Ascension Parish, Louisiana

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Ascension Parish, Louisiana
Map
Map of Louisiana highlighting Ascension Parish
Location in the state of Louisiana
Map of the U.S. highlighting Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded 1807
Seat Donaldsonville
Largest city Gonzales
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

303 sq mi (784 km²)
292 sq mi (755 km²)
11 sq mi (29 km²), 3.75
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density

76,627
263/sq mi (101/km²)
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Named for: Ascension of Our Lord Church in Donaldsonville

Ascension Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ascension) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is one of the fastest growing parishes in the state. Its population is estimated to be 20,000 to 30,000 residents greater than the 2000 census. One of the major reasons for parish growth is the number of families wanting to move their children from the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools to the higher-performing Ascension public school system. For a time, Hurricane Katrina also brought in new residents from surrounding areas, but Ascension Parish President Ronnie Hughes said that the influx of hurricane victims has decreased and remains a small percent of growth.

Contents

[edit] Geography

The parish has a total area of 303 square miles (784 km²). 292 square miles (755 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (29 km²) of it (3.75%) is water.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent parishes

[edit] Demographics

Census Pop.  %±
1900 24,142
1910 23,887 −1.1%
1920 22,155 −7.3%
1930 18,438 −16.8%
1940 21,215 15.1%
1950 22,387 5.5%
1960 27,927 24.7%
1970 37,086 32.8%
1980 50,068 35%
1990 58,214 16.3%
2000 76,627 31.6%
Est. 2006 97,335 [1] 27%
Ascension Parish Census Data[2]

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 76,627 people, 26,691 households, and 20,792 families residing in the parish. The population density was 263 people per square mile (101/km²). There were 29,172 housing units at an average density of 100 per square mile (39/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 77.39% White, 20.28% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 94.46% of the population spoke only English at home, while 2.76% spoke French or Cajun French, and 2.41% spoke Spanish [1].

There were 26,691 households out of which 42.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.10% were non-families. 18.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the parish the population was spread out with 30.10% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $44,288, and the median income for a family was $50,626. Males had a median income of $41,109 versus $23,054 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $17,858. About 10.70% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 15.40% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Politics

The parish is thought to be becoming politically conservative. Since 2000, nearly 14,000 new voters have registered in Ascension Parish, and fewer than 1,000 of those are Democrats.

Democrats still lead in registrants with 28,181; Republicans follow with 16,218. There are also 13,052 "No Party" registrants, as permitted under Louisiana law. Robert Poche, Ascension Parish voter registrar told the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate in 2007 that "History tells us that those with no party affiliation have been voting conservatively."

Ascension Parish also had a small number of voters registered as upper case Independents. There are thirty-one Libertarian Party members, and thirty-three Reform Party registrants. The total registrants in April 2007 stood at 58,221.[4]

[edit] Cities, towns, and villages

Map of Ascension Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels
Map of Ascension Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

[edit] Incorporated

[edit] Unincorporated

  • Abend
  • Acy
  • Barmen
  • Belle Helene
  • Bowden
  • Brignac
  • Brittany
  • Bullion
  • Burnside
  • Cofield
  • Hope Villa
  • Lake
  • Lemannville
  • Little Prairie
  • McElroy
  • Marchand
  • Miles
  • Modeste
  • Mount Houmas
  • Oak Grove

[edit] Waterways

  • Alligator Bayou
  • Amite River
  • Amite River Diversion Canal
  • Anderson Canal
  • Babin Canal
  • Bayou Antoine
  • Bayou Manchac
  • Bayou Narcisse
  • Bayou Pierre
  • Bayou Reponds Pas
  • Bayou Conway
  • Bayou Francois
  • Bayou Lafourche
  • Bayou Napoleon
  • Bayou Verret
  • Bayou Vicknair
  • Black Bayou
  • Blind River
  • Boudreau Bayou
  • Boyle Bayou
  • Brand Bayou
  • Braud Bayou
  • Cocodrie Bayou
  • Cotton Bayou
  • Crowley Ditch
  • Diversion Canal
  • Duckroost Bayou
  • Flat Lake
  • Grand Goudine Bayou
  • Hackett Canal
  • Heath Bayou
  • Henderson Bayou
  • Jim Bayou
  • Johnson Bayou
  • Lake Millet
  • Lake Villars
  • Laurel Ridge Canal
  • McCall Bayou
  • Mississippi River
  • Muddy Creek
  • New River
  • New River Canal
  • Old New River
  • Panama Canal
  • Pipeline Canal
  • Rocky Canal
  • Roddy Bayou
  • Saveiro Canal
  • Sides Bayou
  • Smith Bayou
  • Spanish Lake
  • Welsh Gully

[edit] National Guard

The 922nd Engineer Company (Horizontal), a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade.

[edit] Education

Ascension Parish School Board operates local public schools.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links


Coordinates: 30°12′N 90°55′W / 30.20, -90.91