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Tangipahoa, Louisiana

Tangipahoa is a village in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 425 at the 2020 census. It was named after the Tangipahoa Native American tribe. Tangipahoa is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology
The name Tangipahoa is derived from the Muskogean words (tonche pahoha) which translates to "corncob people" or "people of the corn" or "corncob". It is from this Native American tribe that the modern Tangipahoa Parish gets its name, as well as the Tangipahoa River.

Geography
Tangipahoa is located at 30.87556°N, -90.5125°W (30.875453, -90.512546).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 0.9 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 425 people, 190 households, and 119 families residing in the village.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 747 people, 235 households, and 171 families residing in the village. The population density was 791.5 PD/sqmi. There were 266 housing units at an average density of 281.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 8.43% White and 91.57% African American. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.13% of the population.

There were 235 households, out of which 47.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.5% were married couples living together, 40.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.18 and the average family size was 3.76.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 41.8% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 15.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 79.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.9 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $13,438, and the median income for a family was $14,226. Males had a median income of $21,875 versus $12,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $6,775. About 45.7% of families and 50.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 62.7% of those under age 18 and 41.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

 * Michael Jackson, NFL player and mayor from 2009 through 2012.

title: Tangipahoa, Louisiana


text:
Tickfaw, Louisiana

Tickfaw was founded in 1852 and is a village in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 694 at the 2010 census. Tickfaw is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area. It was originally inhabited by Italian-American immigrants and continues to have a distinct Italian-American heritage.

History
Tickfaw is an Indian name which means "Rest Among the Pines". It derives from a contraction of the Choctaw words tiak "pine" and foha "rest" or "ease".

The Village was incorporated in 1957 under the leadership of Joe Greco, who later became the first Mayor. The governing body consists of the Mayor, the Board of Aldermen and an elected Chief of Police.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.6 sqmi, all land.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 635 people, 257 households, and 187 families residing in the village.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 617 people, 241 households, and 166 families residing in the village. The population density was 389.7 PD/sqmi. There were 261 housing units at an average density of 164.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 86.71% White, 11.51% African American, 0.65% Native American, and 1.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.54% of the population.

There were 241 households, out of which 36.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.1% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $23,333, and the median income for a family was $32,143. Males had a median income of $31,875 versus $19,688 for females. The per capita income for the village was $13,761. About 27.2% of families and 31.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.0% of those under age 18 and 21.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Robert Billiot, Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Jefferson Parish since 2008; former educator from Westwego and former resident of Tickfaw
 * Kim Mulkey, head coach, LSU Tigers basketball; Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductee as both player and coach
 * Jayden Hauck, 2022 Girls Singles National Champion,, Louisville, Kentucky

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Tickfaw, Louisiana


text:
Newellton, Louisiana

Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,187 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 persons, or 17 percent, from the 2000 tabulation of 1,482. The average age of the population there is 41 years.

Newellton is west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake. Further south toward St. Joseph, the parish seat of government, is another ox-bow lake, Lake Bruin, a part of which is the popular Lake Bruin State Park.

History
Newellton itself was founded in the early 19th century by the Routh family, for whom the defunct Routhwood Elementary School was named. John David Stokes Newell Sr., a planter and lawyer in St. Joseph, the seat of Tensas Parish, named the settlement for his father, Edward, a native of North Carolina who relocated to Tensas Parish in 1834.

Newellton was designated a village in 1904. On April 4, 1951, under Mayor T. T. Hargrove, Newellton was upgraded to a town through the state Lawrason Act.

In March 2014, Newellton became debt-free.

Geography
Newellton is located at 32.07278°N, -91.23917°W (32.072740, -91.239230).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 sqmi, of which 0.8 sqmi is land and 0.1 sqmi (12.64%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 886 people, 403 households, and 245 families residing in the town.

Politics
In 2012, the former Newellton mayor, Democrat Alex Davis (born 1942), did not seek a fourth term. The first African American in the position, Davis unseated the 34-year incumbent Edwin G. Preis Sr., a white businessman, in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 7, 2000. Davis received 366 votes (56.8 percent) to Preis' 184 (28.6 percent), and Floyd Aaron "Coonie" McVay's 94 votes (14.6 percent). A native of Oak Grove in West Carroll Parish, McVay was formerly the Newellton police chief. He died in 2012 at the age of eighty.

The current mayor is the African-American Democrat Timothy Durell Turner, the former District 1 alderman, who won the election held on December 8, 2012, by a single vote, 217-216, over the Republican candidate, James Carroll Fuller Sr. (1936-2021), the former District 5 alderman. Fuller, who is white, is a former resident of Braxton, Mississippi, and Denham Springs, Louisiana. Fuller had led Turner, 259 (44.7 percent) to 207 (35.8 percent), in the higher-turnout primary election held on November 6, with another 113 votes (19.5 percent) then cast for a second Democrat, Knola Ransome.

In 2016, Fuller again challenged Turner and once again lost by one vote, 210 for Fuller and 211 for Turner.

Fuller earlier was among 582 Louisiana elected officials named to former Governor Bobby Jindal's "Kitchen Cabinet Leadership Team". Two other Tensas Parish officials appointed to the panel were Assessor Irby Gamble and Coroner Keith D. Butler, both of St. Joseph.

The Newellton police chief, Johnny Gales (1951-2021), a Democrat, was reelected in 2012. There are five municipal alderman, one of whom, Lavone G. Garner from District 5, is a Republican. She was elected to succeed Carroll Fuller, who left the council with his first race for mayor. , there were four police officers and Chief Gales in Newellton, with two marked cars and one unmarked, and eighteen volunteer firefighters. The town clerk is Rhonda King (born 1953).

Notable people

 * Andrew F. Brimmer (1926-2012), economist and first African American to serve as governor of the Federal Reserve System who was born in Newellton
 * Sarah Dorsey, author, historian, and benefactor of Jefferson Davis, lived at the Routh Plantation near Newellton in the early 1850s.
 * Emmitt Douglas, president of the Louisiana NAACP from 1966 until his death in 1981.
 * C.B. Forgotston (born in Newellton in 1945; died 2016) was a lawyer in Hammond and a state government watchdog and political activist. Forgotston graduated from Newellton High School in 1962. He was a frequent guest on The Moon Griffon Show radio talk program.
 * Clyde V. Ratcliff (1879-1952), member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1948; planter in Newellton
 * Thomas M. Wade (1860-1929), member of Louisiana House of Representatives from 1888 to 1904, Louisiana State Board of Education, and Tensas Parish School Board; Tensas school superintendent for some twenty years after 1904
 * Leon "Pee Wee" Whittaker, African American trombonist, was born near Newellton.

title: Newellton, Louisiana


text:
St. Joseph, Louisiana

St. Joseph, often called St. Joe, is a town in, and the parish seat of, rural Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States, in the delta of the Mississippi River. The population was 1,176 at the 2010 census. The town had an African-American majority of 77.4 percent in 2010.

History
Unique for the Deep South, St. Joseph was planned and developed in 1843 by European-American settlers around a New England–style village green. The downtown area along Plank Road is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The area around the town was developed for cotton plantations.

From 1862 to 1865, Louisiana was part of the Confederacy's Trans-Mississippi Department, and St. Joseph operated as a landing for a major route across the Mississippi River. According to the historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana, "Such a strong force of Confederate cavalry occupied the Mississippi side opposite St. Joseph that all Federal attempts to close the transit in January [1865] ended in failure."

In 1879, the Jesse James gang robbed two stores in far western Mississippi, at Washington and Fayette. The gang absconded with $2,000 cash in the second robbery, crossed the river, and took shelter in abandoned cabins on the Kemp Plantation south of St. Joseph. A posse caught up with them, attacking and killing two of the outlaws, but failed to capture the entire gang. Among the deputies was Jefferson B. Snyder, who later was a long-serving district attorney in northeastern Louisiana. Jesse James was killed three years later by one of his own gang members in St. Joseph, Missouri.

St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, an oxbow lake of the nearby Mississippi River.

On August 13, 2013, local resident Fuaed Abdo Ahmed took two women and a man hostage at the St. Joseph branch of Tensas State Bank, saying he wanted passage out of the country. After releasing one hostage, he shot one hostage and critically wounded a second before being fatally shot by police.

Political history

When St. Joseph was incorporated as a town in 1901, planter and businessman William Mackenzie Davidson was elected as the first mayor of St. Joseph. Absent competitive politics, given the disenfranchisement of African Americans by the state constitution in 1898, Davidson was re-elected repeatedly, holding the position until his accidental death in January 1930. Davidson was a founder and the general manager of the powerful Panola Company, an agricultural business in St. Joseph. At one point it controlled 10,000 acres of valuable farmland.

Davidson also sat on the board of the Bank of St. Joseph, of which he later became the president. He worked to bring the USDA Agricultural Experiment Station to St. Joseph and lobbied for construction of the Mississippi River bridge to connect the town to Natchez, Mississippi.

