Portal:Louisiana/Cities
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Portal:Louisiana/Cities/1
The city of Plaquemine is the parish seat of Iberville Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Plaquemine was noted to be settled as early as 1775. Due to its location at the juncture of Bayou Plaquemine with the Mississippi River, the village soon began to prosper and grow. By 1838, the town was incorporated, electing Zenon LaBauve as its first mayor. Plaquemine continued to grow in the antebellum era. Massive plantations were constructed in nearby regions. The town has been the seat of Iberville Parish government since its incorporation. The former Parish Courthouse on Railroad Avenue has been serving as City Hall since 1985.
The Plaquemine Lock, constructed from 1895-1909, was a vitally important link between the Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Canal, of which Bayou Plaquemine served as its northern terminus. Its design served as the proto-type for the upcoming Panama Canal locks. The locks were shut in 1961. Today, it is operated as a state park. (read more . . . )
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The small city of Port Allen is the parish seat and governmental center of West Baton Rouge Parish, in the US State of Louisiana. Port Allen is located between Interstate 10 and US Highway 190 on the West bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,278 at the 2000 census. Port Allen is home to the Mississippi Riverfront Development which provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the Mississippi River and Baton Rouge, the West Baton Rouge Museum, the City of Port Allen Railroad Depot, the Port of Greater Baton Rouge, and the Port Allen Lock. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge, located in Port Allen, is the head of deepwater navigation on the Mississippi River, serving barges and ocean-going vessels with international import and export facilities for all types of cargo, from grain to paper products, chemicals, manufactured goods, bulk ores and petroleum products. The Port Allen Lock provides river barges and other vessel access to the Intracoastal Waterway, shortening the distance to the Gulf of Mexico by approximately 120 miles. The Lock, a free-floating structure is the largest of its kind, as it serves as a man-made break in the levee.
The registered historical places in Port Allen include: Aillet House, Allendale Plantation Historic District, Cohn High School, Monte Vista Plantation House, Poplar Grove Plantation House, Port Allen High School, Sandbar Plantation House, and the Smithfield Plantation House. (read more . . . )
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Alexandria is a city in Louisiana and the parish seat of Rapides Parish. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area (population 147,000) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant Parishes. The 2007 population estimate for the city of Alexandria was 49,600.
The area of Alexandria, located along the Red River, was originally home to a community supporting activities of the adjacent Spanish outpost of Post du Rapides. The area developed as a vibrant, yet sometimes debaucherous, assemblage of traders and merchants in the agricultural lands bordering the mostly unsettled areas to the north, and providing a link to from the south to the El Camino Real and then larger settlement of Natchitoches. Alexander Fulton, a Pennsylvania businessman, received a land grant from Spain in 1785, and the first organized settlement was made at that time. In 1805, Fulton and business partner Thomas Harris Maddox laid out the town plan and named the town after Fulton's infant daughter who died around that time. It was first incorporated as a town in 1818 and received a city charter in 1882. (read more . . .)
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Lafayette is a city on the Vermilion River in Lafayette Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Lafayette is the parish seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 110,257; a 2004 census estimate put the metro area's population at 246,160. It is the fourth largest incorporated city in the state. It is the principal city of the Lafayette-Acadiana, LA Combined Statistical Area, which, in 2006, had an estimated total population of 537,947.
The city was founded as Vermilionville in 1821 by a French-speaking Acadian named Jean Mouton. In 1884, it was renamed for the Marquis de Lafayette, who assisted the United States during its Revolutionary War. The city's economy was primarily based on agriculture until the 1940s, when the petroleum and natural gas industry became dominant.
Lafayette has a strong tourism industry, attracted by the Cajun and Creole cultures of the surrounding region. It has one of the highest restaurant counts per capita of cities in the area. (read more . . . )
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The city of Houma is the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana and the hub of a metropolitan area of over 200,000 residents. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government. The population was 32,393 at the 2000 census. There are many unincorporated areas adjacent to the city of Houma; the largest, Bayou Cane, is an urbanized area commonly referred to by locals as Houma but is not included in the 2000 census count, and is in fact a separate census-designated place. For this reason the actual population of the Houma area is estimated to be significantly greater than the census figure.
