St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

St. Martin Parish (French: Paroisse de Saint-Martin) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,160.[1] The parish seat is St. Martinville.[2] The parish was founded in 1811.

Saint Martin Parish
Parish
Parish of St. Martin
St. Martin Parish Courthouse, St. Martinville
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°08′N 91°37′W
Country United States
State Louisiana
Founded1811
Named forSt. Martin
SeatSt. Martinville
Largest cityBreaux Bridge
Area
 • Total816 sq mi (2,110 km2)
 • Land738 sq mi (1,910 km2)
 • Water79 sq mi (200 km2)  9.7%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total52,160
 • Estimate 
(2018)
53,621
 • Density64/sq mi (25/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websitewww.stmartinparish.net

St. Martin Parish is part of the Lafayette, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. As 27% of the population of St. Martin Parish claim French fluency, the parish has one of the highest concentrations of French speakers in the United States.

History

In 1811, parts of Attakapas Parish were taken out to create St. Martin and St. Mary parishes. In 1824, St. Martin Parish was divided, resulting in the creation also of Lafayette Parish. In 1844, St. Martin Parish was again divided, yielding Vermilion Parish. In 1868, Iberia Parish was formed from parts of St. Martin Parish and St. Mary Parish. St. Martin Parish was divided into two, as part of Iberia Parish runs between the two non-contiguous parts of St. Martin Parish.

St. Martin Parish was largely colonized in the 1700s by people from France and Acadia, resulting in a large concentration of French-speaking population today. The Acadians brought the tale of Evangeline, a young woman said to have been separated from her mortally wounded betrothed during their expulsion by the British from their territory in eastern Canada. According to the tale, Evangeline later met her betrothed again in St. Martin Parish, but he had already committed to a new love. Evangeline never recovered from the shock of both finding and losing him again. Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's most famous work, Evangeline, A Tale of Acadie, was based on this story.

Evangeline was and remains an icon of Acadian and American culture. The historical Evangeline, who is believed by some to have been an orphan girl named Emmeline Labiche, was purportedly buried on the grounds of St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church in St. Martinville.[3]

St. Martin was a very prosperous parish, growing rapidly in the early 1800s. Most of the money at that time was being made by raising cattle. Other profitable crops were cotton, sugar, corn, rice and tobacco. These were sold to the New Orleans market. Wealthy planters used enslaved African Americans as labor on their plantations, and by 1860, there were over 7,000 slaves in the parish.

A yellow fever epidemic in 1855, followed by a deadly fire and a destructive hurricane, ended an era of unbridled prosperity for elite whites. These events, combined with the effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction took a heavy toll on the parish. However, the people proved resilient, and in short order became prosperous again. Corn, cotton, and sugar cane ruled once more, and trees from the swamps were profitably sold in a growing lumber industry.

Geography

The parish is split into two non-contiguous parts because of a surveying error dating to 1868, when Iberia Parish was created by the Louisiana Legislature. Iberia Parish divides St. Martin Parish into two separate areas, Upper and Lower St. Martin. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 816 square miles (2,110 km2), of which 738 square miles (1,910 km2) is land and 79 square miles (200 km2) (9.7%) is water.[4] St. Martin Parish is in the Atchafalaya Basin, with Bayou Teche running through it. The Bayou was used to ship products to New Orleans.

St. Martin Parish has a wealth of oak and magnolia trees.

Major highways

Adjacent parishes
Upper St. Martin
Lower St. Martin

Protected areas

The parish has both national and state protected areas within its borders.

National protected area

State protected areas

Part of the Attakapas Wildlife Management Area is located within St. Martin Parish as well as in St. Mary and Iberia Parishes.[5]

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18307,205—
18408,67420.4%
185011,76135.6%
186012,6747.8%
18709,370−26.1%
188012,66335.1%
189014,88417.5%
190018,94027.3%
191023,07021.8%
192021,990−4.7%
193021,767−1.0%
194026,39421.3%
195026,353−0.2%
196029,06310.3%
197032,45311.7%
198040,21423.9%
199043,9789.4%
200048,58310.5%
201052,1607.4%
Est. 201853,621[6]2.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[7]
1790-1960[8] 1900-1990[9]
1990-2000[10] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 48,583 people, 17,164 households, and 12,975 families residing in the parish. The population density was 66 people per square mile (25/km2). There were 20,245 housing units at an average density of 27 per square mile (11/km2). The racial makeup of the parish was 65.95% White, 31.98% Black or African American, 0.92% Asian, 0.29% Native American, 0.20% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 0.83% of the population. The 2000 census counted 44,915 people in the parish who are at least five years old of whom 31,229 (69.5%) speak only English at home, 27.44% reported speaking French (Colonial French also known as Plantation Society French ) or Cajun French at home, while 1.52% speak Louisiana Creole French.[12] St. Martin has the highest percentage of French-speaking residents of any county or parish in the United States.

There were 17,164 households, out of which 39.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 15.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.40% were non-families. 20.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.22.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 29.50% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $30,701, and the median income for a family was $36,316. Males had a median income of $30,701 versus $18,365 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $13,619. About 18.40% of families and 21.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.70% of those under age 18 and 22.10% of those age 65 or over.

A mixed Afro-Romani community lives near Atchefalaya in St. Martin Parish.

Education

Public schools in St. Martin Parish are operated by the St. Martin Parish School Board.

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[13]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 65.5% 16,873 32.1% 8,266 2.4% 611
2012 61.6% 15,653 37.1% 9,422 1.4% 358
2008 59.6% 14,443 38.8% 9,419 1.6% 390
2004 53.0% 12,095 45.2% 10,321 1.8% 408
2000 47.9% 9,961 47.4% 9,853 4.6% 964
1996 30.4% 6,296 60.2% 12,492 9.4% 1,948
1992 28.9% 5,909 55.1% 11,252 16.0% 3,265
1988 41.6% 7,541 56.0% 10,148 2.4% 440
1984 52.2% 9,698 46.2% 8,589 1.6% 304
1980 44.6% 6,701 51.6% 7,760 3.9% 579
1976 33.1% 4,112 64.3% 7,992 2.7% 329
1972 62.0% 6,337 31.3% 3,202 6.7% 682
1968 16.7% 1,625 34.2% 3,321 49.0% 4,759
1964 37.4% 2,793 62.6% 4,675
1960 12.2% 858 78.0% 5,506 9.9% 699
1956 42.7% 1,615 54.7% 2,069 2.5% 96
1952 43.6% 1,554 56.4% 2,012
1948 18.0% 688 8.0% 307 74.0% 2,829
1944 6.0% 153 94.0% 2,384
1940 15.6% 602 84.4% 3,252
1936 3.7% 100 96.4% 2,638
1932 7.0% 107 93.0% 1,420
1928 11.3% 242 88.7% 1,892
1924 26.2% 172 70.3% 461 3.5% 23
1920 56.8% 419 43.2% 319
1916 2.6% 36 69.4% 971 28.0% 392
1912 11.7% 68 64.4% 375 23.9% 139

Communities
Map of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities

Towns

Village

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

NRHP

There are several historically significant locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places that includes Acadian House (St. Martinville, Louisiana), St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church, and the D. W. Voorhies House.

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See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. Perrin, William Henry (1891). Southwest Louisiana, biographical and historical. The Library of Congress. New Orleans : Gulf Publishing Co.
  4. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  5. Attakapas WMA- Retrieved 2017-02-19
  6. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved October 27, 2019.
  7. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  8. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  9. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  10. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  11. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  12. "Language Map Data Center". www.mla.org. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  13. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-06.

Geology

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