Plaquemine, Louisiana
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Plaquemine is a city in and the
parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...
of Iberville 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. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. At the 2010 United States census, 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 Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...
claimed all of Louisiana in 1699 for King
Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
. Plaquemine was settled by 1775, and its name comes from the French word ''plaquemine'' meaning
persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...
. Due to its location at the juncture of Bayou Plaquemine and 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 ...
, 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 The ''Antebellum'' South era (from ) was a period in the history of the Southern United States that extended from the conclusion of the War of 1812 to the start of the American Civil War in 1861. This era was marked by the prevalent practi ...
. Massive plantations were established in nearby regions, including
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, 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

Plaquemine is located at the junction of Bayou Plaquemine and 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 ...
. 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 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 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, 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 an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...
, the racial and ethnic makeup was 54.9% Black and African American, 38.6%
non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...
, 0.1% two or more races, and 6.4% Hispanic and Latin American of any race. In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the city was 49.26%
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 ...
, 49.60% African American, 0.17%
American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...
, 0.27% Asian, 0.03%
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 ...
, 0.08% 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 (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the 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 American region of Acadia, ...
Festival draws visitors from all over the world. Local Mardi Gras 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 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 ...
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 Panama Canal locks () are a Canal lock, lock system that lifts ships up to the main elevation of the Panama Canal and lowers them down again. The original canal had a total of six steps (three up, three down) for a ship's passage. The tota ...
; the Plaquemine Lock was shut down in 1961. In 1974, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
supervised the construction of the
levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
that runs across the mouth of Bayou Plaquemine at the Mississippi River. The Plaquemine Lock was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1972. The area now operates as a state park.


Education

Iberville Parish School Board operates public schools. Plaquemine High School is outside the city limits, in an
unincorporated area 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 ...
. Mathematics, Science, and Arts Academy - West is outside the city limits, in an unincorporated area.


Infrastructure


Transportation

Plaquemine is accessed by four highways: LA 3066, LA 75, LA 77, 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 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 ...
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. LA 1 runs north to Interstate 10/Baton Rouge and south to Donaldsonville. 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 A combat engineer (also called pioneer or sapper) is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, Tunnel warfare, tunnel and l ...
,
military intelligence Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis List of intelligence gathering disciplines, approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist Commanding officer, commanders in decision making pr ...
,
signal A signal is both the process and the result of transmission of data over some media accomplished by embedding some variation. Signals are important in multiple subject fields including signal processing, information theory and biology. In ...
,
military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
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) 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 Army. It is simultaneously part of two differen ...
that served in
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
from 2004 to 2005.


Notable people

* Chad M. Brown, member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) 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 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...
for Iberville and Assumption parishes * Percy Butler, NFL defensive back for the
Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...
* Kevin Dotson, NFL offensive lineman for the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...
* Robert "Bobby" Freeman (1934–2016),
lieutenant governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (; ) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican. The lieutenant governor is also the commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Cultur ...
from 1980 to 1988 * Davon Godchaux, American football player * Lee Meitzen Grue, poet and educator * Bill Lee, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
pitcher * Brian Mitchell, former
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
football player * Clarence Williams, early
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
pianist and composer


References


External links

* *
City-Data.com
{{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