Iberia Parish, Louisiana

Iberia Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ibérie, Spanish: Parroquia de Iberia) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 73,240.[1] The parish seat is New Iberia.[2]

Iberia Parish
Parish
Parish of Iberia
Historic House and Garden Shadows-on-the-Teche
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 29°47′N 91°47′W
Country United States
State Louisiana
FoundedOctober 30, 1868
Named forIberian Peninsula
SeatNew Iberia
Largest cityNew Iberia
Area
 • Total1,031 sq mi (2,670 km2)
 • Land574 sq mi (1,490 km2)
 • Water456 sq mi (1,180 km2)  44%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total73,240
 • Estimate 
(2018)
70,941
 • Density71/sq mi (27/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district3rd
Websiteiberiaparishgovernment.com

The parish was formed in 1868 during the Reconstruction era and named for the Iberian Peninsula.[3][4] It is part of the 22-parish Acadiana region of the state, with a large Francophone population. Some of its ethnic French residents had ancestors who settled here after being expelled in the 18th century by the British from Acadia in present-day Canada. Historically, it has also been a center for sugar cane cultivation and produces the most sugar of any parish in the state.

Iberia Parish is part of the Lafayette, Louisiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Port of Iberia has a waterway with access to the Gulf Coast.

History

Iberia Parish was created from parts of St. Martin Parish and St. Mary Parish in 1868. It was part of an effort by the Reconstruction-era government to create parishes in which there would be large Republican-majority populations, composed primarily of freedmen in those years.[5]

This territory was part of the sugar parishes, where sugar cane plantations were developed along the waterways before and after the Civil War, dependent on labor of high numbers of enslaved African Americans before the war. Sugar cane was a lucrative commodity crop for planters. Relations between whites and blacks were troubled after the Civil War, as whites sought to dominate freedmen, by violence and intimidation if necessary.

The period after the Reconstruction era was one of increasing violence, especially at the turn of the century and into the early 20th century. In this period, the highly populated Iberia Parish had 26 lynching's of African Americans by KKK, part of racial terrorism. This was the fifth-highest total of any parish in Louisiana, and tied with the total number of lynching's in Bossier Parish.[6]

There was intense political factionalism in Louisiana. Iberia Parish had factions split among conservatives and those who were more moderate about the status of Negros. Moderates sometimes allied with the republican creoles and whites in the parish. But in 1884 white Democrats murdered more than 20 African Americans (most of the total noted above), in a kind of political lynching, and arrested white Republicans to regain power in Iberia Parish. In contrast to northern Louisiana, residents otherwise seemed to rely more on the formal legal system, with fewer mob lynching's. But Negros suffered here, making up 88 percent of the persons legally executed for violent crimes in the late 19th century.[7]

In the late 19th century, there was often a labor shortage on the sugar plantations. Planters recruited thousands of Italian immigrants as temporary laborers, many Sicily Sicilians who had first settled in New Orleans. They were needed during the fall harvest and processing season, which extended from October to January. The Italians became part of the volatility of social relations, struggling to make their way between planters and Negros workers, and competing with other workers for jobs.[8]

The parish economy changed markedly in the 20th century after the discovery of oil. The Port of Iberia was developed into an industrial center. New types of jobs became available for African Americans. Iberia produces the most sugar of any parish in the state.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1,031 square miles (2,670 km2), of which 574 square miles (1,490 km2) is land and 456 square miles (1,180 km2) (44%) is water.[9] This includes Marsh Island.

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

Protected areas

The parish has both national and state protected areas within its borders.

