Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pointe Coupee Parish
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| Parish of Pointe Coupee | |
Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse
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Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
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 Louisiana's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Louisiana |
| Founded | 1807 |
| Named for | French for the place of the cut-off |
| Seat | New Roads |
| Largest city | New Roads |
| Area | |
| • Total | 591 sq mi (1,530 km2) |
| • Land | 557 sq mi (1,440 km2) |
| • Water | 33 sq mi (90 km2) 5.6% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 22,016 |
| • Estimate
(2021)
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22,706 |
| • Density | 37.25/sq mi (14.383/km2) |
| Demonym(s) | Pointe Coupean |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| ZIP Codes |
70715, 70729, 70732, 70736, 70747, 70749, 70752, 70753, 70755, 70756, 70759, 70760, 70762, 70773, 70783
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| Area code | 225 |
| Congressional district | 6th |
Pointe Coupee Parish, ( or French: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée), is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802. The parish seat is New Roads.
Pointe Coupee Parish is part of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2010, the center of population of Louisiana was located in Pointe Coupee Parish, in the city of New Roads.
Contents
History
Pointe Coupee Parish (originally pronounced pwant coo-pay) was organized by European Americans in 1805 as part of the Territory of Orleans (statehood for Louisiana followed in 1812). There were minor boundary adjustments with neighboring parishes up through 1852, when its boundaries stabilized.
In 2008, Pointe Coupee was one of the communities that suffered the most damage by Hurricane Gustav.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 591 square miles (1,530 km2), of which 557 square miles (1,440 km2) is land and 33 square miles (85 km2) (5.6%) is water. The land consists mainly of prairies and backswamp.
Major highways
Pointe Coupee Parish has 498.98 miles of highways within its borders. U.S. Highway 190 is the only four-lane roadway in the parish
U.S. Highway 190
Louisiana Highway 1
Louisiana Highway 10
Louisiana Highway 15
Louisiana Highway 77
Louisiana Highway 78
Louisiana Highway 81
Louisiana Highway 411
Louisiana Highway 413
Louisiana Highway 414
Louisiana Highway 415
Louisiana Highway 416
Louisiana Highway 417
Louisiana Highway 418
Louisiana Highway 419
Louisiana Highway 420
Louisiana Highway 970
Louisiana Highway 971
Louisiana Highway 972
Louisiana Highway 973
Louisiana Highway 975
Louisiana Highway 976
Louisiana Highway 977
Louisiana Highway 978
Louisiana Highway 979
Louisiana Highway 981
Louisiana Highway 982
Louisiana Highway 983
Louisiana Highway 984
Louisiana Highway 3050
Louisiana Highway 3091
Louisiana Highway 3131
Louisiana Highway 3190
Major waterways
Adjacent parishes
- Concordia Parish (north)
- West Feliciana Parish (northeast)
- West Baton Rouge Parish (east)
- Iberville Parish (south)
- St. Martin Parish (southwest)
- St. Landry Parish (west)
- Avoyelles Parish (northwest)
National protected area
Demographics
| Historical population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
| 1745 | 600 | — |
| 1810 | 3,187 | +431.2% |
| 1820 | 4,912 | +54.1% |
| 1830 | 5,942 | +21.0% |
| 1840 | 7,898 | +32.9% |
| 1850 | 11,339 | +43.6% |
| 1860 | 17,718 | +56.3% |
| 1870 | 12,981 | −26.7% |
| 1880 | 17,785 | +37.0% |
| 1890 | 19,613 | +10.3% |
| 1900 | 25,777 | +31.4% |
| 1910 | 25,289 | −1.9% |
| 1920 | 24,697 | −2.3% |
| 1930 | 21,007 | −14.9% |
| 1940 | 24,004 | +14.3% |
| 1950 | 21,841 | −9.0% |
| 1960 | 22,488 | +3.0% |
| 1970 | 22,002 | −2.2% |
| 1980 | 24,045 | +9.3% |
| 1990 | 22,540 | −6.3% |
| 2000 | 22,763 | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 22,802 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 22,016 | −3.4% |
| 2021 (est.) | 22,706 | +3.1% |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 |
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2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 12,245 | 58.99% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 7,221 | 34.79% |
| Native American | 37 | 0.18% |
| Asian | 60 | 0.29% |
| Pacific Islander | 2 | 0.01% |
| Other/Mixed | 568 | 2.74% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 625 | 3.01% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,758 people, 8,960 households, and 5,625 families residing in the parish.
National Guard
A Co of the 769th BEB (Brigade Engineer Battalion) is an Engineer Company (Combat) that resides in New Roads, Louisiana. This unit is part of the 256TH IBCT and deployed to Iraq in 2004-5 and 2010.
