Lafourche Parish, Louisiana

History

South Louisiana became known as “Sugarland”, and Lafourche one of the sugar parishes, where sugar cane plantations were established before and after the Civil War. They required the labor of large numbers of enslaved African Americans. In the postbellum era, they constituted from 50 to 80 percent of the population in most of the sugar parishes.

Particularly after Reconstruction, whites in the parish used violence and intimidation against the large population of freedmen to suppress Republican voting and re-establish white supremacy, but were less successful than in North Louisiana until after disenfranchisement of blacks at the turn of the century. From 1877 through the early 20th century, there were 52 lynchings of African Americans in Lafourche Parish. Most of the deaths were due to white suppression of labor unrest in 1887; blacks were skilled sugar workers and had begun to organize for better wages and conditions. Some 10,000 workers had struck in Lafourche and three other parishes during the critical harvest period. At the request of the planters, the state sent in militia against the workers to break the strike.

In what was called the Thibodaux Massacre of November 22, 1887, local whites organized by leaders of the town killed up to 50 blacks who had taken refuge in the African-American quarters after a major Knights of Labor strike was called on sugar plantations. Hundreds more were wounded or missing, and presumed dead.

The total deaths in this parish due to this racial terrorism were the highest of any parish in the state and nearly twice as high as some others among the six parishes with the highest totals. In general, most of the lynching and racial terrorism took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in Port Fourchon at 16:55 UTC as a category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph. Additional reports surveyed by ships in Port Fourchon reported wind gusts up to 194 knots. In Golden Meadow, LA, the National Weather Service recorded storm surge measurements of 10.1 ft. It was the strongest storm on record to make landfall in Lafourche Parish and at the time the 5th costliest hurricane in United States history.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1474 sqmi, of which 1068 sqmi is land and 406 sqmi (28%) is water. To the south of the parish is the Gulf of Mexico.

Lafourche, like most of the Gulf Coast, is experiencing land loss due to man-made changes to the path of the Mississippi River and development in the swamplands. The southern part of the parish was inundated during Hurricane Juan in 1985. After that, the South Lafourche levee district converted its disconnected patchwork of low hurricane levees into a continuous wall that is 48 miles (77 km) long. The levee, largely funded by a local tax and occasional money from the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, was built higher but narrower than recommended by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which decertified them. The additional height proved its value when Hurricane Ida struck the area in 2021, and the floodwaters rose four feet (1.2 m) higher than the recommended height – but one foot (30 cm) lower than the levee was built. In the northern part of the parish, the shorter, federally approved levees were overtopped and the communities were flooded.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-49 (Future).svg|25px]] Interstate 49 (future)
• [[Image:US 90.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 90
• [[Image:Louisiana 1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 1
• [[Image:Louisiana 20 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 20
• [[Image:Louisiana 24 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 24
• [[Image:Louisiana 182 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 182
• [[Image:Louisiana 304 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 304
• [[Image:Louisiana 308 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 308

Adjacent parishes

• St. James Parish (north)
• St. John the Baptist Parish (north)
• St. Charles Parish (northeast)
• Jefferson Parish (east)
• Terrebonne Parish (west)
• Assumption Parish (northwest)

National protected area

• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve (part, in Thibodaux)

Communities

City

• Thibodaux (parish seat)

Towns

• Golden Meadow
• Lockport

Census-designated places

• Bayou Blue
• Bayou Country Club
• Chackbay
• Choctaw
• Cut Off
• Des Allemands
• Galliano
• Kraemer
• Lafourche Crossing
• Larose
• Lockport Heights
• Mathews
• Raceland

Other areas

• Gheens
• Leeville
• Port Fourchon

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 97,557, with a median age of 38.4 years; 23.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 16.0% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 93.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90.1 males age 18 and over.

The 2020 census counted 37,179 households and 25,224 families residing in the parish, with an average household size of 2.60 and an average family size of 3.04.

The racial makeup of the parish was 73.5% White, 15.0% Black or African American, 2.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian,

The 2020 census found that 76.6% of residents lived in urban areas while 23.4% lived in rural areas.

