lot of changes. In 1903, first school was formed.
In 1920 the school were rebuilt. Now Vermilion Parish has 20 public schools and 4
private schools. Kaplan has four schools.
Kaplan Elementary,
Rene Rost Middle School and
Kaplan High School. Maltrait is a private school in Kaplan.
Many terrible things happened through the years.
In 1917 World War 1 began. In 1941 World War II began. Many Vermilion Parish men
fought in World War I began in 1917 and World War II began in 1942. The Vietnam War
began in 1965 and in 1991 men fought in the Gulf War. Kaplan survived many
tragedies with fires, hurricanes, floods and sicknesses.
In 2005 Kaplan has a lot of businesses now. It is
a city with over 5,000 people. Some of the landmarks are the Kaplan City Hall, Post Office, Police Station, Fire
Station and the Kaplan Museum (Le
Musee de la Ville de Kaplan).
Kaplan has an interesting history and has
always had interesting people.
Written by Ross Granger,
Ross Bares,
Taylor Abshire and
Jonathan Cahn
June 17, 2005
