• the desire to live near relatives in other settlements,

• the lack of additional available land in some settlements, and

• displacement of Acadians owning small farms by Creoles owning large plantations.

River/Bayou Settlement 

During the historic period, lands along Louisiana's rivers and large bayous ranked as prime agricultural tracts because the soil there was rich and well-drained. 

Early Acadian arrivals received land on both sides of the Mississippi River in St. James and Ascension parishes; this settlement became known as the Acadian Coast.  Land grants to Acadians reached as far upriver as the current site of Donaldsonville. 

Other arrivals were placed upon the upper reaches of Bayou Lafourche.  Soon they expanded down this bayou and to the banks of Bayou Teche as well. 

Because the nearby waterways provided the fastest and easiest transportation, boats became an important part of the Acadian and Cajun cultures. 

The Spanish government gave the Acadians land grants in the form of rectangles known as "long lots."   Each tract had a narrow river or bayou frontage of between three and six arpents.  (An arpent is a French term of measurement; 1 arpent equals approximately 192 feet.)  The long side of the rectangle ran perpendicular to the river and stretched a fair distance, often until it reached the swamp.

The river/bayou Acadians became independent farmers, with cotton serving as their cash crop. 

The Acadians had favored linear settlements before their removal from Acadia, and they established similar settlement patterns along Louisiana's waterways. Strip settlements still dominate the bayou landscape today. 

The Acadians (and later Cajuns) placed their houses next to the road which paralleled the waterway.  Domestic dependencies and farm outbuildings stood behind the houses, and fields were located beyond the buildings.