Established as a French trading post in 1720, Opelousas takes its name from the original settlers, the Opelousas Indians. Jim Bowie, inventor of the Bowie knife, lived in Opelousas in the early 1800s and was married in the town. After a cholera epidemic killed his wife and children, Bowie joined the fight for Texas independence and died at the Alamo in 1836. Learn More...