Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana

Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1807
Named for	French for the place of the cut-off
Seat	New Roads
Largest city	New Roads
Area
• Total	591 sq mi (1,531 km2)
• Land	557 sq mi (1,443 km2)
• Water	33 sq mi (85 km2), 5.6%
Population
• (2010)	22,802
• Density	41/sq mi (16/km²)
Congressional district	6th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Map of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Pointe Coupee Parish, (pronounced /'pɔɪnt kə'pi:/; French: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée), is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802.^[1] The parish seat is New Roads.^[2]

Pointe Coupee Parish is part of the Baton Rouge, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In 2010, the center of population of Louisiana was located in Pointe Coupee Parish, in the city of New Roads.^[3]

History

Pointe Coupee Parish (originally pronounced pwant coo-pay) was organized by European Americans in 1805 as part of the Territory of Orleans (statehood for Louisiana followed in 1812). There were minor boundary adjustments with neighboring parishes up through 1852, when its boundaries stabilized.^[4]

In 2008, Pointe Coupee was one of the communities that suffered the most damage by Hurricane Gustav.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 591 square miles (1,530 km²), of which 557 square miles (1,440 km²) is land and 33 square miles (85 km²) (5.6%) is water.^[5] The land consists mainly of prairies and backswamp.

Major highways

Pointe Coupee Parish has 498.98 miles of highways within its borders.^[6] U.S. Highway 190 is the only four-lane roadway in the parish^[7][8]

Major waterways

• Atchafalaya River
• False River
• Mississippi River
• Old River
• Red River

Adjacent parishes

• Concordia Parish (north)
• West Feliciana Parish (northeast)
• West Baton Rouge Parish (east)
• Iberville Parish (south)
• St. Martin Parish (southwest)
• St. Landry Parish (west)
• Avoyelles Parish (northwest)

National protected area

• Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the census^[14] of 2000, there were 22,763 people, 8,397 households, and 6,171 families residing in the parish. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km²). There were 10,297 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 68.91% White, 29.61% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 93.61% of the population spoke only English at home, while 4.89% spoke French or Cajun French, 0.96% spoke Spanish, and 0.73% spoke Louisiana Creole French.

There were 8,397 households out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.17.

In the parish the population was spread out with 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $30,618, and the median income for a family was $36,625. Males had a median income of $35,022 versus $20,759 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,387, ranking 23rd out of 64 parishes. About 18.70% of families and 23.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.20% of those under age 18 and 23.90% are the age of 65 and older.

Economy

Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America has a large plant near Batchelor, Louisiana. NRG / Big Cajun 1 & 2 power plants near New Roads, LA

Education

Schools

The Pointe Coupee Parish School Board serves the parish.

As of 2014 the sole secondary school operated by the parish school board is Livonia High School, serving grades 7 through 12. Pointe Coupee Central High School was closed down in 2014.

Private

• Catholic Elementary of Pointe Coupee / Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee
• False River Academy

National Guard

The 1088TH Engineer Company (Combat) resides in New Roads, Louisiana. This unit as part of the 256TH IBCT deployed to Iraq twice, 2004-5 and 2010. This units is a subordinate company of the 256TH BSTB (brigade special troops battalion).

Communities

Pointe Coupee Parish map showing names and locations of towns and communities

City

• New Roads (parish seat)

Towns

• Fordoche
• Livonia

Village

• Morganza

Census-designated place

• Ventress

Unincorporated communities

Notable residents

• Lindy Boggs (1916-2013) – U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See
• Emmitt Douglas (1926–1981) – president of the Louisiana NAACP from 1966–1981, resided in New Roads from 1949–1981
• Ernest Gaines – author
• Clark Gaudin - former state representative from East Baton Rouge Parish
• Buddy Guy - Singer
• Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, historian, did extensive research and writing about slavery in Louisiana, having discovered important documentation of the slave trade and individual slaves that provided new understanding of African-American history in Louisiana, including the specific ethnic origins in various African cultures of many slaves
• Russel L. Honoré - retired Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
• J. Thomas Jewell - state representative 1936-1968; Speaker of the Louisiana House 1960-1964
• J. E. Jumonville, Jr. - state senator from District 17, 1976-1992, horse breeder
• J. E. Jumonville, Sr. - state senator, 1968-1976, natural gas developer
• Catherine D. Kimball - former Chief Justice of Louisiana Supreme Court; former judge of the Louisiana 18th Judicial District Court, 1983-1993
• Clyde Kimball, state representative for Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes, 1976-1992
• Major General John Archer Lejeune, career military officer and Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
• Hall Lyons (1923-1998) - Louisiana oilman and politician, owned at least two oil wells in Pointe Coupee Parish.
• deLesseps Story Morrison (1912–1964), born in New Roads, was elected four times as mayor of New Orleans, serving from 1946 to 1962; he ran unsuccessfully three times for governor of Louisiana. He was also the United States ambassador to the Organization of American States.
• Jacob Haight Morrison, (1905-1974), New Roads native, became a journalist, politician and preservationist, helping protect the French Quarter of New Orleans.
• Charles Parlange - former Chief Justice of Louisiana Supreme Court
• Julien Poydras – territorial U.S. Representative for Louisiana; 1st State Senate President, philanthropist
• James Ryder Randall - poet, teacher at Poydras Academy, 1856–1860, wrote "Maryland, My Maryland" while living in Pointe Coupée Parish
• Nauman Scott - judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, based in Alexandria
• Major Thibaut - state representative for District 18 since 2008; New Roads businessman
• Chris Williams - offensive tackle for the St. Louis Rams
• Clyde Kimball - former State Representative and former deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
• Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana.

• Pointe Coupee Interactive Map
• Official Pointe Coupee Parish website
• Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, "THE LOUISIANA SLAVE DATABASE AND THE LOUISIANA FREE DATABASE: 1719-1820", iBiblio website
• Official Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office website
• Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• Pointe Coupee at the Millennium Documentary Photography Project

	Avoyelles Parish	Concordia Parish	West Feliciana Parish
	St. Landry Parish		West Baton Rouge Parish
		Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana
	St. Martin Parish	Iberville Parish

Municipalities and communities of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States Parish seat: New Roads City New Roads Towns Fordoche Livonia Village Morganza CDP Ventress Other unincorporated communities Bayou Latenache Batchelor Blanks Chenal Columbo Coon Dupont Frisco Glynn Innis Jacoby Jarreau LaBarre Lacour Lakeland Legonier Lettsworth Lottie McCrea Mix Oscar Point Coupee Rougon St. Dizier Torbert Valverda Ghost towns Alma Anchor East Krotz Springs Elliot City False River Hermitage Parlange Red River Landing Torras Waterloo

Parishes of Louisiana Acadia Allen Ascension Assumption Avoyelles Beauregard Bienville Bossier Caddo Calcasieu Caldwell Cameron Catahoula Claiborne Concordia DeSoto East Baton Rouge East Carroll East Feliciana Evangeline Franklin Grant Iberia Iberville Jackson Jefferson Jefferson Davis La Salle Lafayette Lafourche Lincoln Livingston Madison Morehouse Natchitoches Orleans Ouachita Plaquemines Pointe Coupee Rapides Red River Richland Sabine St. Bernard St. Charles St. Helena St. James St. John the Baptist St. Landry St. Martin St. Mary St. Tammany Tangipahoa Tensas Terrebonne Union Vermilion Vernon Washington Webster West Baton Rouge West Carroll West Feliciana Winn

Coordinates: 30°43′N 91°36′W / 30.71°N 91.60°W / 30.71; -91.60