Edward L. Brown Sr. was born on October 20, 1952, to son of Leon and Beatrice Brown. He graduated from Grambling State University and is married to Betty S. Brown; the couple has four children. Brown was elected in 2000 as the first African-American mayor of St. Joseph, unseating the long-term white incumbent, Whitfield Jones (February 18, 1929 – August 11, 2013) in the nonpartisan blanket primary. Brown polled 447 votes (64.9 percent) to Jones' 242 (35.1 percent).

Brown was repeatedly re-elected. In the November 6, 2012, election, Brown secured his fourth term with 384 votes (57.7 percent) over Leslie Dandridge Durham, a fellow Democrat who polled 282 votes (42.3 percent).

Prior to 1968, each parish in Louisiana, regardless of population, elected at least one member to the Louisiana House of Representatives. This method of representation resulted in under-representation of the more heavily populated and urbanized parishes. The US Supreme Court ruled on the principle that state legislatures had to establish districts with roughly equal populations, in order to support the principle of equity of "one man, one vote". It said the states had no basis for geographic representation in their legislatures. Given the rural bias and dominance in many state legislatures, many states had not accomplished redistricting since early in the 20th century, although it is to be conducted as needed after every decennial census.

The last state representative member to represent only Tensas Parish was Democrat S. S. DeWitt of Newellton and later St. Joseph. DeWitt represented Tensas Parish from 1964 to 1968. After the state legislature created districts that were roughly equal in population, DeWitt succeeded in being elected again, to serve from 1968 to 1972. He and Lantz Womack of Winnsboro together represented Franklin, Tensas, and Madison parishes. Womack defeated DeWitt in the 1971 primary. DeWitt later switched to Republican Party affiliation.

Water system
In December 2012, St. Joseph residents were placed under an advisory to boil their drinking water because of problems with the aging municipal water system. A mechanical failure at the town treatment plant caused a sudden drop in the water supply. In March 2013, a water main cracked. There are leaks at the base of the city water tower. State Senator Francis C. Thompson, whose district includes Tensas Parish, sought emergency funding for repairs to the system, which serves about seven hundred customers.

In 2016 the town had failed to obtain an approved town audit for the financial year ending 2015, needed by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor's Office to enable progress on the funds. In 2015, it received $553,000 in grants towards the issue. More than $6 million is available once the town's audit is approved by the Auditor's Office.

In December 2016, Governor John Bel Edwards vowed to replace the entire St. Joseph water system. Engineer Bryant Hammett, a Democratic former state representative who performed similar work in his native Ferriday, predicted the project, estimated at $9 million, could be finished by September 2017. Residents were urged not to drink the water or use it in cooking, but they can use it for bathing or washing clothing. The Governor's Office of Homeland Security was providing bottled drinking water for St. Joseph residents.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square mile (2.3 km$2$), all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 831 people, 377 households, and 200 families residing in the town.

Education
Tensas High School, a consolidation of three former schools, Joseph Moore Davidson High School in St. Joseph, Newellton High School in Newellton, and Waterproof High School in Waterproof, began operating in the fall of 2006 on the Davidson campus. The Tensas Parish School Board has attempted to improve educational quality by focusing on one high school for the entire parish, which has the smallest population of any parish in Louisiana. Troubles broke out at the school on November 2, 2006, and fourteen students were arrested by the sheriff's department. Overt tensions thereafter subsided.

In August 1970, Tensas Academy, a private school, opened in St. Joseph during the first semester of school desegregation after the district was ordered to comply with federal courts. It is still operating.

Notable people

 * Daniel F. Ashford (1879–1929), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1916 until his death; planter, first person in Tensas Parish to own an automobile and a wristwatch.
 * Clifford Cleveland Brooks, cotton planter, owned Botany Bay plantation on Lake Bruin; member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1924 to 1932
 * George Henry Clinton, chemist, lawyer, member of both houses of the legislature from Tensas Parish.
 * Charles C. Cordill (1855–1916), wealthy cotton planter, state senator from 1884 to 1912; Tensas parish judge and police jury president
 * Joseph T. Curry (1895–1961), planter; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1930 to 1944
 * Prince McCoy, blues musician. Born in Saint Joseph
 * Robert H. Snyder (died 1906), state representative and Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1904 until his death.

title: St. Joseph, Louisiana


text:
Waterproof, Louisiana

Waterproof is a village in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States with a population of 541 as of the 2020 census. The village in 2010 was 91.7 percent African American. Some 24 percent of Waterproof residents in 2010 were aged sixty or above.

Waterproof is approximately 17 mi north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish. The village is named for its relative safety from flooding prior to construction of the Mississippi River levee system.

With a population dependent on agriculture, the rural village struggles with poverty. Mechanization has decreased the need for farm labor. Industrial-scale cotton is the major commodity crop, but corn and soybeans are also important.

20th century to present
Jim Crow rules were strong through the segregation era, and the Ku Klux Klan was active in southwest Louisiana through the late 20th century. Although there were 7,000 blacks living in the parish in 1964, none had been registered to vote. The 4,000 whites controlled parish and city politics for decades. The first 15 blacks were registered to vote in 1964, after passage of national civil rights legislation.

Three young Waterproof men died in action in the Vietnam War: Carl Raymond Goodfellow, a navy ensign; Robert Lee Ross, an army private; and Douglas Mac Washington, an army sergeant.

As of 1990, Waterproof hosted "a general store, a grocery, two gas stations, two banks and the Western Auto franchise".

The village has the Tensas Parish Detention Center South. This prison facility holds inmates sentenced in Waterproof and Tensas County courts and courts of other cities in the Tensas Parish area. It has recently been used to detain undocumented immigrants. The listed address of Tensas Parish Detention Center South is 8606 Highway 65.

On December 8, 2018, the village elected its youngest mayor in history, Jarrod Randell Bottley, an African American male. He was 31 years old at the time and serves the town on a full-time basis.

Case against mayor and police chief
In September 2006 Bobby D. Higginbotham was elected as mayor of Waterproof. After taking office, he hired Miles Jenkins as chief of police. Both native to Waterproof, the two African-American men had also lived and worked for years in other cities, including New Orleans. Jenkins had a 30-year career in the US military and earned a master's degree in public administration from Troy University in Alabama. He started to professionalize the small town police department.

On July 24, 2007, Parish Sheriff Rickey A. Jones, who is white, arrested Higginbotham on counts of impersonating a police officer, criminal trespass, and felony criminal damage to property. Higginbotham claimed that Jones arrested him in order to prevent his running for sheriff again in the October 20, 2007, non-partisan blanket primary. Jones said he incurred $7,500 in legal fees before he took office as sheriff because Higginbotham sued him over allegations of a "rigged" election. In the 2007 primary, Jones defeated Higginbotham, 2,188 votes (77.6 percent) to 631 votes (22.4 percent).

Jones and District Attorney James E. Paxton of the Louisiana 6th Judicial District, who was elected in 2008, recognized Caldwell A. Flood Jr., as the bona fide mayor of Waterproof. Police chief Miles Perkins was also arrested and charged for profiting from traffic tickets.

In March 2010, Police Chief Miles Jenkins filed a lawsuit asserting conspiracy by Jones, Paxton, and other members of the white power structure to prevent the legal exercise of power by black elected officials. He said that he and Higginbotham were illegally forced from office and prosecuted by white officials. He cited numerous arrests by Jones and prosecution by Paxton, on charges that observers said they had never heard used against a police official. The case was closely watched by civil rights activists.

Although the village is 55% black, Higginbotham was convicted by a jury of 11 whites and one black in 2010 of two charges: malfeasance in office and felony theft. He was sentenced to five years of hard labor, two years suspended, for malfeasance and seven years hard labor, three years suspended, for felony theft. The conviction was reversed and the sentence was vacated by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in April 2012, based on trial irregularities, including missing witness testimonies. Higginbotham had been freed on parole for good behavior in December 2011. The Louisiana State Supreme Court denied a writ of certiorari. In 2016, the US Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, upheld the District Court decision denying habeas relief.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 541 people, 287 households, and 156 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 834 people, 353 households, and 194 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,197.9 PD/sqmi. There were 427 housing units at an average density of 613.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 87.41% African American, 11.87% White, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

In 2010, the African-American proportion of the declining, aged population was 91.7 percent.

