In the early 1800s, Fort Pike, Fort Macomb, Village de L’Est, and a sugar cane plantation and refinery in Venetian Isles were the first developments in New Orleans East. Today, Village de L’Est is home to a thriving Vietnamese community.
According to a neighborhood revitalization plan, the King of France gave the area to Gilbert Antoine de St. Maxent in 1763 as a land grant. The area had different owners until 1964 when 600 acres of marshland was drained and developed into residential subdivisions.
Vietnamese people began to settle in Village de L’Est – specifically in the Versailles Arms apartment complex – in 1975 when they fled to the United States after the Vietnam War. The area, which is close to water and has a climate similar to their homeland, attracted the newcomers. Since many were Catholic, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans helped them find housing and work.
“Upon arriving, the immigrants took whatever work they could find, in factories, in the service industry, or by doing odd jobs,” New Orleans & Company states. “As they became more established, many opened small businesses, such as restaurants, grocery stores, beauty and nail salons, and gift shops,” creating a commercial area known by some as “Little Vietnam.”
Others went to work in the fishing and shrimping industries.
There are about 14,000 Vietnamese Americans living in Village de L’Est, which is now called Versailles after that first apartment complex. It is “one of the densest Vietnamese enclaves” in this country, according to “Country Roads” magazine.
“The children of the first Vietnamese immigrants have grown up in New Orleans…continuing to help the city thrive,” New Orleans & Company states. “All generations of the Vietnamese community remain bonded by language, shared experiences and the close family ties valued by their culture, much of which they share with the rest of the city.”
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