Communities
City
- New Roads (parish seat)
Towns
Village
Census-designated place
Unincorporated communities
- Aline
- Allon
- Alma
- Anchor
- Argyle
- Bayou Latenache
- Batchelor
- Beaud
- Blanks
- Brooks
- Brownview
- Chenal
- Columbo
- Coon
- Dupont
- False River
- East Krotz Springs
- Elliot City
- Frisco
- Frogmore
- Glynn
- Hermitage
- Ingleside
- Innis
- Island
- Jacoby
- Jarreau
- Keller
- Knapp
- LaBarre
- Lacour
- Lakeland
- Leavel
- Legonier
- Lettsworth
- Lottie
- Major
- McCrea
- McKneeley
- Mix
- Morrison
- New California
- New Texas
- Oscar
- Parlange
- Patin
- Point Coupee
- Quinton
- Ravenswood
- Red Cross
- Red River Landing
- Rougon
- Seibert
- Schwabs
- Sherburne
- Shexnayder
- Smithland
- Sparks
- St. Dizier
- Torbert
- Torras
- Valverda
- Waterloo
- Wickliffe
- Williamsport
Economy
Nan Ya Plastics Corporation America has a large plant near Batchelor. Another large employer is NRG / Big Cajun 1 & 2 power plants near New Roads. The parish's economy is heavily reliant upon agriculture, with sugar cane being one of the main cash crops.
Education
Primary and secondary schools
The Pointe Coupee Parish School Board serves the parish. As of 2014 the sole secondary school operated by the parish school board is Livonia High School, serving grades 7 through 12. Pointe Coupee Central High School was closed down in 2014. Current public schools include Stem Magnet Academy, Valverda Elementary, Rougon, Rosenwald, and Upper Pointe Coupee Elementary.
- Catholic Elementary of Pointe Coupee / Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge)
- False River Academy
The parish is in the service area of South Louisiana Community College.
Notable residents
- Lindy Boggs (1916-2013) – U.S. Representative from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district and U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See. She was a Dame of the Orders of Malta, St. Lazarus and Holy Sepulchre as well as the Pian Order.
- Brian J. Costello, native and lifelong resident of New Roads is a humanitarian author of more than two dozen books on local, Louisiana, European and religious studies and is a Knight of the Imperial Teutonic, St. Lazarus and Nobility of the Holy Roman Empire Orders.
- Emmitt Douglas (1926–1981) – president of the Louisiana NAACP from 1966 to 1981, resided in New Roads from 1949 to 1981
- Ernest Gaines – author
- Clark Gaudin - former state representative from East Baton Rouge Parish
- Buddy Guy - Singer
- Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, historian, did extensive research and writing about slavery in Louisiana, having discovered important documentation of the slave trade and individual slaves that provided new understanding of African-American history in Louisiana, including the specific ethnic origins in various African cultures of many slaves
- Russel L. Honoré - retired Lieutenant General, U.S. Army
- J. Thomas Jewell - state representative 1936–1968; Speaker of the Louisiana House 1960-1964
- J. E. Jumonville, Jr. - state senator from District 17, 1976–1992, horse breeder
- J. E. Jumonville, Sr. - state senator, 1968–1976, natural gas developer
- Catherine D. Kimball - former Chief Justice of Louisiana Supreme Court; former judge of the Louisiana 18th Judicial District Court, 1983-1993
- Major General John Archer Lejeune, career military officer and Commandant of the United States Marine Corps.
- Hall Lyons (1923-1998) - Louisiana oilman and politician, owned at least two oil wells in Pointe Coupee Parish.
- deLesseps Story Morrison (1912–1964), born in New Roads, was elected four times as mayor of New Orleans, serving from 1946 to 1962; he ran unsuccessfully three times for governor of Louisiana. He was also the United States ambassador to the Organization of American States.
- Jacob Haight Morrison, (1905-1974), New Roads native, became a journalist, politician and preservationist, helping protect the French Quarter of New Orleans.
- Charles Parlange - former Chief Justice of Louisiana Supreme Court
- Julien Poydras – territorial U.S. Representative for Louisiana; 1st State Senate President, philanthropist
- James Ryder Randall - poet, teacher at Poydras Academy, 1856–1860, wrote "Maryland, My Maryland" while living in Pointe Coupée Parish
- Nauman Scott - judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, based in Alexandria
- Major Thibaut - state representative for District 18 since 2008; First Parish President
- H. C. Tounoir - former state representative
- Chris Williams - offensive tackle for the St. Louis Rams
- Clyde Kimball - former State Representative and former deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Images for kids
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Map of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels
See also
In Spanish: Parroquia de Pointe Coupee para niños