In 2000, there were 353 households, out of which 24.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 23.2% were married couples living together, 28.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.8% were non-families. 40.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 19.5% from 25 to 44, 25.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 66.9 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $10,250, and the median income for a family was $15,179. Males had a median income of $21,250 versus $14,792 for females. The per capita income for the town was $9,523. About 44.5% of families and 51.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 57.8% of those under age 18 and 57.6% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Franklin O. Adams, architect; born in Waterproof.
 * Sharon Renee Brown, Miss Louisiana USA 1961, Miss USA 1961 and Miss Waterproof in 1961; born in Waterproof.
 * Claire Chennault (1893–1958), career officer and member of Flying Tigers, achieving the rank of general; born in Commerce, Texas, he was reared in Waterproof.
 * Charles C. Cordill, planter and politician living near Waterproof; served as Louisiana state senator from 1884 to 1912; parish president and president of the police jury.
 * John Henry Johnson, professional football player and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame; born in Waterproof.
 * Samuel W. Martien, major cotton planter and politician, serving as elected member of Louisiana House of Representatives from 1906 to 1920.
 * J. C. Seaman, state representative from 1944 to 1964; born in Waterproof.
 * Matthew Walker Sr., one of the first African Americans to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons and one of the most prominent Black doctors in the 20th century in the United States.
 * Johnny Weekly, professional baseball player; born in Waterproof in 1937.

title: Waterproof, Louisiana


text:
Bayou Cane, Louisiana

Bayou Cane is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located just north of Houma and had a population of 19,770 in 2020.

Bayou Cane is the principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

Geography
Bayou Cane is located at 29.62639°N, -90.74833°W (29.626285, -90.748396).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.6 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,770 people, 7,500 households, and 4,761 families residing in the CDP.

Education
Bayou Cane is in the Terrebonne Parish School Board district.

title: Bayou Cane, Louisiana


text:
Chauvin, Louisiana

Chauvin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,575 in 2020.. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.

Geography
Chauvin is located at 29.44694°N, -90.59361°W (29.447056, -90.593486). About 45 minutes southeast of Thibodaux Louisiana.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.7 sqmi, of which 4.7 sqmi is land and 0.21% is water.

West of the village is the Bayou Chauvin Oil and Gas Field.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,575 people, 862 households, and 688 families residing in the CDP.

Education
The school district is Terrebonne Parish School District, as with other locations in the parish.

Terrebonne Parish Library operates the Chauvin Library.

Notable people

 * Ray Authement, the fifth president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette from 1974 to 2008 and the longest serving president of a public university in the United States, was born near Chauvin in 1928.
 * Leonard J. Chabert, member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes from 1972 to 1992, was born in Chauvin c. 1932.

title: Chauvin, Louisiana


text:
Dulac, Louisiana

Dulac is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,241 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.

Geography
Dulac is located at 29.38472°N, -90.69694°W (29.384672, -90.696891). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 26.4 sqmi, of which 21.4 sqmi is land and 5.0 sqmi (18.83%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,241 people, 521 households, and 283 families residing in the CDP.

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,458 people, 768 households, and 609 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 114.8 PD/sqmi. There were 1,063 housing units at an average density of 49.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 53.99% White, 2.48% African American, 39.42% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population.

There were 768 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.7% were non-families. 16.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.20 and the average family size was 3.55.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 31.4% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $22,900, and the median income for a family was $23,650. Males had a median income of $24,815 versus $17,045 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $8,785. About 27.8% of families and 30.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.8% of those under age 18 and 17.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The school district is Terrebonne Parish School District, as with other locations in the parish.

Terrebonne Parish Library operates the Dulac Library.

title: Dulac, Louisiana


text:
Gray, Louisiana

Gray is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana. The population was 5,518 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.

Geography
Gray is located at 29.68111°N, -90.78139°W (29.680993, -90.781414).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 11.6 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,518 people, 2,094 households, and 1,370 families residing in the CDP.

Government and infrastructure
Several parish government facilities are in Gray. They include:
 * Joseph L. Waitz Emergency Operations Center - It opened in 2017. The state of Louisiana paid $4,340,000 out of the $7,340,000 that was spent to have the facility built.
 * The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office headquarters
 * The parish animal shelter

Education
The school district is Terrebonne Parish School District, as with other locations in the parish.

Public schools include:
 * H. L. Bourgeois High School

Private schools:
 * Covenant Christian Academy

Terrebonne Parish Public Library operates the North Branch in Gray.

The parish is in the service area of Fletcher Technical Community College. Additionally, a Delgado Community College document stated that Terrebonne Parish was in the college's service area.

Notable people

 * Beryl Amedee, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
 * JaJuan Dawson, NFL wide receiver
 * Jesse Myles, NFL running back
 * Bubba Radio personality

title: Gray, Louisiana


text:
Houma, Louisiana

Houma is the largest city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government was absorbed by the parish in 1984, which currently operates as the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government.

The population was 33,727 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1,334 over the 2000 census tabulation of 32,393. In 2020, the population estimates program determined 32,467 people lived in the city. At the 2020 census, its population rebounded to 33,406. Many unincorporated areas are adjacent to the city of Houma. The largest, Bayou Cane, is an urbanized area commonly referred to by locals as being part of Houma, but it is not included in the city's census counts, and is a separate census-designated place. If the populations of the urbanized census-designated places were included with that of the city of Houma, the total would exceed 60,000 residents.

Etymology
The city was named after the historic Native American tribe of Houma people, believed to be related to the Choctaw. The United Houma Nation is recognized by the state of Louisiana, but it has not achieved federal recognition.

History
Settled by the Chitimacha and then the Houma Indians prior to European colonization, Houma was soon named for the Houma Indians who were at Ouiski Point. Land claimed for the Houma Indians by the Spanish was not recognized by the United States after the Louisiana Purchase.

Present-day Houma was formed in 1832; the city was incorporated in 1848. The area was developed for sugar cane plantations in the antebellum years. Plantations were sited along the rivers and bayous in order to have access to water transportation.

Reconstruction to present
Sugar cane continued to be important after the war and into the 20th century.

On January 24, 1970, an accidental gas explosion killed three people and caused extensive damage downtown. Latour's Jewelry Store was destroyed.

In 1984, the city and parish consolidated their governments. In 2008 Bill Ellzey, a columnist at Houma Today, wrote that area residents were often unaware of the Houma city boundaries as the city and parish governments had consolidated.

In late August 2021 Houma was struck by the intense eye-wall of category 4 Hurricane Ida causing widespread damage.

Geography
Houma is located at 29.5875°N, -90.71611°W (29.587614, -90.716108) and has an elevation of 10 ft above sea level. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.2 sqmi, of which 14.0 sqmi is land and 0.2 sqmi (0.92%) is water.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild, sometimes warm winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Houma has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 33,406 people, 12,612 households, and 7,970 families residing in the city.

According to the 2019 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 62.1% non-Hispanic white, 23.3% Black or African American, 0.3% Asian alone, 0.1% some other race, 3.9% two or more races, and 4.3% Hispanic and Latin American of any race. At the 2010 census, the racial make up of the city was 67.46% White American, 20.62% Black or African American, 5.45% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.71% Asian, 0.12% Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races; Hispanics and Latin Americans of any race were 5.76% of the population.

In 2019, the median age was 36.8. Of the population aged 18 and older, they made 75.9% of the demographic; 8.1% of the population were aged 5 and under; 14.6% were aged 65 and older. The median income for a household at the 2019 American Community Survey was $42,949 and 23.8% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Education
Terrebonne Parish School District operates the city and parish public schools. Houma is home to Louisiana's second-oldest high school, Terrebonne High School. South Terrebonne High School was founded in 1961. H.L. Bourgeois High School, Ellender Memorial High School and Vandebilt Catholic High School are also in Terrebonne Parish. Southdown High School (originally Houma Colored High School) was constructed in the mid-20th century as a segregated school for black students, serving them exclusively from 1946 to 1969. After that the school was integrated as a result of 1964 civil rights legislation.

Culture
Houma and the surrounding communities are steeped in the French, Native, Cajun, African and Creole history of the region. Originally the region was colonized by French and Spanish who made their way south through Bayou Lafourche. In the late 18th century, numerous Acadians (later known as Cajuns) settled in the region. The Acadians had been expelled by the British from Nova Scotia during the Seven Years' War for their unwillingness to take a loyalty oath to the British King. The number expelled was about 15,000 in number, of which 3,000 eventually settled in this region. Others went to France. As the French, Spanish, Acadians and Native American people mixed over the decades, a unique Cajun culture was born.

The swampland around Houma resulted in the area being quite isolated from the rest of Louisiana and the United States well into the 1930. Outside influences such as radio and concomitant popular culture failed to penetrate Cajun culture, so Cajun culture and the use of French language in this region persevered much longer than in cities on the border of Cajun country, such as Lake Charles or Baton Rouge. Traditional Cajun culture in Houma includes the French language, Cajun cuisine, and celebration of Catholic festivals such as Mardi Gras. That folk culture remains evident today and attracts many tourists to the region.

In the 1970s, many South Vietnamese refugees emigrated following the reunification of Vietnam. They settled in Southern Louisiana to work as shrimpers, just as they had in Vietnam. A fairly significant portion of them settled in New Orleans, and many settled in Houma as well, in addition to elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. Many ethnic Vietnamese families still work at shrimping, as their families have for several decades.

