Albany, Louisiana

Albany is a town in eastern Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1088 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Albany, Louisiana
Town
Hungarian Settlement School in Albany
Location of Albany in Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 30°30′16″N 90°34′56″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Livingston
Incorporated	October 7, 1953
Government
• Mayor	Eileen Bates-McCarroll (R) (elected 2018)[2]
Area [3]
• Total	1.29 sq mi (3.34 km^2)
• Land	1.29 sq mi (3.34 km^2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km^2)
Elevation [1]	39 ft (12 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	1,088
• Estimate  (2019)[4]	1,159
• Density	897.75/sq mi (346.61/km^2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	225
GNIS feature ID	2407407 [5]
FIPS code	22-00835
Website	townofalbanyla.com

District 95 State Representative Sherman Q. Mack, an attorney, resides in Albany.

Etymology

It is speculated that the name of the community is derived from the Choctaw word abani which means "to cook over a fire" in the Choctaw language.[6] After interviewing many of the older residents and comparing their answers it was determined that the community was named after the nearby Natalbany River. During an interview Mrs. George (Mary Addison) Cunningham who was born on November 11, 1884 stated that when the Illinois Central Railroad built a line through the town they tried to name the community Natalbany but the railroad and post office refused the name because there was already a community with the same name.[7]

Hungarian Settlement

Historic Hungarian Settlement is in Albany. Between 1896-1920 hundreds of Hungarian immigrants settled here and named the community Árpádhon. In 1900, there were eleven families living in the Hungarian Settlement and by 1908 there were about forty Hungarian families on new farms in the area. By 1910, there were sixty-five families. In 1920, there were about two hundred families on farms in the area. The Hungarian name is derived from Árpád, the leader of the Hungarian tribes and -hon meaning home. Árpádhon was the largest rural Hungarian settlement in the United States at that time with an estimated 350 Hungarian families living within the community.[8] During the 1930s many of the Hungarian families became strawberry farmers.[9]

Geography

Albany is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 190 and Louisiana Highway 43 and I-12 passes south of the city. The Little Natalbany River flows past the east side of the city and joins the Natalbany River approximately two miles to the southeast.[10]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1960	557		—
1970	700		25.7%
1980	857		22.4%
1990	645		−24.7%
2000	865		34.1%
2010	1,088		25.8%
Est. 2019	1,159	[4]	6.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 865 people, 371 households, and 234 families residing in the town. The population density was 778.2 inhabitants per square mile (300.9/km²). There were 409 housing units at an average density of 368.0 per square mile (142.3/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.69% White, 0.12% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.81% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.50% of the population.

There were 371 households, out of which 32.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% were married couples living together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 29.7% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,208, and the median income for a family was $39,167. Males had a median income of $35,000 versus $21,111 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,407. About 14.3% of families and 20.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 27.7% of those age 65 or over.

Cultural and historic sites

• The Hungarian Settlement School is located in Albany and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 2001. The old school is home to the Hungarian Settlement Museum and the grand opening was celebrated on September 27, 2017.
• In 1909, a twenty-acre church site was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Juhasz and in that same year, Archbishop James Blenk from the Archdiocese of New Orleans approved the official name of St. Margaret Catholic Church
• Albany Plantation, which promotes the heritage of the French Cajun culture of Louisiana, sits on 34 acres of land.

Education

Albany is within the Livingston Parish Public Schools system.

Schools that serve Albany include:

• Albany Lower Elementary School (Louisiana)
• Albany Upper Elementary School (Louisiana)
• Albany Middle School (Louisiana)
• Albany High School

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Albany, Louisiana
2. "Election Returns: Livingston Parish". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
3. "2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". United States Census Bureau. May 24, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
5. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Albany, Louisiana
6. Leeper, Clare D'Artois (19 October 2012). Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries. LSU Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8071-4740-5.
7. D.N. Pardue. "Albany, Livingston Parish, Louisiana". LAGenWeb Archives. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
8. Fanni Kaszás. "Árpádhon, a Hungarian Settlement in Rural Louisiana". HungaryToday. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
9. Community-hist Archived 2008-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
10. Albany, LA and Springfield, LA, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, 1974 and 1963 (1978 and 1984 revisions resp.)
11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
12. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

• Hungarian Settlement Museum
• St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Church
• Árpádhon Hungarian Settlement Cultural Association