Sicily Island is a
village
A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in
Catahoula Parish, Louisiana
Catahoula Parish () is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,906. Its seat is Harrisonburg, on the Ouachita River. The parish was formed in 1808, shortly after the United States acquired this ter ...
, United States. The population was 336 at the
2020 census.
Geography
Sicily Island is located in northeastern Catahoula Parish.
U.S. Route 425 passes through the village, leading north to
Winnsboro and southeast to
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...
.
Louisiana State Highway 8 leads southwest to
Harrisonburg, the Catahoula Parish seat.
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 ...
, Sicily Island has a total area of , all land.
Despite its name, Sicily Island is not an island; instead, nearby lakes and rivers gave the area a shape early settlers considered reminiscent of the island of
Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
.
History
In the early 1700s, the area that would become Sicily Island was the site of a
Natchez settlement. In January 1731, towards the end of the
Natchez Revolt
The Natchez revolt, or the Natchez massacre, was an attack by the Natchez Native American people on French colonists near present-day Natchez, Mississippi, on November 28, 1729. The Natchez and French had lived alongside each other in th ...
, French forces besieged the Natchez fort, compelling the surrender of 45 men and 450 women and children. Although the bulk of the Natchez leaders and warriors escaped, the siege marked the last major engagement of the war.
In 1881, a Jewish
agricultural colony was created in Sicily Island with the support of the
Am Olam
Am Olam was a movement among Russian Jews to establish agricultural colonies in America. The name means "Eternal People" and is taken from the title of an essay by Peretz Smolenskin. It was founded in Odessa in 1881 by Mania Bakl (Maria Bahal) and ...
organization and the
Hebrew Emigrant Aid Society. The colony was mostly made up of immigrants from
Yelisavetgrad
Kropyvnytskyi (, ) is a city in central Ukraine, situated on the Inhul, Inhul River. It serves as the administrative center of Kirovohrad Oblast. Population:
Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name several times. The settlement ...
who were fleeing the
pogroms
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century attacks on Jews i ...
that began that same year. By 1882, the colony was completely disbanded as 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 ...
flooded, destroying most farms.
"Sicily Island, Louisiana"
, ''Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities''
Demographics
2020 census
2000 census
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 ...
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 ...
, 54.53% 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 ...
, 0.22% from other races, and 0.44% 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 0.88% of the population.
There were 197 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.0% were married couples living together, 19.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.7% were non-families. 41.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.0% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 26.5% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $14,783, and the median income for a family was $23,036. Males had a median income of $25,750 versus $14,821 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 village was $11,972. About 45.5% of families and 47.1% 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 61.6% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
* Joe Raymond Peace, football coach
* William S. Peck, Sr., member of the Louisiana House from 1920 to 1928
* Sonny Simmons
Huey "Sonny" Simmons (August 4, 1933 – April 6, 2021) was an American jazz musician.
Biography
Simmons was born on August 4, 1933, in Sicily Island, Louisiana. He grew up in Oakland, California, where he began playing the English horn. (Along ...
, 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 ...
musician, born in Sicily Island in 1933
Photo gallery
Image:Sicily Island, LA, Fire Department IMG 0292.JPG, Sicily Island Fire Department
Image:Catahoula Parish Library, Sicily Island IMG 0296.JPG, Catahoula Parish branch library in Sicily Island
Image:Sicily Island, LA, United Methodist Church IMG 0291.JPG, Sicily Island United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...
Image:First Baptist Church, Sicily Island, LA IMG 0297.JPG, First Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
Church in Sicily Island
Image:Sicily Island, LA, State Bank IMG_0287.JPG, Sicily Island State Bank
References
External links
Sicily Island Progress
Community Progress Site for Sicily Island, LA
{{authority control
Villages in Louisiana
Villages in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana