Bayou Teche, a 125-mile waterway in Louisiana, has been historically and culturally important for centuries. Once an ancient channel of the Mississippi River that flowed through the area 3,800 to 5,500 years ago, the modern bayou begins as a distributary outlet of Bayou Courtableau in Port Barre and links the interior of the state to the Gulf of Mexico. Numerous towns, villages, and cities border it as it flows south, reflecting its importance as an early transportation corridor that provided jobs for businesses and residents before a reliable road network existed. French settlers moved to the St. Martinville area as early as the 1750s, and Acadians arrived shortly after in 1765. Because of these early Acadian settlers, St. Martinville is sometimes considered the birthplace of Cajun culture, traditions, music, and language. As St. Martinville grew and prospered, it became something of a resort town, drawing many New Orleanians during frequent yellow fever outbreaks in their city, and at one time it was known as Petit Paris, or Little Paris, with fashionable hotels and the Duchamp Opera House presenting French operas and plays.