Downtown Houma has been designated as an historic district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It offers a downtown walking tour and attractions such as the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum, the Folklife Culture Center, the Regional Military Museum, Southdown Plantation, the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, monuments to local armed forces, and local eateries.

Although Houma is quickly changing, many residents in the surrounding communities continue to make their living from the Gulf as their ancestors did. They harvest shrimp, oyster, crab, fish, and engage in trapping, although more have shifted to work in occupations of the oil industry and shipbuilding. According to the United States Government Patent and Trademark Office, Houma, Louisiana was the site of the deepest oil well in Terrebonne Parish.

Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands Music Festival, established in 2005, takes place in Houma, annually in October.

Media
The local newspaper is The Courier, founded in 1878 as Le Courrier de Houma by the French-born Lafayette Bernard Filhucan Bazet. He first published it in four-page, half-French half-English editions. Sold to The New York Times Company in 1980, it is now part of GateHouse Media.

The Houma Times is located in Houma. The newspaper is a weekly publication with a website updated daily. It serves the Terrebonne, Lafourche, and St. Mary parishes. In 2014, Houma-based Rushing Media merged with Guidry Group, Inc., which had owned the publication since its inception in 1997.

The area's only local broadcast TV station, KFOL-CD, is located in Houma. KFOL, also known as HTV, produces a weeknight newscast, followed by local phone calls and guests. Other shows include Sportsman's Paradise and One on One. KFOL broadcasts in digital on channel 30.1. The statewide TV network LCN-TV produces original Louisiana programming which showcases Louisiana's entertainment, culture, talent and industry. LCN-TV is delivered to all media distributors. Debuted in 2007, LCN-TV continues to produce Louisiana TV shows for the U.S.

The following radio stations are located in the Houma-Thibodaux metropolitan area:

Transportation
Houma is served by Houma-Terrebonne Airport, located 3 mi southeast of the central business district.

Good Earth Transit is Houma's parish bus system. It has five major routes and serves the surrounding suburban areas, including the small bayou communities and the city of Thibodaux.

Houma relies mainly on roads and personal vehicles as the main form of transportation. The major roads in Houma are:
 * US Route 90 (Future I-49)
 * LA HWY 311
 * Tunnel Boulevard (LA 3040)
 * LA 24 (locally called West Park Avenue (westbound) and Main Street (eastbound))
 * LA 182 (New Orleans Boulevard)
 * South and North Hollywood Road
 * St. Louis Canal Road
 * Savanne Road
 * Valhi Boulevard

Notable people

 * George Arceneaux, U.S. District Court judge from 1979 until his death in office in 1993
 * Tab Benoit, blues musician and co-star of the IMAX movie feature Hurricane on the Bayou
 * Sherman A. Bernard, Louisiana insurance commissioner from 1972 to 1988, graduated from Terrebonne High School in Houma
 * Elward Thomas Brady, Jr., state representative from Terrebonne Parish from 1972 to 1976; businessman
 * Wanda Brister, operatic mezzo-soprano, presently on the faculty at Florida State University
 * Joe Burks, professional athlete
 * Leonard J. Chabert, member of both houses of Louisiana State Legislature from Terrebonne Parish; namesake of Leonard J. Chabert Medical Center in Houma
 * Marty J. Chabert, former state senator from Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes
 * Norby Chabert, current Republican member of Louisiana State Senate from Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes
 * Richie Cunningham, professional athlete
 * Allen J. Ellender (1890–1972), former president pro tempore and Democratic U.S. Senator
 * Anthony Freeman, Catholic writer and religious
 * Shane Gibson (musician), guitarist for Korn
 * Skyler Green, gridiron football wide receiver and return specialist
 * Johnny Hartman (1923–1983), jazz singer
 * Hal Haydel, professional athlete
 * Cyril and Libbye Hellier, operatic sopranos
 * Brandon Jacobs, NFL running back
 * Frank Lewis, professional athlete
 * Morris Lottinger, Jr., former state representative and retired circuit court judge from Houma
 * Morris Lottinger, Sr., state representative from 1936 to 1950, House Speaker from 1948 to 1950, and state circuit court judge until retirement in 1965
 * Jesse Marcel, lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force who helped administer Operation Crossroads
 * Elijah McGuire, NFL running back for the New York Jets
 * Jay Pennison, professional athlete
 * Audie Pitre, bassist for Acid Bath, killed in a head-on collision in 1997.
 * Lloyd Pye, ancient astronauts proponent
 * Dax Riggs, frontman for Acid Bath, Deadboy and the Elephantmen, Agents of Oblivion, others
 * Chloe Suazo, Actress
 * Quvenzhané Wallis, young film actress (Beasts of the Southern Wild, 2012)
 * J. Louis Watkins, Jr., judge of Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal from 1979 to 1997; former attorney in Houma
 * Justin Williams (baseball), MLB Outfielder
 * Tramon Williams, professional athlete

Twin towns

 * 🇫🇷 Cambrai, Nord, Hauts-de-France, France
 * 🇹🇷 Datça, Muğla Province, Turkey
 * 🇨🇦 Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada
 * In June 2012, Terrebonne Parish signed a letter of intent to become a sister city with Weihai, China, for economic development purposes.

In popular culture

 * Houma and the surrounding area are the setting for the Swamp Thing series of comic books.
 * V. C. Andrews' novel Ruby (1994) is also set here.
 * The Suicide Squad is based at Belle Reve in Houma.
 * The 1999 films Crazy in Alabama and A Lesson Before Dying were filmed partially in Houma.
 * The film The Skeleton Key (2005) is set in Houma and the nearby area of Bayou Gauche.
 * Several scenes from the 2013 film, The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey, were filmed in downtown Houma.
 * In 1992, Unsolved Mysteries profiled the case of Adam John "AJ" Breaux, a resident of Houma, Louisiana, who went missing in 1991.
 * The Hulu TV series, The Act included a scene in Houma of a young Gypsy Rose Blanchard and Dee Dee Blanchard.
 * The 2022 film Where the Crawdads Sing was filmed in and around Houma.

title: Houma, Louisiana


text:
Montegut, Louisiana

Montegut is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,540 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Montegut was the primary filming location for the 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild.

History
Motegut developed around a sugar mill founded in 1883. Named by Congressman Edward James Gay when the post office was opened in 1885, it honored Gabriel Montegut, a prominent resident of parish seat Houma.

The 1941 WPA guide to Louisiana reported an elevation of 8 feet and population of 200.

Geography
Montegut is located at 29.47361°N, -90.55528°W (29.473700, -90.555381).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.8 km$2$), of which 4.5 square miles (11.6 km$2$) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km$2$) (1.54%) is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,465 people, 594 households, and 443 families residing in the CDP.

Education
Terrebonne Parish School District operates public schools. Montegut Elementary School and Montegut Middle School are in the community.

École Pointe-au-Chien, a public school (non-district) in Pointe-aux-Chenes, has a Montegut postal address, though it is not in the Montegut CDP. It was the former Pointe-aux-Chenes Elementary School, a Terrebonne Parish public school which closed in 2021.

The parish is in the service area of Fletcher Technical Community College. Additionally, a Delgado Community College document stated that Terrebonne Parish was in the college's service area.

In popular culture
The 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild was filmed in Montegut. Director Benh Zeitlin and his crew worked out of an abandoned gas station in town. They built the film's fictional settlement—the "Bathtub"—by hand with found artifacts and rusted-out equipment from the surrounding area. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.

title: Montegut, Louisiana


text:
Schriever, Louisiana

Schriever is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,711 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.

The community was named for railroad official John George Schriever (1844–1898) during the 1870s opening of the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western Railroad line to Houma.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.4 square miles (37.4 km$2$), of which 14.4 square miles (37.2 km$2$) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km$2$) (0.42%) is water.

Amtrak's Sunset Limited train stops at the Schriever station, serving the nearby cities Houma and Thibodaux.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 6,711 people, 2,584 households, and 1,550 families residing in the CDP.

Notable people

 * Sherman A. Bernard (1925–2012), Louisiana insurance commissioner, 1972–88, was born in Schriever.
 * Henry S. Thibodaux (in office 1824), former governor of Louisiana, owned a plantation nearby and is buried at Halfway Cemetery in nearby Gray.

title: Schriever, Louisiana


text:
Bernice, Louisiana

Bernice is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,689 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 1,809 in 2000. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
The area was part of the Louisiana frontier and pine forests, but early houses survive from the mid-nineteenth century: among the oldest homes are the R.T. Moore/Gresham/Stenzel House, known as the "Sweet Onion", and McCuller Log Cabin, both circa 1865.

Bernice was established in 1899 as a sawmill town after Captain C.C. Henderson built the Arkansas Southern Railroad, the first railway in Union Parish. Also an agricultural trade center, Bernice is the youngest European-American town to be founded in the parish. The area was known as the "big woods" because of its large stands of huge virgin pine. Henderson built the railroad to enable harvesting of lumber from the area. Moving south from Junction City, he directed construction of the railroad to Winnfield.

