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Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of
Iberville Parish Iberville Parish (french: Paroisse d'Iberville) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana, formed in 1807. The parish seat is Plaquemine, Louisiana, Plaquemine. At the 2010 U.S. census, ...
, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the
2010 United States census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
, the population was 7,119; the 2020 census determined its population was 6,269.


History

Early inhabitants of the area were the Chitimacha people. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville claimed all of Louisiana in 1699 for King Louis XIV of France. Plaquemine was settled by 1775 and named for the Native word ''Plakemine'', which means persimmon. Due to its location at the juncture of the Bayou Plaquemine and the Mississippi River, the village soon began to prosper and grow, beginning a long history of prosperity. By 1838, the town was incorporated, electing Zénon Labauve, for whom a street in New Orleans' Garden District is named, as its first mayor. Plaquemine continued to grow in the
Antebellum era In the history of the Southern United States, the Antebellum Period (from la, ante bellum, lit= before the war) spanned the end of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. The Antebellum South was characterized by the ...
. Massive
plantations A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
were established in nearby regions, including St. Louis, Nottoway, and Belle Grove. The town has been the seat of Iberville Parish government since its incorporation. The second parish courthouse (c. 1906) on Railroad Avenue has been serving as City Hall since 1985. Plaquemine did not have a hospital until 1923. Plaquemine has been a Louisiana-designated Main Street City since 1993. There are ten properties listed for Plaquemine on the National Register of Historic Places in Iberville Parish, Louisiana.


Geography

The city of Plaquemine is located at (30.284044, −91.240485) and has an elevation of above sea level. Plaquemine is located at the junction of
Bayou Plaquemine Bayou Plaquemine Brulé (; historically spelled ''Plakemine''; translated to ''"burnt persimmon bayou"'') is a waterway in the Mermentau River basin of south Louisiana. The bayou is longU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-res ...
and the Mississippi River. The city itself is surrounded by farmland; beyond the farmland to the west lies nearly uninhabited swampland. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which are land and , or 2.75%, are water. It lies within the Baton Rouge metropolitan area.


Demographics

The 2020 census determined 6,269 people lived in the city. At the
2000 United States census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 ce ...
, there were 7,064 people, 2,593 households, and 1,846 families residing in the city. At the 2019
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
, the racial and ethnic makeup was 54.9% Black and African American, 38.6%
non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic whites or Non-Latino whites are Americans who are classified as "white", and are not of Hispanic (also known as "Latino") heritage. The United States Census Bureau defines ''white'' to include European Americans, Middle Eastern Amer ...
, 0.1%
two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...
, and 6.4% Hispanic and Latin American of any race. In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 49.26% White, 49.60% African American, 0.17%
American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and #Terminology differences, other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peopl ...
, 0.27%
Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.08% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic and Latin Americans of any race were 1.15% of the population. In 2000, there were 2,593 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.0% were married couples living together, 22.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.21. In 2019, there were 2,578 households and an average of 2.54 people per household. From 2015 to 2019, the median household income was $44,457, and the per capita income was $24,871. Males had a median income of $61,418 versus $27,875 for females. Approximately 27.0% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $28,364, and the median income for a family was $32,971. Males had a median income of $34,868 versus $21,016 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,066. About 23.6% of families and 24.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.8% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.


Culture


Annual cultural events

Plaquemine's annual International
Acadian The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
Festival draws visitors from all over the world. Local
Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...
celebrations also attract tourists.


Tourism

Plaquemine is noted for a number of antebellum structures that survive within the city limits and along Bayou Road. One of the most noteworthy homes is St. Basil's, a riverfront mansion built by socialite physician Dr. John Scratchley in the 1850s. Now a private residence, the home retains the name St. Basil's from when it was a fashionable convent school. The Iberville Museum was built in 1949 as the Iberville Parish Courthouse. The building served as Plaquemine's first city hall, and was the city seat of government until 1985. It now serves as a parish museum, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Plaquemine Lock, constructed from 1895 to 1909, was an important link between the Mississippi River and the Intracoastal Canal, of which Bayou Plaquemine served as its northern terminus. Its design served as the prototype for the Panama Canal locks; the Plaquemine Lock was shut down in 1961. In 1974, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supervised the construction of the
levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...
that runs across the mouth of Bayou Plaquemine at the Mississippi River. The Plaquemine Lock was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The area now operates as a state park.


