Delcambre is a town in

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

and

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide). It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a moder ...

parishes in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

, located east of

Abbeville Abbeville (; ; ) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of Ponthieu. Geography Location A ...

on Louisiana Highway 14 in the Cajun Heartland of

Acadiana Acadiana (; French language, French and Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane'' or ''Acadiane''), also known as Cajun Country (Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''Pays des Cadiens''), is the official name given to the ...

. Bayou Carlin, also known as the Delcambre Canal, passes through the town and is home for much of the local fishing industry. The population was 1,866 at the 2010 census, down from 2,168 at the 2000 census. Delcambre is part of the Lafayette,

metropolitan statistical area.

History

When the King of Spain made Louisiana a gift to his brother-in-law, the King of France, settlers of French heritage began to occupy the area. Brothers Charles and Louis Delcambre came from Belgium to settle in the area between the two towns now known as Delcambre and

New Iberia New Iberia (; ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette, and forms part of ...

. Louis' son, Poufette Delcambre, settled further to the west in what is now known as Pouffette Station. Pouffette's son, Desire Delcambre, was the founder of the town of Delcambre. The first post office was opened on May 17, 1877, and the town was incorporated on November 27, 1907. In 2005, much of the town was flooded by the storm surge forced inland by

Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Milton in 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, 2024, as well as being the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the ...

. Water in many parts of town was up to deep. The mayor of Delcambre was quoted as saying that only 25 of 900 homes in the town were not flooded. The Delcambre town council and Mayor Carrol Brousard passed an ordinance in June 2007 making sagging illegal, expanding an existing state

indecent exposure Indecent exposure is the deliberate public exposure by a person of a portion of their body in a manner contrary to local standards of appropriate behavior. Laws and social attitudes regarding indecent exposure vary significantly in different ...

law to add underwear to the list of what cannot be exposed.

Geography

Delcambre is located on the border of Vermilion and Iberia parishes. Louisiana Highway 14 passes through the north side of the town, leading east to

and west to

. Erath is west on Highway 14. Lake Peigneur, at the head of the Delcambre Canal, is to the north. 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 of it recorded as land.

Demographics

Historically, the area that became known as Delcambre was first settled by

Acadians The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French colonial empire, French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern Americ ...

who were expelled from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

in the mid-18th century. As of 2006, 74.2% of the town population spoke English, 24.2% French (including

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

), and 1.5%

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,793 people, 748 households, and 500 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 2,168 people, 826 households, and 593 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 903 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 82.70%

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 ...

, 14.44%

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 ...

, 0.88% Native American, 0.51% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.23% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races.

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 were 1.89% of the population. There were 826 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.0% 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, 16.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.7% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $27,500, and the median income for a family was $34,643. Males had a median income of $27,750 versus $17,438 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 $13,245. About 17.4% of families and 20.2% of the population 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 ...

, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 19.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Residents of Delcambre in both Vermilion and Iberia parishes are zoned to the

Iberia Parish School System The Iberia Parish School System is a school district headquartered in New Iberia, Louisiana, New Iberia, Louisiana, United States. The district serves all of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish. The city of Delcambre, Louisiana, Delcambre h ...

. All areas of Iberia Parish are officially in the Iberia Parish school district, while all areas in Vermilion Parish are officially in the Vermilion Parish School Board. However Iberia Parish School District operates all public schools in Delcambre, and these schools are on the Vermilion Parish side of Delcambre. The Vermilion Parish district pays money to the Iberia parish district to educate Delcambre students in Vermilion Parish. In 2000 the Iberia Parish district signed an inter-district agreement with the Vermilion Parish district over those payments. Another such agreement was signed in 2022. Residents in Delcambre are zoned to Delcambre Elementary School and Delcambre High School.Feeder School Information
."

. Retrieved on September 7, 2011.

References

External links

Town of Delcambre official website

Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission

Vermilion Historical Society
{{authority control Acadiana Towns in Louisiana Towns in Iberia Parish, Louisiana Towns in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana