Henry

The Second Ward of Vermilion Parish, called Prairie Greig (located in the southeastern corner), was first settled by George Greig in the late 1700's. Brothers Peter and Mark Lee of Virginia made land claims along the Vermilion River in 1796. The hamlet of Henry was named after the Henry School that stood here until damage from flooding due to Hurricane Rita in 2005 forced its closure and demolition. In 1996, Henry High School the first one in Vermilion Parish, celebrated its centennial. The school was named for its benefactor, William Henry, who originally immigrated from Copenhagen, Denmark as Ludwig Wilhelm Kattentit (b. 1818) in 1840. He married Elizabeth Lee, the daughter of Mark Lee, then dropped the surname of Kattentit and used his father's middle name 'Heinrich' for his surname of Henry. In 1895, a Catholic church was establised in nearby Bancker and in 1939 the church was moved to Henry and renamed St. John the Evangelist.