Ironton is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Plaquemines Parish ( ; ; ; ) is a Parish (subnational entity), parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the parish seat is Pointe à la Hache, Louisiana, Pointe � ...

, United States. Ironton is on the west bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

, between

Louisiana Highway 23 Louisiana Highway 23 (LA 23) is a north–south state highway in Louisiana that serves Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes. It spans in roughly a southeast to northwest direction. It is known locally as Belle Chasse Highway and Lafayette ...

and the river. The community has historically had a majority-

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

population. During the long reign of

segregationist Racial segregation is the separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, such as schools and hospitals by peopl ...

Plaquemines Parish boss

Leander Perez Leander Henry Perez Sr. (July 16, 1891 – March 19, 1969) was an American Democratic Party political boss of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in southeastern Louisiana during the middle third of the 20th century. Officially, he served ...

(and continuing under his immediate successors), Ironton was denied infrastructure development granted to white communities in the area. Running water was not provided by the parish until 1980, and only after stories of the residents' demand for this common amenity had been publicized by ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

'' and CBS ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

''.''Leander Perez: Boss of the Delta'', by Glen Jeansonne, University of Mississippi Press, 2006, p. 397 Like most of the area, Ironton was devastated in 2005 by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

and its resulting storm surge. On August 29, 2021, 16 years to the day after Hurricane Katrina, Category 4 storm

Hurricane Ida Hurricane Ida was a deadly and extremely destructive tropical cyclone in 2021 that became the second-most damaging and intense hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. state of Louisiana on record, behind Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In terms of m ...

came ashore just south of Ironton, completely devastating the area for the second time in two decades.

References

Unincorporated communities in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River Unincorporated communities in Louisiana Unincorporated communities in the New Orleans metropolitan area Ethnic enclaves in the United States {{Louisiana-geo-stub