Morganza, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Village of Morganza | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Pointe Coupee |
| Area | 1.4 sq mi (3.6 km²) |
| - land | 1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²) |
| - water | 0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²), 14.29% |
| Center | |
| - coordinates | Coordinates: |
| - elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Population | 659 (2000) |
| Density | 557.7 /sq mi (215.3 /km²) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 70759 |
| Area code | 225 |
  Location of Morganza in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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 Morganza City Limits Map
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Morganza is a village near the Mississippi River in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census. The village's zip code is 70759. The main police agency is the Morganza Police Department.
John B. Fournet, later a supporter of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, lieutenant governor, and associate and Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, was the principal of Morganza High School in the 1916-1917 academic year.
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[edit] Geography
Morganza is located at (30.735681, -91.593390)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.6 km² (1.4 mi²). 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is land and 0.5 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (15.11%) is water.
Morganza takes its named from Morganza Plantation, the antebellum holding of Charles Morgan, an early surveyor, political figure and sheriff of Pointe Coupee Parish. The post office was opened in 1847, but closed some years later and reopened in 1899. Members of the Campbell family held the position of postmaster until 1970. The town was incorporated in 1908.
Morganza was the site of a fortification and major Federal Army encampment during the Civil War. The area was the site of several skirmshes during the war.
Located at the lower end of a sharp bend of the Mississippi River, Morganza has been subjected to flooding of the great river a number of times. Levee breaches or "crevasses" occurred at Morganza and Grand Levee just downriver in 1850, 1865, 1867 and 1890. The Morganza Floodway, a major flood diversion project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is located immediately north of the town. Construction on this mammoth work began in 1939 and was completed in 1955. High water of the Mississippi is channeled between guide levees north and west of the town of Morganza and down into the Atchafalaya Basin, thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The floodgates of this facility were used but once, during the high water of 1973.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 659 people, 264 households, and 191 families residing in the village. The population density was 215.6/km² (557.7/mi²). There were 302 housing units at an average density of 98.8/km² (255.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 72.99% White, 26.40% African American, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.91% of the population.
There were 264 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.8% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the village the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 23.4% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 95.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $28,750, and the median income for a family was $36,563. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $26,964 for females. The per capita income for the village was $13,901. About 18.2% of families and 22.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.7% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] History
Morganza was the site of a Union Army encampment during the American Civil War. The largest Civil War battle in Pointe Coupee Parish was fought at nearby Stirling Plantation, on September 29, 1863. The battle resulted in the death of 16 Federal troops with 45 wounded, and 462 taken prisoner. The Confederate losses included 26 dead, 85 wounded, and 10 missing. Although the Battle of Stirling Plantation was a Confederate victory, the Union troops burned the town of Morganza to the ground On October 1, 1863[3].
[edit] Film References
The town features in the 1969 film Easy Rider, where the main characters are subjected to ridicule from townsfolk in a local restaurant.
[edit] References
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Lockhart, John M. "Roadmap to the Westside", The Riverside Reader, January 21, 2008, p. 1
[edit] See also
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