Henderson sought to purchase property about a mile north of the present town from Henry Mabry, but they could not agree on the price. Henderson moved south and bought land from Allen Lowery and Dave Cole. He named his acquisition for Lowery's infant daughter, Bernice. On a late spring day, Henderson auctioned lots for the planned community.

Bernice was incorporated that same year, and the railroad depot was built soon after. A 1901 picture of Louisiana Street includes the depot, and a c. 1905 interior photograph shows the agent and several local citizens. Restored, today the station is operated as the Depot Museum, displaying a collection of Bernice memorabilia. It also serves as a tourist information center.

Jake Crews was the first mayor. He was a contractor who built many of the earliest homes. Still standing are his own 1900 house, now called the Caldwell Home and said to be the oldest house in town; the 1902 Garland/Reeder House; the 1903 J.W. Heard/Laurence/Patton House; and the 1904 Thomas Heard House. Other turn-of-the century structures are the Cook/Minter House, the John Roach House and the Rives/Lindsey Hotel. The first brick home in town was the Pollock/Martin House, which dates from the 1920s, as does the old Bernice Jail.

The circa 1895 Alabama Methodist Church is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Lynn Log House was moved to its present location and reconstructed from an antebellum dogtrot house that once stood across the road.

Captain Henderson donated land to the town to be named Oakhurst Park. It was filled with oak trees surrounding a gazebo where public functions were held during the early years. In 1938, the Bernice Clubhouse was built in the park, and it remains in use today. Nearby was the childhood home of New York Knicks basketball great Willis Reed.

The original town, as laid out by Henderson, has recently been designated as the Bernice Historic District by the town council.

The first store was in a tent and run by a man named Nelson, and the next was a mercantile business in a box car, operated by Will Martin. Other merchants soon followed, many of them coming from Shiloh, and the Bank of Bernice was chartered in 1901. With lumber the major factor in the economy, usually one mill, and often two, have operated here. A saloon and pool hall were among the early businesses, and it was not unusual to see a fight among lumbermen on Saturday afternoons in the middle of the red dirt main street under the sycamore trees. In the early part of the century, the Bernice and Northwestern Railroad Company, also known as "the dummy line", headed northwesterly toward Summerfield to haul in the logs from the lumber camps along the way.

Although Bernice has changed from its rough and tumble early days, it still has a sawmill and a chip mill operating. The Lindsey warehouse complex of 63 buildings provides space for several timber-related industries. The town also has a hospital, a nursing home, a volunteer fire department, several churches, and numerous small businesses.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 sqmi, of which 3.2 sqmi is land and 0.31% is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 63.svg|20px]] [[Image:US 167.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 63/U.S. Highway 167
 * [[Image:Louisiana 2.svg|20px]] Louisiana Highway 2

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,356 people, 571 households, and 326 families residing in the town.

Education
Residents are assigned to Union Parish Public Schools. The Bernice school which served grades K-12 closed in 2013, and all students throughout Union Parish attend schools in the parish seat, Farmerville.

Notable people

 * Benny Anders
 * Robert Finley, musician
 * Wahoo McDaniel, NFL player and professional wrestler
 * Dante Powell, stand-up comedian
 * Willis Reed, NBA player
 * Willie Robertson, reality television star
 * Orlando Woolridge, NBA player

title: Bernice, Louisiana


text:
Farmerville, Louisiana

Farmerville is a town in and the parish seat of Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. It has also been known as Farmersville. The population was 3,860 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is spread about Lake D'Arbonne, a popular fishing and boating waterway.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.6 sqmi, of which 5.5 sqmi is land and 0.04 sqmi (0.72%) is water.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Farmerville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

2022 tornado
On December 13, 2022, the northern part of the town was struck by an EF3 tornado that damaged or destroyed structures and injured 14 people. The tornado caused $1.2 million in damage, with most of the damage coming from the town.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,366 people, 954 households, and 552 families residing in the town.

Education
The Union Parish School District covers education in the Farmerville area.

Schools

 * Union Parish Elementary School
 * Union Parish Junior High School
 * Union Parish High School
 * Union Christian Academy
 * Downsville Charter School
 * D'Arbonne Woods Charter School

Former Schools
Farmerville High School

Notable people

 * Thomas "Bud" Brady, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1988 from La Salle Parish; a radio announcer in Farmerville in the early 1960s
 * Donovan Chapman, Country music artist
 * James Walter Elder, was a member of the United States House of Representatives and a mayor of Farmerville
 * William C. Feazel, interim U.S. Senator in 1948; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Ouachita Parish from 1932–1936
 * Alton Hardy Howard, co-founder of Howard Brothers Discount Stores; gospel songwriter; born in Rocky Branch community in 1925, based in West Monroe
 * W. L. "Jack" Howard, five-term mayor of Monroe and partner of Howard Brothers Discount Stores, was born in the Rocky Branch community in 1921.
 * V. E. Howard, Church of Christ clergyman who founded the International Gospel Hour on radio, based in Texarkana, Texas; interred at Rocky Branch Cemetery
 * Jay McCallum (born 1960), state court judge since 2003; state representative for Lincoln and Union parishes from 1992 to 2003.
 * James Peyton Smith (1925–2006), state representative from Union and Morehouse parishes from 1964 to 1972; namesake of bridge over Lake D'Arbonne in Farmerville

title: Farmerville, Louisiana


text:
Lillie, Louisiana

Lillie is a village in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 118 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 139 in 2000. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.

According to a 2007 report, Lillie was named one of the 10 worst speed traps in the state of Louisiana. Lillie made 85.59% of its revenue, an average of roughly $508 per capita population, from fines and forfeitures in the 2005 fiscal year.

Geography
Lillie is located at 32.92028°N, -92.66167°W (32.920319, -92.661563).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.9 square miles (5.0 km$2$), of which 1.9 square miles (5.0 km$2$) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km$2$) (1.03%) is water.

Lillie has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa). It experiences hot, humid summers and mild winters.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 139 people, 54 households, and 36 families residing in the village. The population density was 72.3 PD/sqmi. There were 65 housing units at an average density of 33.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 72.66% White, 23.74% African American, 2.88% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.32% of the population.

There were 54 households, out of which 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.7% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 20.9% under the age of 18, 13.7% from 18 to 24, 23.7% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $29,167, and the median income for a family was $40,000. Males had a median income of $28,750 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $14,404. There were 5.0% of families and 10.6% of the population living below the poverty line, including 6.3% of under eighteens and 8.0% of those over 64.

title: Lillie, Louisiana


text:
Marion, Louisiana

Marion is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 765 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 806 at the 2000 census. This population includes the village of Truxno in the northwestern corner of the city limits. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
The town was named for Francis Marion, a military leader known as the "Swamp Fox".

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.2 sqmi, of which, 3.2 sqmi of it is land and 0.31% is water.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 623 people, 294 households, and 211 families residing in the town.

Education
Residents were assigned to Union Parish Public Schools' Marion High School (K-12) until June 2013, when the school closed down due to a lack of students in the 2012–13 school year. Marion students since the 2013–14 academic season go to the Union Parish High School located in Farmerville, Louisiana.

Notable people

 * John David Crow, Heisman Trophy Winner, 1957; born in Marion, 1935
 * Walt Goldsby (1861–1914), 19th century baseball player, born in Marion

title: Marion, Louisiana


text:
Spearsville, Louisiana

Spearsville is a village in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 137 at the 2010 census, a decrease from 155 in 2000. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Spearsville is located at 32.93472°N, -92.60472°W (32.934637, -92.604776).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.1 square miles (5.3 km$2$), all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 155 people, 71 households, and 42 families residing in the village. The population density was 75.4 PD/sqmi. There were 87 housing units at an average density of 42.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 96.77% White, 3.23% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.23% of the population.

There were 71 households, out of which 23.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.9% were married couples living together, 1.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.8% were non-families. 39.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 29.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.18 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 18.1% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 27.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.4 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $26,250, and the median income for a family was $36,719. Males had a median income of $38,125 versus $16,667 for females. The per capita income for the village was $13,542. About 23.4% of families and 23.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.5% of those under the age of eighteen and 32.0% of those 65 or over.

Education
Residents are assigned to Union Parish Public Schools.

title: Spearsville, Louisiana


text:
Abbeville, Louisiana

Abbeville is a city in, and the parish seat of, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census. At the 2020 population estimates program, the population of the city was 11,927. It is located 21 miles southwest of Lafayette.

