Des Allemands 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 ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in Lafourche and St. Charles parishes in the southeastern part of 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 ...

. The population was 2,179 at the 2020 census. The town, known as the "

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

Capital of the Universe", is along the

Bayou In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

des Allemands, which is the boundary of Lafourche and St. Charles parishes. Lac des Allemands is located northwest of the town. The ZIP Code for Des Allemands is 70030. The St. Charles Parish portion of Des Allemands 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 ...

metropolitan statistical area, while the

Lafourche Parish Lafourche Parish () is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, which consisted of the present ...

portion is part of the Houma– Bayou Cane– Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.

History

In 1721,

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment * John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist * John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner * John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961) ...

and the Company of the Indies settled

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

along the Mississippi River, north of Ouachas Lake. The area of the Germans was called ''les Allemands'' (the Germans) or ''Karlstein''. The German Coast was in present-day St. Charles & St. John the Baptist Parishes. ''Des Allemands'' means "of the Germans" or simply "Germans" in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. The German Louisiana colony was originally up 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 ...

at the

Arkansas Post The Arkansas Post (; ), officially the Arkansas Post National Memorial, was the first European colonization of the Americas, European settlement located along the Mississippi River, in the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and in the present-day U. ...

. But they experienced hostility from the Native Americans in that area, and moved to a location much closer to the colonial capital of

Catfish Festival

An annual Catfish Festival is held in Des Allemands, it involves live music, carnival attractions, and catfish related recipes. The festival was started by local reverend William McCallion as a fundraiser for his church. The festival celebrated its 45th anniversary in 2020. However, in this year, the festival had to be rescheduled due to concerns arising from the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. It is likely that the Catfish Festival will no longer be held. The Archdiocese of New Orleans has closed the local church, St. Gertrude, and has sold the property.

Geography

Des Allemands is located in southern St. Charles Parish and northeastern Lafourche Parish at (29.825570, -90.469163). It is bordered to the north by the Paradis CDP and to the southeast by the Bayou Gauche CDP.

U.S. Route 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

(future

Interstate 49 Interstate 49 (I-49) is a north–south Interstate Highway with multiple segments. The original portion is entirely within Louisiana with an additional signed portion extending from Interstate 220 (Louisiana), I-220 in Shreveport, Louisian ...

) crosses Bayou des Allemands at this point; the four-lane highway leads northeast to New Orleans and west to Morgan City. Bayou Des Allemands runs northwest to Lac des Allemands and southeast to

Lake Salvador Lake Salvador () is a lake about southwest of New Orleans, Louisiana, in Jefferson, Lafourche, and St. Charles parishes. The lake has had multiple names. On the d'Anville map of 1732, the lake was Lac des Ounchas. The Darby map of 1816 lists ...

. 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 Des Allemands CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 18.68%, are water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,179 people, 670 households, and 468 families residing in the CDP.

Education

St. Charles Parish Public School System serves parts of Des Allemands east of Bayou Des Allemands. Allemands Elementary School in Des Allemands serves grades PK-2, while R.J. Vial Elementary School in Paradis serves grades 3–5; Vial opened in 1975. J. B. Martin Middle School in Paradis serves grades 6–8, and

Hahnville High School Hahnville High School is a public high school located in Boutte, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the St. Charles Parish Public School System, serving grades 9 through 12. J.B. Martin and R.K. Smith Middle Schools are the feeder schools fo ...

in Boutte serves 9–12. Residents of Des Allemands west of Bayou Des Allemands attend

Lafourche Parish Public Schools Lafourche Parish Public Schools is a school district headquartered in Thibodaux, Louisiana. The district serves all of Lafourche Parish, including a portion of Des Allemands.Raceland), and Central Lafourche High School in Mathews.

Fletcher Technical Community College L. E. Fletcher Technical Community College is a community college in Schriever, Louisiana, United States, in Terrebonne Parish. The school was founded on June 23, 1948. Its service area includes Iberia, Lafourche, St. Mary Mary was a firs ...

has Lafourche Parish in the college's service area. Additionally, a

Delgado Community College Delgado Community College (DCC) is a public community college in Louisiana, with campuses throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area. Its current campuses are in New Orleans (Orleans Parish) and in Jefferson Parish. The original City Park Camp ...

document stated that Lafourche Parish was in the college's service area.

Festivals

* Louisiana Catfish Festival on the third weekend in June * Small parade in conjunction with

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

season

References

External links

Allemands Elementary School
{{authority control Census-designated places in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana Census-designated places in Louisiana Census-designated places in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana German-American culture in Louisiana German-American history Census-designated places in Houma – Thibodaux metropolitan area Census-designated places in the New Orleans metropolitan area