Pierre Part, Louisiana

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Pierre Part is a census-designated place (CDP) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,239 at the 2000 census.

[edit] Geography

Pierre Part is located at 29°57′40″N, 91°12′24″W (29.960975, -91.206612)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 7.8 km² (3.0 mi²). 7.8 km² (3.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.33% is water. Pierre Part is a picturesque town in South Louisiana. It is centralized between the major cities of the region. By car one can drive to Houma in 45 minutes, Baton Rouge in 50 minutes to an hour, Morgan City in 20 minutes, Donaldsonville in 20 minutes, New Orleans in an hour and 10 minutes, and Lafayette in an hour and half.

Pierre Part was founded by French descendants after the Grand Derangement in the 17th century. The town remained isolated from most of the world since it is surrounded by water and was not accessible by land until the mid twentieth century. Before the Great Depression the inhabitants of Pierre Part were fisherman. After the Great Depression many men of the town were forced to find work in other fields including logging, levee building, and the growing petroleum industry in Louisiana. Less and less people continue the ways of fishing and living off the land with each generation.

The people of Pierre Part predominantly descend from French ancestry either directly back to France or back to Canada (Acadie) then France. Until the early to mid twentieth century the people spoke Cajun French, a dialect of Parisian French. In the early twentieth century national legislation was passed to force all the people of US to speak one language. The people of Pierre Part and the rest of the Cajun community were labeled as backwards and ignorant by the rest of the country because they still spoke the language of their ancestors. In many cases from the 1910s to the 1970s students whose first language was French was punished corporally in school for speaking French instead of English. By the 1970s onward extremely few children were taught Cajun French as a first language since the previous generations were taught to be ashamed of their heritage. In the 1990s an effort was made to reintroduce French into the school systems. Although this was a noble idea the French was not Cajun French. Many of the teachers brought in were Belgian and taught their dialect of French. However, there are still many who contend that the "Standard French" tought in the French Immersion classes at Pierre Part Elementary School is the best chance that local Cajuns have at preserving their language and culture, since there is no written standard for teaching the Cajun dialect of the French language. 67.60.2.28

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,239 people, 1,236 households, and 928 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 414.1/km² (1,072.4/mi²). There were 1,355 housing units at an average density of 173.2/km² (448.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 99.23% White, 0.09% African American, 0.22% Native American, and 0.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 1,236 households out of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.0% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $37,431, and the median income for a family was $43,393. Males had a median income of $39,185 versus $18,418 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,939. About 13.4% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under age 18 and 17.3% of those age 65 or over.