History
Formerly called La Chapelle, the land that became Abbeville was purchased by founding father Père Antoine Désiré Mégret ("Père" is French for "Father"), a Capuchin missionary on July 25, 1843, for $900. There are two hypotheses as to how the town was named. The more generally accepted hypothesis is that Mégret named the town after his home in France. The second hypothesis states that it is a combination of "Abbé" (the French word for "Abbot") for Abbé Mégret, and "ville" (the French word for "Town") – hence Abbé's town. Some support for the second theory can be found in the fact that the town in France is pronounced differently (as "Abbville") by its denizens. However, in 1995, Jean Desobry discovered in the diocesan archives of Amiens evidence that Antoine Jacques Désiré Mégret was born on May 23, 1797, in Abbeville, France, thus confirming the first hypothesis. Dr Mary-Theresa MacCarthy wrote in her article Un Autre Abbeville in the 1996 edition of Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de Picardie (translation by Father Herbert),

"On February 12, 1844, the pastor gave to his American town the name of the town of his birth. Residents find this name especially fitting because of the French word abbé which means father [or priest] added to the French word ville [which means town]. Their Abbeville is truly la ville de l'abbé [the priest's town]."

Settlers were primarily descendants of the Acadians from Nova Scotia that moved to the area from 1766 to 1775. The town was incorporated in 1850. There were two people living on the land at the time, Joseph LeBlanc and his wife Isabelle Broussard, whose former home Father Megret converted into a chapel. The chapel burned in 1854 and, in 1910, St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church was built, which still stands today.

Father Megret modeled his original plan for the village after a French Provincial village. In a map he designed in 1846, the town was 38 to 40 acre in size. It was bounded on the north by St. Victor Boulevard, on the south by Lafayette Boulevard, on the east by "the Sisters of Charity", and on the west by Bayou Vermilion. At this point in time the town was called "Abbville".

The center of downtown is Magdalen Square, which is accented by large oak trees, a fountain, and gazebo. A statue in memory of Father Megret stands in the square. In 1856, the Last Island Hurricane destroyed every building in the town.

Geography
Abbeville is located at 29.9754°N, -92.12716°W and has an elevation of 16 ft. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.7 sqmi, of which 5.7 sqmi is land and 0.04 sqmi (0.53%) is water. Abbeville is located near the southern terminus of U.S. Highway 167. Abbeville Chris Crusta Memorial Airport is in the eastern part of the city. The Vermilion River runs through downtown, and several canals and coulees run through other parts of Abbeville.

Climate
Abbeville has a humid subtropical climate in common with the rest of Louisiana. It typically experiences long, hot and very humid summers and brief, cool but quite windy winters, and mild to warm temperatures during spring and autumn. Precipitation is relatively heavy by world standards and falls throughout the year, but peaks between June and September which see twice the amount of rainy days than winter. June to September is also, while hot, cloudier than the rest of year with clear and sunny skies being most common in the autumn.

Demographics
Abbeville is the principal city of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Vermilion Parish, also part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area and the larger Lafayette–Acadiana combined statistical area.

According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 11,887 people, 4,698 households, and 3,014 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,027.7 PD/sqmi. There were 5,257 housing units at an average density of 907.3 /sqmi. At the 2020 population estimates program, 11,927 people lived in the city. By the publication of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,186 people, 4,761 households, and 2,752 families residing in the city.

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup was 54.29% White, 38.56% African American, 0.19% Native American, 5.50% Asian, 0.39% other races, and 1.06% two or more races. Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race were 1.93% of the population. In 2000, 76.0% of the population over the age of five spoke English at home, 16.5% of the population spoke French or Cajun, and 5.5% spoke Vietnamese. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated the racial and ethnic makeup was 49.6% non-Hispanic white, 42.8% African American, 0.5% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 0.9% some other race, and 1.3% two or more races.

The 2010 U.S. census reported there were 4,698 households, of which 60.34% had children under the age of 18 present, 33.35% were married couples living together, 24.44% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.72% were non-families; 31.55% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.32% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.20.

In 2019, the median household income was $38,900. Males had a median income of $46,182 versus $37,958 for females; approximately 30.4% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Economy
Abbeville is an agricultural trade and processing center for rice, sugarcane, dairy products, locally sold corn, cotton, and seafood, in particular crawfish, alligator, and crab. The oil and natural gas fields off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico are serviced by companies throughout the region including Abbeville. Chemical products and consumer goods are manufactured locally. A related tourist attraction is a large open-kettle sugarcane syrup mill.

Education
The city of Abbeville is served by the Vermilion Parish School District. The following are public and parochial schools in Abbeville:
 * Elementary Schools
 * Eaton Park Elementary
 * Herod Elementary
 * Mount Carmel Elementary School (Parochial) (Grades PK–8)
 * Middle Schools
 * J.H. Williams Middle School
 * High Schools
 * Abbeville High School
 * Vermilion Catholic High School (Parochial)
 * Lighthouse Christian Prep. (Parochial)
 * James A. Herod High School and Elementary School (Was founded by Reverend James A. Herod for the education of the black population of Vermilion Parish with grades first thru twelfth, he was also a teacher)

Recreation
Abbeville is home to several festivals:
 * Daylily Festival and Garden Show
 * Giant Omelette Celebration
 * Les Lumieres du Village d'Abbeville
 * Louisiana Cattle Festival
 * Vermilion Carousel of Arts

The Abbey Players' Theater is a prominent local playhouse in Abbeville. The Acadian Museum is east of the city in nearby Erath, Louisiana. Avery Island, which contains a bird sanctuary, salt dome, and world-famous Tabasco factory is 15 miles southeast of the city.

Historic buildings
Abbeville is the home of numerous historic buildings that have been added periodically to the National Historic Register. Starting in 1987, the Abbeville Commercial Historic District, in the area surrounded by Concord, State, Lafayette, and Jefferson Streets, was added to the register. That same year, the Abbeville Residential Historic District was created between W. Oak, State, Cherry, and the Vermilion River. St. Mary Magdalen Church, Rectory, and the Cemetery were added the following year. In the 1990s, the Ovide Broussard House, Chauviere House, Gordy House, Lyons House, and the Caldwell House were all added, in addition to the Downtown Abbeville Historic District, which is bounded by State, 1st, Pere Megret, and Concord St and the Vermilion Bayou. Finally, just before the turn of the century, the Richard Cattle Auction Barn and the St. Mary Congregational Church were both added. North of Abbeville, A La Bonne Veillee was added in 1984.

National Guard
Abbeville is the home of HHC (headquarters company), 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry (mech.), of the Louisiana Army National Guard. The 2nd Battalion served with the 256th Infantry Brigade ("The Tiger Brigade") during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004–2005.

Transportation
The Louisiana & Delta Railroad has a route through the city, which helped bring freight produced locally to market.

The Freshwater Bayou Deepwater Channel connects Abbeville to the Gulf of Mexico, and the Intracoastal Waterway runs south of the city.

Films
The 1988 remake of the 1958 film The Blob was filmed in Abbeville.

Part of Lucio Fulci's Door to Silence takes place in Abbeville.

Robert J. Flaherty chose Abbeville in 1948 as his base of operations during the filming of Louisiana Story. He rented a house in the current downtown area for 15 months over 1946–47.

Abbeville is one of the main locations in the first season of the HBO TV series True Detective.

Notable people

 * George A. Caldwell (1892–1966), building contractor convicted in the Louisiana Hayride scandals of 1939-1940; born in Abbeville.
 * Bobby Duhon, (born 1946), professional American football player.
 * Bobby Charles Guidry (1938–2010), songwriter and musician, wrote See You Later Alligator & Walking to New Orleans; born in Abbeville.
 * Sammy Kershaw, (born 1958), a country music artist, born in nearby Kaplan, resides in Abbeville.
 * Dudley J. LeBlanc, (1894–1971), businessman and politician who made a fortune in the 1950s in the patent medicine Hadacol, lived most of his life and died in Abbeville.
 * Anthony Levine, (born 1987), professional American football player; born in Abbeville.
 * Gerald Long, (born 1944), state senator from Natchitoches; formerly resided in Abbeville
 * Brandon Mitchell, (born 1975), former professional American football player; born in Abbeville.
 * George Petty (1894–1975), pin-up artist; born in Abbeville.
 * Deb Richard, (born 1963), golfer, winner of five LPGA Tour tournaments.
 * Sam H. Theriot (born 1954), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1979 to 1996; former Vermilion Parish clerk of court; educator and Abbeville native.
 * Koryn Hawthorne (born 1997), contestant and finalist on the season 8 of The Voice
 * Golden J. Zenon Jr. (1929–2006), architect; born in Abbeville.

title: Abbeville, Louisiana


text:
Erath, Louisiana

Erath is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,114 at the 2010 census, and 2,030 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area and the Lafayette metropolitan area.

History
Erath is named after August Erath (March 18, 1843 - September 11, 1900) who emigrated from Switzerland to New Orleans in 1860 and was a bookkeeper in the breweries. He moved to New Iberia in 1876 and erected a brewery there. Erath was later mayor of New Iberia and began to develop land in the Erath area. Although August Erath never lived in Erath, he was close to railroad officials, which brought forth a great business venture for him. Later, Erath built a seltzer water factory in New Iberia and an ice plant in Abbeville. In 1884, he started a hardware business and purchased land located in this area.