Of the households counted in the 2020 census, 33.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 48.4% were married-couple households, 17.1% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 26.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present; about 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 40,933 housing units, of which 9.2% were vacant; among occupied housing units, 75.4% were owner-occupied and 24.6% were renter-occupied, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 1.5% and a rental vacancy rate of 8.8%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

In 2000, there were 89,794 people living in the parish. The racial makeup of Lafourche was 82.85% White, 12.61% Black or African American, 2.30% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.67% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 0.97% from two or more races; 1.43% of the population were Hispanic or Latino American of any race. Among the population, 19.12% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.51% spoke Spanish.

Up from $34,910 in 2000, the median income of a household in the parish was $51,339 according to the 2019 American Community Survey. In 2000, males had a median income of $34,600 versus $19,484 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,809. About 13.20% of families and 16.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.90% of those under age 18 and 18.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The parish is zoned to Lafourche Parish Public Schools.

Residents of select portions of Lafourche Parish (particularly in parts of Grand Bois and Bourg) may attend schools in the Terrebonne Parish School District.

High schools

• Central Lafourche in Mathews
• South Lafourche in Galliano
• Thibodaux High in Thibodaux
• Edward Douglas White Catholic High School in Thibodaux

Colleges and universities

• Nicholls State University in Thibodaux

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

National Guard

D Company 2-156 Infantry Battalion of the 256TH Infantry Brigade Combat Team resides in Thibodaux, Louisiana

Notable people

• Edward Douglass White, Associate Justice (1894-1910) and Chief Justice (1910-1921) of the United States Supreme Court
• Jefferson J. DeBlanc (1921-2007), United States Marine Corps fighter pilot and flying ace; received the Medal of Honor for actions during World War II
• Dick Guidry (1929-2014), member of Louisiana House of Representatives from 1950 to 1954 and 1964–76. Considered the youngest person ever elected to the Louisiana House.
• Bobby Hebert, former NFL quarterback
• Harvey Peltier, Jr.
• Harvey Peltier, Sr.
• Glen Pitre
• Loulan Pitre, Jr.
• Ed Orgeron, head football coach at LSU, Ole Miss, USC; NFL assistant coach

Politics

References

References

1. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
2. "Lafourche Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism.
3. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". [[United States Government Publishing Office.
4. "2020 Race and Population Totals".
5. Pfeifer, Michael James. (2004). "Rough Justice: Lynching and American Society, 1874-1947". [[University of Illinois Press]].
6. Bell, Ellen Baker, [http://www.knowlouisiana.org/entry/thibodaux-massacre "Thibodaux Massacre (1887)"] {{Webarchive. link. (May 19, 2017 , KnowLA ''Encyclopedia of Louisiana,'' September 15, 2011, access-date April 23, 2017)
7. [https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf ''Lynching in America, Third Edition: Supplement by County''] {{Webarchive. link. (October 23, 2017 , p. 6, Equal Justice Initiative, Mobile, AL, 2017)
8. John L. Beven II. (April 4, 2022). "Hurricane Ida". nhc.noaa.gov.
9. "Costliest U.S. Tropical Cyclones". ncei.noaa.gov.
10. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
11. Thornton, Katie. (2024-08-28). "This man saved his town from deadly floodwaters. So why did the US government try to stop him?". The Guardian.
12. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
13. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
14. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
15. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
16. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
17. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
18. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
19. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
20. "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 15 - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 20/12-20/20)".
21. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
22. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – LaFourche Parish, Louisiana".
23. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – LaFourche Parish, Louisiana".
24. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – LaFourche Parish, Louisiana".
25. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
26. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
27. not an option in the 1980 Census
28. not an option in the 1990 Census
29. "Language Map Data Center".
30. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lafourche Parish, LA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
31. "[http://lafourche.k12.la.us/docs/Policy%20Manual/AC%20School%20Attendance%20Boundaries.doc SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES] {{webarchive. link. (2016-12-02 ." [[Lafourche Parish Public Schools]]. Retrieved on December 2, 2016.)
32. "Our Colleges". [[Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges]].
33. "The Economic Value of Delgado Community College". [[Delgado Community College]].
34. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".