The Town of Jean Lafitte was named for the legendary privateer Jean Lafitte, who helped the United States win the Battle of New Orleans and used the area bayous for his smuggling operations. It is home to a thriving seafood industry. It was incorporated in 1974 as a village, became a town in 1977, and Leo E. Kerner, Jr., served as the first mayor of both the village and the town from 1974 to 1991.