In 2005, storm surge forced inland by Hurricane Rita flooded most of the town. Water in most parts of town was up to six feet deep.

Geography
Erath is located at 29.96°N, -92.03528°W (29.959939, -92.035220). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.5 sqmi, all land.

Erath is located 20 mi south of Lafayette, parish seat of Lafayette Parish via Louisiana Highway 339, 7 mi east of Abbeville, parish seat of Vermilion Parish, and 15 mi west of New Iberia, parish seat of Iberia Parish via Louisiana Highway 14. The eastern edge of Erath borders with the town of Delcambre on LA-14.

2020 census
The 2020 United States census counted 2,028 people, 830 households, and 509 families in Erath. The population density was 1,154.2 per square mile (445.7/km$2$). There were 928 housing units at an average density of 528.2 per square mile (203.9/km$2$). The racial makeup was 84.12% (1,706) white or European American (83.53% non-Hispanic white), 6.41% (130) black or African-American, 0.3% (6) Native American or Alaska Native, 4.39% (89) Asian, 0.0% (0) Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian, 0.49% (10) from other races, and 4.29% (87) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race was 2.56% (52) of the population.

Of the 830 households, 35.8% had children under the age of 18; 36.4% were married couples living together; 38.0% had a female householder with no spouse or partner present. 31.7% of households consisted of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.5 and the average family size was 3.0. The percent of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was estimated to be 15.3% of the population.

25.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 25.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 115.5 males. For every 100 females ages 18 and older, there were 125.0 males.

The 2016-2020 5-year American Community Survey estimates show that the median household income was $37,198 (with a margin of error of +/- $10,630) and the median family income was $40,341 (+/- $16,273). Males had a median income of $41,250 (+/- $16,514) versus $25,595 (+/- $5,021) for females. The median income for those above 16 years old was $29,938 (+/- $5,893). Approximately, 16.1% of families and 17.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.8% of those under the age of 18 and 23.3% of those ages 65 or over.

2000 census
At the 2000 United States census, there were 2,187 people, 819 households, and 580 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,453.7 PD/sqmi. There were 884 housing units at an average density of 589.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 89.12% White, 6.22% African American, 0.18% Native American, 3.52% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.64% from two or more race; Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race were 0.69% of the population.

In 2000, were 819 households, out of which 35.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 16.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.2% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.2 males.

Economy
Erath is home to Henry Hub, an important junction of natural gas pipeline systems. Natural gas prices in North America are more or less set at this junction.

The "Henry" hub is so named for its location in the Henry hamlet of Erath, which was named after the Henry High School that stood there until damage from flooding due to Hurricane Rita forced its closure and demolition. This school was named for its benefactor, William Henry, who originally immigrated from Copenhagen, Denmark as Ludwig Wilhelm Kattentidt, circa 1840, then dropped the surname and used his father's middle 'Heinrich' for his surname of Henry. There are Henry descendants in the area to this day.

It was customary for benefactors to sponsor schools; there were quite a few similarly sponsored schools in Vermilion Parish around that time. Being that long ago and in a rural area, with schools sometimes sponsored even in homes, there was great variation in what was offered to how many, and it often changed over time. Records say that the Henry school was founded in 1877, and apparently became a high school in 1896 because it celebrated its centennial in 1996.

In 1992, the Vermilion Parish school district reorganized the schools. Students transferred to Erath High, and Henry High became an elementary school. Then on September 24, 2005 (less than a month after Hurricane Katrina), Hurricane Rita smashed the parish and ruined the school. The area was also hit hard three years later by Hurricane Ike, and the main building was finally razed around March 2009. Likewise, St. John Catholic Church across the street had its rectory damaged; it is being replaced with a new building elevated to meet new flood standards as of early 2014.

When land for the Henry school was bequeathed, it was stipulated for education into perpetuity, or to be returned to the heirs. The gymnasium was salvaged and is still used by the school district to this day. A Google Earth comparison of, for example, February 28, 2006, to April 23, 2012, at the intersection of Highways 330 and 689 shows a parking lot where the main school was, and the church's rectory gone, but the gymnasium in clear use by child sports organizations and other groups.

Notable people

 * Dudley J. LeBlanc, served in legislature and ran for governor on three occasions. Producer of Hadacol.
 * Doris Leon "D. L." Menard, songwriter, performer, and recording artist
 * Randy Romero, Thoroughbred Racing Hall of Fame jockey
 * Roy R. Theriot, mayor of Abbeville and Louisiana state comptroller
 * Elijah Mitchell, a professional football player NFL running back for the San Francisco 49ers.

title: Erath, Louisiana


text:
Gueydan, Louisiana

Gueydan (local pronunciation [ge(ɪ)dɔ̃]) is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,398 at the 2010 census, down from 1,598 in 2000. At the 2020 population estimates program, its population decreased to 1,328. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area.

History
For thousands of years, indigenous peoples lived along the waterways of Louisiana. They were able to hunt plentiful game and harvest fish from the rivers. In historic times, this area was inhabited by the Attakapa and Chitimacha.

In the early 1860s, Jean Pierre Gueydan, (originally spelled "Guédon") the founder of the European-American town, lived in Abbeville, Louisiana, about 30 miles east of present-day Gueydan. As had the Attapaka and earlier American Indian tribes, he often came to this area to hunt deer, ducks, geese, pheasant, cache-cache (jack snipe), papabottes, and other game. The area was a hunter's paradise.

In 1884, the brothers Jean-Pierre and François Gueydan purchased forty thousand acres (160 km2) of land described by surveyors as "sea marsh, unfit for cultivation", for twelve and one-half cents per acre. By 1896, a small portion of their purchase became known as the "Gueydan Pasture". It was chartered as a village when the population reached 250. Jean Pierre was considered the official founder of Gueydan, as by then he had purchased his brother's landholdings. In 1902, the settlement became the town of Gueydan. Many residents were involved in the cultivation of rice along the waterways, as the area's most important commodity crop.

Realizing the importance of a railroad to the rice farmers, Gueydan donated a section of land and extensive right-of-way to induce the Southern Pacific Railroad to build a branch line from Midland, Louisiana. Shortly after, he offered the first property lots for sale. Settlers began to arrive from other parts of the state and the rest of the country.

The first irrigation pump in the state of Louisiana was built nearby at Primeaux Landing. This enabled water to be pumped to irrigate thousands of acres of rice. With the pump, the area grew as a producer of rice. In the late 19th century, farmers recruited Italian immigrants as laborers, but they quickly left the role of farm workers. Some established local businesses, such as groceries, barber shops and tailors, in small towns across Louisiana.

The founder Jean Pierre Gueydan lived at his plantation, St. Bennette, about two miles south of the community. In 1894 the plantation house was used to house the town's first school, which opened with 10 students.

The town of Gueydan suffered numerous near catastrophes. Fires in 1901, 1903, 1910, and 1927 caused extensive damage. The worst tragedy was the Flood of 1940. After near-record rainfalls in August 1940, the entire town was inundated. Locals still vividly recall the disaster. The area had extensive flooding because it is nearly flat prairie, with an average elevation of only nine feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The elevation tends to be in the range of 5 to 12 feet.

The whole area was once low marshy land, now called wetlands, subject to overflow by the waters of the nearby Mermentau River. This area was filled with trees and bushes that thrived in those conditions and could absorb much water during times of seasonal flooding. Developers created a modern system of canals for drainage purposes and irrigation as early as 1901, but these interfered with the natural processes of the wetlands. Development of the town and rice culture further reduced the natural capacity of the wetlands to absorb flooding, as well as creating a built-up area of residences and businesses where flooding was a threat.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 sqmi, all land.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Gueydan has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics
At the 2020 United States census, there were 1,165 people, 518 households, and 333 families residing in the town. At the 2000 U.S. census, there were 1,598 people, 644 households, and 416 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,874.9 PD/sqmi. There were 724 housing units at an average density of 849.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 86.61% White, 12.83% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.31% from other races, and 0.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.

There were 644 households, out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,165, and the median income for a family was $32,039. Males had a median income of $25,682 versus $13,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,738. About 16.1% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

Duck festival
The town is the site of the annual Duck Festival, which is held the weekend before Labor Day. It is officially recognized as the Duck Capital of America. The Louisiana state championships for duck and goose calling are held in conjunction with the festival.

