Abita Springs is a town in St. Tammany Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States. The population was 2,365 at the 2010 census, up from 1,957 in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

. It is part of the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

– Metairie– Kenner metropolitan statistical area.

History

Abita Springs was originally a

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

Indian village, taking its name from nearby medicinal springs. The Choctaw burial and execution grounds, which were in use up until around 1880, are located nearby.

Geography

Abita Springs is located at (30.476233, -90.035138). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,631 people, 1,010 households, and 636 families residing in the town. As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,957 people, 757 households, and 550 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 813 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.30%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 3.01%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.36% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 1.79% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

, or Latino of any race. There were 757 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.07. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 32.0% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $39,923, and the median income for a family was $45,208. Males had a median income of $36,250 versus $27,368 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $16,998. 6.7% of the population and 4.7% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

. Out of the total population, 4.4% of those under the age of 18 and 11.6% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Economy

The Abita Brewing Company was established in 1986 as a

microbrewery Craft beer is beer manufactured by craft breweries, which typically produce smaller amounts of beer than larger "macro" breweries and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as emphasising enthusiasm, ne ...

, and in 1994, they added a brew pub and restaurant. Abita's beer is brewed with the water of the artesian wells in Abita Springs. The UCM Museum (pronounced "you see 'em", and also known as the "Abita Mystery House") is an Abita Springs tourist attraction. The museum features an eclectic collection of antiques (particularly electronics and arcade games) and dozens of examples of proprietor John Preble's folk art, which ranges from the whimsical to the macabre. The Abita Springs Opry is "a non-profit organization dedicated to the presentation and preservation of Louisiana roots music". "The Opry" presents six concerts per year of roots music by performers from throughout the United States. The concerts are presented in the auditorium of the Abita Springs Town Hall. The concerts are broadcast on a number of radio stations and on the Southeastern Channel and

public-access television Public-access television (sometimes called community-access television) is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is Narrowcasting, narrowcast through cable tele ...

cable TV Cable television is a system of delivering television broadcast programming, programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This ...

channels throughout the United States.

Education

St. Tammany Parish Public Schools operates local public schools: * K-3: Abita Springs Elementary School (Abita Springs) * 4-6: Abita Springs Middle School (Abita Springs) * 7-8: Fontainebleau Junior High School (unincorporated St. Tammany Parish) * 9-12: Fontainebleau High School (unincorporated St. Tammany Parish) St. Tammany Parish Library operates the Abita Springs Branch. St. Tammany Parish is within the service areas of two community colleges: Northshore Technical Community College and Delgado Community College.

Government

Mayor's Court

The town has a Mayor's Court.

Notable people

* Dick Hart, professional golfer * David Lohr, crime writer *

Bunny Matthews Will Bunn "Bunny" Matthews III (February 15, 1951 – June 1, 2021) was an American cartoonist and writer from the Greater New Orleans Area. He is best known for his depictions of New Orleans characters and local dialect, especially Vic and ...

, cartoonist and writer * Michael G. Strain, veterinarian and the incumbent Louisiana Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner

References

External links

Town of Abita Springs official website

Abita Mystery House
{{authority control * Towns in Louisiana Towns in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Towns in the New Orleans metropolitan area