St. Elizabeth Catholic Church
LA 402, Paincourtville, LASt. Elizabeth Catholic Church is locally significant in the area of architecture because it is a landmark within the context of Assumption Parish and because it is an important example of late-nineteenth/early- twentieth century church architecture within the context of southern Louisiana.
The state's historic standing structures survey documents a total of 292 fifty plus year old buildings in Assumption Parish. Most of these are. small frame residences. Among this group there are about thirty larger monumental structures i.e., sugar mills, plantation homes, and churches. The survey reveals that, of the parish's ten 50+ year-old churches, St. Elizabeth is one of the four largest and most pretentious. It also features what is undoubtedly the most elaborate interior decorative paintwork in the parish.
In addition, St. Elizabeth is a superior example of a late-nineteenth/early-twentieth-century church within the context of southern Louisiana. Many large Roman Catholic churches were built in the region during this period. Most of these can best be described as flamboyant hodgepodges of Gothic, Romanesque, Renaissance, and Baroque architectural features.
St. Elizabeth is unusual in this regard because its design is purely Gothic in origin, and its lines are quiet and relatively subdued.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.