Notable people

 * Iron Eyes Cody (Espera de Corti) grew up here. (Of Sicilian descent, he became interested in movies. After moving to California, he worked as an actor and portrayed Native Americans in more than 200 films)
 * Bob Hensgens, the former mayor of Gueydan, is the Republican state representative from Vermilion and Cameron parishes.
 * Jeannette Knoll, associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1997 to 2016, was reared in Gueydan prior to high school.
 * Nathan Abshire, Cajun accordion player, was born in the area between Gueydan and Bayou Queue de Tortue.
 * Frank Glasgow Tinker, American volunteer fighter pilot for the Spanish Republican Air Force during the Spanish Civil War.

title: Gueydan, Louisiana


text:
Kaplan, Louisiana

Kaplan is a city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,600 at the 2010 census, and 4,345 at the 2020 population estimates program. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area in Acadiana.

History
In 1896, the Holy Rosary Catholic Church was established in the growing European-American settlement. Most of the people were Acadian, so the main language was French. The town was named after Abrom Kaplan, who bought the Jim Todd Plantation in 1901. The town of Kaplan grew quickly and was established in 1902. The following year, residents created the first school.

On July 14, 1906, the first Bastille Day Celebration was held. In 1911, the Eleazar Theater was built. In 1916, the Kaplan Telephone Company began. In 1920, the school was rebuilt.

The Kaplan Herald has been in continuous publication since 1956 as the Kaplan Journal. When Conrad Kaplan purchased the newspaper in 1965, he named it the Kaplan Herald. It remained under his ownership until his death in 1992, when Louisiana State Newspaper purchased the Kaplan Herald from his estate.

On September 10, 1961, the town was hit by a destructive F3 tornado spawned by Hurricane Carla. Most of the town was heavily damaged and one person was killed.

Geography
Kaplan is located at 30.00444°N, -92.28583°W (30.004548, -92.285964). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 sqmi, all land.

Louisiana Highway 14 passes through the city which heads 10 mi east to Abbeville, the Vermilion Parish seat, and 15 mi west to the town of Gueydan. Louisiana Highway 13 intersects with LA-14 outside the city limits and heads north to the cities of Crowley (26 miles) and Eunice (39 miles). Louisiana Highway 35, which intersects LA-14 as North Cushing Avenue, heads north 18 mi to Rayne.

Demographics
According to the 2000 U.S. census, there were 5,177 people, 2,069 households, and 1,342 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,298.6 PD/sqmi. There were 2,265 housing units at an average density of 1,005.7 /sqmi. The 2020 population estimates program determined 4,345 people lived in the city. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 4,352 people, 1,638 households, and 898 families residing in the city.

In 2000, the racial makeup of the city was 85.13% White, 12.92% African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race were 1.20% of the population. In 2019, the American Community Survey estimated the racial and ethnic makeup was 84.1% White alone, 14.8% African American, 0.5% Asian alone, and 0.6% two or more races.

At the 2000 census, were 2,069 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.06. In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.8% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

At the 2019 American Community Survey, the median household income was $34,943; males had a median income of $52,747 versus $33,750 for females. An estimated 24.1% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $22,535, and the median income for a family was $30,236. Males had a median income of $29,387 versus $19,198 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,340. About 25.0% of families and 33.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.3% of those under age 18 and 32.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

 * Inez Catalon (Creole singer)
 * Iron Eyes Cody (of Sicilian descent, portrayed Native Americans as actor)
 * Sammy Kershaw (American Country and Western music singer and songwriter; two-time candidate for lieutenant governor of Louisiana)
 * Jonathan W. Perry (former Kaplan city council member and state representative/senator for Vermilion and Cameron parishes - Current Judge of 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal)
 * Frank Glasgow Tinker (Spanish Civil War volunteer pilot and flying ace)

title: Kaplan, Louisiana


text:
Maurice, Louisiana

Maurice is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 964 at the 2010 census and 2,118 for the 2020 Census. It is part of the Abbeville micropolitan statistical area.

History
The village, originally called "Mauriceville", derives its name from its founder Maurice Villien. Villien, a native of Savoy, France, came to America in 1855 and sold goods in New Orleans, New Iberia and Milton. His wife had land holdings there and they established a home and grocery store. On May 29, 1889, the 10 acre site, on which the church and rectory in Maurice were to be built, was donated by Villien. The town was incorporated on December 27, 1911, and Joseph Villien, Maurice's son, became mayor until 1928. Today, Joseph Street leads to the old home.

The community's first church was La Chapelle a Maurice and Sunday services were held in a small schoolhouse on the Villien property until the St. Alphonsus Church was built in January 1893. The Broussard Cove School was the first school built on land donated by Joseph Clark in 1885 and moved to Maurice in July 1899 to land donated by Maurice Villien. It was located on Maurice Avenue and the Indian Bayou Road until 1914 when it burned down.

Geography
Maurice is located at 30.10722°N, -92.12389°W (30.107171, -92.123977), along the Gulf Coast in southern Acadiana. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.0 square miles (5.3 km$2$), all land.

The northeastern border of the village is the Vermilion/Lafayette parish line. U.S. Route 167 passes through the village heading 11 mi northeast to Lafayette, the parish seat of Lafayette Parish and 10 mi south to Abbeville, the parish seat of Vermilion Parish. The communities of Youngsville 9 mi and Milton 4 mi are both located east of the village via Louisiana Highway 92 which intersects with U.S. 167.

Demographics
At the 2000 United States census, there were 642 people, 257 households, and 177 families residing in the village. The population density was 315.0 PD/sqmi. There were 276 housing units at an average density of 135.4 /sqmi. At the 2020 population estimates program, there were 1,857 people living in the village, up from 964 at the 2010 United States census.

According to the 2019 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup of the village was 89.6% non-Hispanic white, 5.9% Black and African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% Asian alone, and 0.6% two or more races; 2.2% of the population was Hispanic and Latin American of any race. At the 2000 U.S. census, the racial makeup of the village was 79.13% White, 19.63% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.78% Asian, and 0.31% from two or more races; Hispanic and Latin Americans of any race were 1.40% of the population. In 2005, 74.8% of the population over the age of five spoke English at home, and 25.2% of the population spoke French or Cajun.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the village was $29,306, and the median income for a family was $32,841. Males had a median income of $28,571 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,051. About 16.6% of families and 19.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.5% of those under age 18 and 21.8% of those age 65 or over. From 2015 to 2019, the median household income was $67,143. Males had a median income of $54,141 versus $40,139 for females; an estimated 7.8% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Notable people

 * Denise Boutte, actress
 * Inez Catalon, Creole singer
 * J. Keith Desormeaux, horse trainer
 * Kent Desormeaux, Hall of Fame jockey
 * Ezola B. Foster, conservative political activist and author
 * Jesse Hernandez, National Football League cheerleader
 * Jeremy Stephens, chef

title: Maurice, Louisiana


text:
Anacoco, Louisiana

Anacoco is a village in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 869 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fort Johnson South Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Anacoco was named after Bayou Anacoco and the Anacoco Prairie, all of the names most likely being ultimately derived from the Spanish "Llano Cuco" (Raincrow Plain). The French rendered this as "l'Anacoco," mistaking the initial letter as the French definite article, which English-speakers subsequently dropped as unnecessary.

Attraction

 * South Toledo Bend State Park is located on several small bluffs that extend over and into the Toledo Bend Reservoir. Activities include bass fishing tournaments, hiking, cycling, birding, picnics, and camping. The area is a common nesting ground for the bald eagle.

Geography
Anacoco is located at 31.25278°N, -93.34389°W (31.252671, -93.343801).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.1 sqmi, all land.

Climate
This climatic region is typified by hot, humid summers and mild winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Anacoco has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 866 people, 346 households, and 255 families residing in the village. The population density was 280.5 PD/sqmi. There were 376 housing units at an average density of 121.8 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 93.65% White, 0.12% African American, 1.62% Native American, 1.04% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.92% from other races, and 2.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.42% of the population.

There were 346 households, out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.0% were married couples living together, 8.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the village, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $37,303, and the median income for a family was $41,875. Males had a median income of $37,500 versus $23,125 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,300. About 9.2% of families and 12.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 14.4% of those age 65 or over.

title: Anacoco, Louisiana


text:
Fort Johnson North, Louisiana

Fort Johnson North is a census-designated place (CDP) in Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,279 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fort Johnson South Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Fort Johnson North is located at 31.10361°N, -93.16861°W (31.103611, -93.168617).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.1 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,279 people, 1,076 households, and 1,039 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 403.7 PD/sqmi. There were 1,126 housing units at an average density of 138.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 62.9% White, 21.3% African American, 1.3% Native American, 2.1% Asian, 0.6% Pacific Islander, 5.1% from other races, and 6.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.9% of the population.

There were 1,076 households, out of which 67.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 91.5% were married couples living together, 4.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 3.4% were non-families. 3.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.05 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 36.2% under the age of 18, 20.8% from 18 to 24, 42.2% from 25 to 44, 0.7% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 23 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.2 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,921, and the median income for a family was $32,037. Males had a median income of $25,729 versus $19,044 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $11,425. About 8.7% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.7% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

title: Fort Johnson North, Louisiana