Education

Iberville Parish School Board operates public schools.
Plaquemine High School Plaquemine High School is a public high school located at 59595 Belleview Drive in unincorporated Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States, south of the City of Plaquemine. It serves grades from seven to twelve and is administered by the Ibervil ...
is outside the city limits, in an unincorporated area.
Mathematics, Science, and Arts Academy - West Mathematics, Science, and Arts Academy - West or MSA West is a public K-12 school in unincorporated Iberville Parish, Louisiana, near Plaquemine. It is a part of the Iberville Parish School Board and serves the portion of the parish on the west ban ...
is outside the city limits, in an unincorporated area.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Plaquemine is accessed by four highways: LA 3066,
LA 75 Louisiana Highway 75 (LA 75) is a state highway located in southeastern Louisiana. It runs in a general east–west direction from a dead end in Bayou Pigeon to the junction of LA 22 and LA 942 in Darrow. The route makes a sem ...
,
LA 77 Louisiana Highway 77 (LA 77) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Iberville and Pointe Coupee parishes. It spans . Route description LA 77 begins at LA 1 near The Island Country Club in Plaquemine and runs parallel with Bayou Jacob as it ...
, and the scenic LA 1. Other highways include LA 992 (Tenant Road) and LA 405. LA 3066 continues from Court Street to "Down the Bayou" neighborhoods. LA 75 accesses east over the Mississippi River via toll ferry to Saint Gabriel and leads southwest from Plaquemine, eventually reaching Bayou Pigeon. LA 77 starts around the Island Country Club and continues northwest to
Maringouin Maringouin is a town in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,098 at the 2010 census, down from 1,262 at the 2000 census. At the 2020 population estimates program, its population was 966. It is part of the Baton Rouge ...
. LA 1 runs north to Interstate 10/Baton Rouge and south to
Donaldsonville Donaldsonville (historically french: Lafourche-des-Chitimachas) is a city in, and the parish seat of Ascension Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located along the River Road of the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is a part of the Bat ...
. Plaquemine lacks public transportation and its residents rely completely on the use of the automobile.


National Guard

Plaquemine is the home of the 256th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, formerly known as the 1088th Engineer Battalion, a unit made up of combat engineer, military intelligence, signal, military police and other supporting units. The 256th BSTB is part of the 256th Infantry Brigade of the Louisiana
Army National Guard The Army National Guard (ARNG), in conjunction with the Air National Guard, is an organized Militia (United States), militia force and a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States A ...
that served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005.


Notable people

* Chad M. Brown, member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...
for Iberville and Assumption parishes, effective January 2016 * Robert "Bobby" Freeman (1934-2016), lieutenant governor of Louisiana from 1980 to 1988; Plaquemine lawyer * Davon Godchaux, American football player *
Lee Meitzen Grue Lee Meitzen Grue (February 8, 1934 – April 3, 2021) was an American poet and educator. She was the founder and director of the New Orleans Poetry Forum, and has been referred to as that city's unofficial poet laureate. She was editor of the li ...
, poet and educator * Bill Lee, former Major League Baseball pitcher, played for the
Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
,
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
, and
Boston Braves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...
* Brian Mitchell, former Washington Redskins football player, played football at Plaquemine High School * Karen St. Germain, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Iberville and Assumption parishes, 2004–2016; resides in Plaquemine * Clarence Williams, early jazz pianist and composer


References


External links

*
Iberville Parish



{{authority control Populated places established in 1775 Cities in Louisiana Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River Cities in Iberville Parish, Louisiana Parish seats in Louisiana Cities in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area