Iota, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Iota, Louisiana
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Town
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| Town of Iota | |
Location of Iota in Acadia Parish, Louisiana.
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Acadia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1.27 sq mi (3.29 km2) |
| • Land | 1.27 sq mi (3.29 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 30 ft (9 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,304 |
| • Density | 1,026.77/sq mi (396.42/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Zip Code |
70543
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| Area Code | 337 |
| FIPS code | 22-37410 |
Iota is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The population was 1,500 at the 2010 census.
The history of Iota is identified with Pointe-aux-Loups (French for Wolf Point), one of the oldest place names in southwest Louisiana, and the location of mineral springs that attracted many visitors beginning about 1858. The older settlement was located on Bayou des Cannes about two miles west of the present Town of Iota. A post office named Cartville, for the first postmaster Samuel Cart, was established in the vicinity of Pointe-aux-Loups in 1884. Ten years later, a railroad branch line from Midland to Eunice bypassed Cartville by a mile or so to the east. The railroad company built a depot at a point on the line nearest to the Cartville and Pointe-aux-Loups settlements, naming it Iota. The Cartville post office was changed to Iota in 1900.
C.C. Duson is credited with being the founder of Iota. It was he who promoted the construction of the Southern Pacific rail line to Eunice, the new town that he founded in St. Landry Parish. At the same time, 1894, Duson acquired the land on which Iota now stands, a 160-acre tract which had been homesteaded by Archille Doucet in 1835. Duson divided the land into town lots and sold them. Duson was the prime mover in the establishment of the Acadia Canal Company in the vicinity of Iota, and president of the town's first rice mill in 1901—two businesses said to have been responsible for Iota's early economic development.
Iota and its people continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, with agriculture and petroleum as the primary sectors of the local economy. During this time, rice and later crawfish developed as the main cash crops of the area.
In the 1990s, it was discovered that Iota has an unusually high number of people carrying Tay-Sachs, a rare genetic disorder.
Iota was represented in the novel No Place Louisiana by Martin Pousson, published in 2002.
Iota is the home of American Legion Post No. 371 and many veterans of foreign wars.
Iota is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Iota is located at 30°19′43″N 92°29′35″W / 30.32861°N 92.49306°W (30.328500, -92.493123).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km2), all land.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 769 | — | |
| 1920 | 802 | 4.3% | |
| 1930 | 827 | 3.1% | |
| 1940 | 1,000 | 20.9% | |
| 1950 | 1,162 | 16.2% | |
| 1960 | 1,245 | 7.1% | |
| 1970 | 1,271 | 2.1% | |
| 1980 | 1,326 | 4.3% | |
| 1990 | 1,256 | −5.3% | |
| 2000 | 1,376 | 9.6% | |
| 2010 | 1,500 | 9.0% | |
| 2020 | 1,304 | −13.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,169 | 89.65% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 68 | 5.21% |
| Native American | 2 | 0.15% |
| Other/Mixed | 34 | 2.61% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 31 | 2.38% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,304 people, 648 households, and 409 families residing in the town.
Arts and culture
Iota is home to the annual "Tee Mamou/Iota Mardi Gras Folklife Festival" during Mardi Gras Day, attracting thousands of tourists and visitors. The festival offers authentic Cajun food, crafts, and music. In contrast to the elaborate costumes and regal "krewes," for example, in the New Orleans Mardi Gras festivities, in Iota and surrounding areas, Cajuns celebrate the more traditional ritual of the Courir de Mardi Gras riders. Disguised in home-made costumes which often feature faux tatters and tall conical caps known as capuchons, the townspeople maraude through the surrounding countryside incognito, speaking only Cajun French, begging for ingredients for a chicken and sausage gumbo. The gumbo is the centerpiece of the community supper the same night, where the Mardi Gras riders sing the Chanson de Mardi Gras, an old song in Cajun French sung for generations, then take off their masks and reveal, ostensibly for the first time that day, the identity of each rider.
Education
Acadia Parish School Board serves Iota, operating Iota High School. St. Francis Catholic School is also located in the district.
Images for kids
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Mardi Gras celebration near Iota
See also
In Spanish: Iota (Luisiana) para niños