Houma and the surrounding communities are steeped in Cajun tradition and culture. The area is famous for its food, fishing, swamps, music, and hospitality. Houma is also known, although not as well as New Orleans, for its Mardi Gras festivities. Although Houma is quickly changing and developing, many of the residents in the surrounding small communities continue to make their living as their ancestors did. They are shrimpers, oystermen, crabbers, fishermen, and trappers. Despite the rapidly changing face of the area, many long-standing traditions and lifestyles remain to remind one of the area's rich cultural history. (read more . . . )
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New Orleans is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana. New Orleans is located in Southeastern Louisiana along the Mississippi River. The city is bordered by Lake Pontchartrain to the north and the Gulf of Mexico to the east and is coextensive with Orleans Parish. It is named after Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. New Orleans is known for its multicultural heritage as well as its music and cuisine and is considered the birthplace of jazz. Its status as a world-famous tourist destination is due in part to its architecture, music, cuisine, its annual Mardi Gras, and other celebrations and festivals. The city is often referred to as "The most unique city in America."
New Orleans is one of the most visited cities in America and has many major attractions, from the world-renowned Bourbon Street and the French Quarter's notorious nightlife, St. Charles Avenue (home of Tulane and Loyola Universities), and many stately 19th century mansions. Magazine Street is also an area visited by many tourist. (read more . . .)
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Eunice is located at (30.493595, -92.416927) and has an elevation of 49 feet (15 m). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 km² (4.7 mi²). None of the area is covered with water.
Located in the heart of Cajun country, Eunice is famous for its Cajun music, and in November 1997 the Cajun Music Hall of Fame and Museum was founded there. The City of Eunice and the National Park Service sponsor "Laissez les bons temps rouler au rendezvous des cajuns", a live Cajun music show every Saturday night at the Liberty Theatre, an old movie theatre that was restored by a "coup de main" by local volunteers after falling into disrepair. Eunice is home to the Prairie Acadian Cultural Center, a unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve.
Eunice is host to one of the largest courir de Mardi Gras (traditional rural French Louisiana Mardi Gras observance), as well as the World Championship Crawfish Étouffée Cook-off. (read more . . . )
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Grand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, on a barrier island of the same name. The island is at the mouth of Barataria Bay where it meets the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,541; during summers, the population has increased to over 20,000.
Grand Isle's only land connection to the mainland is via an automobile causeway bridge, near the west end of the island, which connects it to southern Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. Also a point of interest, to reach the rest of Jefferson Parish by roadway, you would have to travel through two different parishes (Lafourche and St. Charles) through a total distance of about 95 miles.
Grand Isle State Park, on the east end of the island, is the only state-owned and operated beach on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, a beach frequented by people from the Greater New Orleans area. (read more . . . )
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Avery Island is a salt dome located in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, about three miles (5 km) inland from Vermilion Bay, which in turn opens onto the Gulf of Mexico. Avery Island is famous as the home of Tabasco sauce, which has been manufactured on the island by McIlhenny Company since 1868. Avery Island is also home to Jungle Gardens and a well-known bird sanctuary called Bird City, where each spring thousands of snowy white egrets and other migratory water birds return to nest.
In every way Avery Island has been and continues to be the home of Tabasco™ sauce. Some of the peppers are grown there, and the peppers that are grown elsewhere are from seeds grown on the island. The salt used in the sauce is mined there. Many of the factory and field workers dwell in cottages there. And the McIlhenny family, creators of the hot sauce, still lives there. Many workers grew up on Avery Island, with one or both parents working in the fields or the factory. Offspring of today's workers often choose to stay and work there, too. (read more . . . )
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Abita Springs is a town in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,957 at the 2000 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 10.7 km² (4.1 mi²), all land.
- The Abita Brewing Company -- In 1986, Abita Brewing Company was established as a microbrewery, and in 1994 they added a brew pub & restaurant. Abita's beer is brewed with the pure water of the artesian wells in Abita Springs.
- The UCM Museum Pronounced "you see 'em", and also known as the "Abita Mystery House" is an Abita Springs tourist attraction. The museum features an eclectic collection of antiques (particularly electronics and arcade games) and dozens of examples of proprietor John Preble's folk art, which ranges from the whimsical to the macabre. (read more . . . )
