Iberville Parish, Louisiana

Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	10 April 1805
Named for	Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Seat	Plaquemine
Largest city	Plaquemine
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	653 sq mi (1,691 km²) 619 sq mi (1,603 km²) 34 sq mi (88 km²), 5.21%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	33,387 54/sq mi (21/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.ibervilleparish.com

Iberville Parish (French: Paroisse d'Iberville) is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Plaquemine. The 2010 population of the parish was 33,387.

Iberville Parish is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Baton Rouge–Pierre Part Combined Statistical Area.

History

The parish is named for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, who founded the French colony of Louisiana.

A few archeological efforts have been made in the Parish, mainly to excavate the Native American burial mounds that have been identified there. The first expedition, led by Clarence B. Moore, was an attempt at collecting data from a couple of the sites, and it set the groundwork for later projects. Clarence was mainly interested in the skeletal remains of the previous inhabitants, rather than excavating for archeological items. Archeologists are especially interested in these sites because of their uniformity and size. Some of the mounds are seven hundred feet long, a hundred feet wide and six feet tall. Most of them contain human remains.

Iberville Parish is represented in the Louisiana State Senate by the attorney Robert M. Marionneaux, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, who has served in the Senate since 2000. Marionneaux was reared and still resides in Iberville Parish.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 653 square miles (1,691.3 km²), of which 619 square miles (1,603.2 km²) is land and 34 square miles (88.1 km²) (5.21%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 10
• Louisiana Highway 1
• Louisiana Highway 30
• Louisiana Highway 69
• Louisiana Highway 75
• Louisiana Highway 76
• Louisiana Highway 77

Adjacent parishes

• Pointe Coupee Parish (northwest)
• West Baton Rouge Parish (north)
• East Baton Rouge Parish (northeast)
• Ascension Parish (east)
• Assumption Parish (southeast)
• Iberia Parish (south)
• St. Martin Parish (west)

National protected area

• Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,320 people, 10,674 households, and 8,016 families residing in the parish. The population density was 54 people per square mile (21/km²). There were 11,953 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 49.26% White, 49.70% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	27,006		—
1910	30,954		14.6%
1920	26,806		−13.4%
1930	24,638		−8.1%
1940	27,721		12.5%
1950	26,750		−3.5%
1960	29,939		11.9%
1970	30,746		2.7%
1980	32,159		4.6%
1990	31,049		−3.5%
2000	33,320		7.3%
Est. 2006	32,974
Iberville Parish Census Data

There were 10,674 households, 36.20% of which contained children under age 18, 49.60% of which were married couples living together, 20.40% of which had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 21.90% of the households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.29.

26.20% of the population was under age 18; 10.50% was 18-20 years of age; 31.10% was 25-34 years of age; 21.50% was 45-64 years of age; and 10.70% was age 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $29,039, and the median income for a family was $34,100. Males had a median income of $32,074 versus $20,007 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $13,272. About 19% of families and 23% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30% of those under age 18 and 18% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Map of Iberville Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities and towns:

Grosse Tete Maringouin

Plaquemine Rosedale

St. Gabriel White Castle

Unincorporated areas:

• Bayou Pigeon
• Bayou Sorrell
• Crescent

Government and infrastructure

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates two prisons, Elayn Hunt Correctional Center and Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW), in St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish. LCIW houses the female death row.

Education

Primary and secondary schools

Iberville Parish School Board operates the public schools within Iberville Parish.

Public libraries

Iberville Parish Library operates libraries in the parish. The Parish Headquarters Library is located in Plaquemine. Branches include Bayou Pigeon (Unincorporated area), Bayou Sorrel (Unincorporated area), East Iberville (St. Gabriel), Grosse Tete (Grosse Tete), Maringouin (Maringouin), Rosedale (Rosedale), White Castle (White Castle).

National Guard

The Gillis W. Long Center, located on the outskirts of Carville, LA, is operated by the Louisiana Army National Guard. This post is home to the 415TH MI (Military Intelligence) Battalion, the 241ST MPAD, and the 61st Troop Command. The 415TH MI is a subunit of the 139TH RSG (regional support group).

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Iberville Parish, Louisiana

External links

• Ibervillle Parish government's website
• Iberville Parish Tourist Commission website
• Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

Geology

• Heinrich, P. V., and W. J. Autin, 2000, Baton Rouge 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana