Maurice Map
Maurice is a village in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 642 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.
The village, originally called "Mauriceville", derives its name from its founder Maurice Villien. Maurice Villien, a native of Savoy, France came to America in 1855 and sold goods in New Orleans, New Iberia and Milton. His wife had land holdings there and they established a home and grocery store. On May 29, 1889, the 10-acre (40,000 m2) site, on which the church and rectory in Maurice were to be built, was donated by Villien. The town was incorporated on December 27, 1911 and Joseph Villen, Maurice's son, became mayor until 1928. Today, Joseph Street leads to the old home.
The community's first church was La Chapelle a Maurice and Sunday services were held in a small schoolhouse on the Villien property until the St. Alphonsus Church was built in January 1893. The Broussard Cove School was the first school built on land donated by Joseph Clark in 1885 and moved to Maurice in July 1899 to land donated by Maurice Villien. It was located on Maurice Avenue and the Indian Bayou Road until 1914 when it burned down.
Nearby cities include Lafayette, Broussard, Erath, Kaplan, Rayne.