The First Asian American Settlement Was Established by Filipino Fishermen The fishing village in marshlands of present-day Louisiana was settled by the so-called Manilamen as early as 1763. Author: Library of Congress The fishing village in marshlands of present-day Louisiana was settled by the so-called Manilamen as early as 1763. The history of the oldest known permanent Asian American settlement remains mysterious and as murky as the mosquito-infested marshland it was built on. Saint Malo was first established as a fishing village along the shores of Lake Borgne in Louisiana in the 18th century and continued to flourish until the 20th century.