National protected area

State protected areas

Part of the Attakapas Wildlife Management Area is located within Iberia Parish, as well as in St. Mary and St. Martin parishes.[10]

Demographics
NOAA aerial photo of the Port of Iberia
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18709,042—
188016,67684.4%
189020,99725.9%
190029,01538.2%
191031,2627.7%
192026,855−14.1%
193028,1925.0%
194037,18331.9%
195040,0597.7%
196051,65729.0%
197057,39711.1%
198063,75211.1%
199068,2977.1%
200073,2667.3%
201073,2400.0%
2018 (est.)70,941[11]−3.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]
1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14]
1990-2000[15] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 73,266 people, 25,381 households, and 19,162 families residing in the parish. The population density was 127 people per square mile (49/km2). There were 27,844 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (19/km2). The racial makeup of the parish was 65.08% White, 30.81% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. 1.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 11.99% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.48% speak Lao and 1.29% Spanish.[17]

There were 25,381 households, out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were married couples living together, 17.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $31,204, and the median income for a family was $36,017. Males had a median income of $32,399 versus $18,174 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,145. About 20.20% of families and 23.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 20.20% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Iberia Parish School System serves the parish. Iberia parish also has several private schools. These include Catholic High New Iberia, Acadiana Christian School and Highland Baptist School.

National Guard

E Company 199th Forward Support Battalion is stationed in Jeanerette, Louisiana, and B Company 2-156th is stationed in New Iberia, Louisiana. Both units have deployed twice to Iraq, 2004-5 and 2010, as part of the 256TH IBCT.

Communities
Map of Iberia Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities

Town

Village

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[18]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2020 65.0% 21,251 33.7% 11,027 1.3% 435
2016 64.4% 20,903 33.0% 10,698 2.6% 853
2012 62.6% 20,892 36.3% 12,132 1.1% 373
2008 60.7% 20,127 37.7% 12,492 1.7% 549
2004 60.2% 19,420 38.5% 12,426 1.3% 427
2000 57.4% 17,236 39.2% 11,762 3.4% 1,022
1996 40.1% 12,014 50.4% 15,087 9.6% 2,864
1992 39.0% 11,905 42.7% 13,040 18.3% 5,585
1988 54.5% 15,438 42.9% 12,166 2.6% 727
1984 62.1% 17,727 35.7% 10,170 2.2% 629
1980 57.0% 14,273 38.7% 9,681 4.3% 1,074
1976 50.1% 10,392 48.1% 9,984 1.8% 377
1972 65.8% 11,812 28.7% 5,143 5.5% 985
1968 28.6% 5,448 29.0% 5,510 42.4% 8,071
1964 50.2% 8,196 49.8% 8,141
1960 23.0% 3,551 59.7% 9,235 17.4% 2,684
1956 63.4% 6,733 33.4% 3,544 3.2% 338
1952 58.4% 5,669 41.6% 4,040
1948 47.3% 2,910 16.5% 1,015 36.3% 2,232
1944 23.8% 1,141 76.2% 3,661
1940 29.4% 1,706 70.6% 4,091
1936 32.2% 1,234 67.8% 2,595
1932 24.9% 798 75.1% 2,412
1928 13.9% 413 86.1% 2,561
1924 47.9% 679 52.2% 740
1920 74.4% 1,275 25.6% 438
1916 7.5% 134 44.9% 802 47.6% 850
1912 17.1% 222 51.4% 666 31.5% 408

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "Iberia Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 164.
  5. http://stmartinparishclerkofcourt.com/history.aspx
  6. Lynching in America, Third Edition: Supplement by County Archived 2017-10-23 at the Wayback Machine, p. 6, Equal Justice Initiative, Mobile, AL, 2017
  7. Michael James Pfeifer, Rough Justice: Lynching and American Society, 1874-1947, University of Illinois Press, 2004; pp.79-80
  8. Jean Ann Scarpaci, "Immigrants in the New South: Italians in Louisiana's sugar parishes, 1880–1910", Labor History, Vol. 16, 1975- Issue 2
  9. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  10. Attakapas WMA- Retrieved 2017-02-19
  11. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  12. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  13. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  14. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  15. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  16. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  17. "Language Map Data Center". www.mla.org. Retrieved 2018-03-06.
  18. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-06.

Geology

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