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Evangeline Parish, Louisiana

Coordinates: 30°44′N 92°25′W / 30.73°N 92.41°W / 30.73; -92.41
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Evangeline Parish
Parish
Evangeline Bank and Trust Co. Building, Ville Platte, Louisiana
Evangeline Bank and Trust Co. Building, Ville Platte, Louisiana
Map of Louisiana highlighting Evangeline Parish
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Map of the United States highlighting Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°44′N 92°25′W / 30.73°N 92.41°W / 30.73; -92.41
Country United States
State Louisiana
Founded1910
Named forAcadian heroine of the poem "Evangeline"
SeatVille Platte
Largest cityVille Platte
Area
 • Total
680 sq mi (1,800 km2)
 • Land662 sq mi (1,710 km2)
 • Water17 sq mi (40 km2)  2.5%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
32,350
 • Density48/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district4th

Evangeline Parish (French: Paroisse d'Évangéline) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,350.[1] The parish seat is Ville Platte.[2]

History

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The parish was created out of lands formerly belonging to St. Landry Parish in 1910.[3] The majority of the area was originally settled by French Canadian colonists and former colonial marines (coureurs de bois) from such outposts as Fort Toulouse and Fort Kaskaskia and later included 19th-century French-speaking soldiers and immigrant families.

The early generations were born in colonial French colonies, which included the enormous Louisiana territory ('Upper and Lower' Louisiana) known as "la Nouvelle France", and later were born under Spanish rule.

Many people of Evangeline are primarily of French, English, and Spanish descent from Louisiana's colonial period. Examples of the French family names are Fontenot, Brignac, Ardoin, Bordelon, Vidrine, Courville, Gaspard, LaFleur, Chataignier, Dupre, Berza, Manuel, Ratelle, Fuselier, Landreneau, Andrepont, Guillory, Soileau, LeBas, and Gobert, among others. People of Spanish Canary Islands heritage (Isleños) can be observed to have settled in the Parish as well, bringing names like Aguillard, Casaneuva, De Soto, Ortego, Rozas, and Segura. Many English Americans as colonists came from the Eastern United States to settle in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory often married into Acadian families. Some prominent English surnames include Chapman, Kershaw, Young, Reed, Langley, Tate and Buller.

A few Acadians such as François Pitre and his wife settled the area between Evangeline and St. Landry parishes, preferring the rich pre-American and pre–Civil War era Cajun planter's lifestyle over that of the humble and isolated existence of their Acadiana cousins.

The parish was named Evangeline in honor of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem, Evangeline. It was from this poem that founding father Paulin Fontenot was to propose the namesake of "Evangeline" for this parish, allegedly foreseeing an emerging American tourism centered upon the Acadian saga. (See Ville Platte Gazette, Sept. 2010) In 19th-century American literature, she would gain popularity through Hollywood's interest, and thus began the embryonic 'Acadian-based' tourism which sprang up in St. Martinville. Evangeline Parish is mentioned in the Randy Newman song "Louisiana 1927", in which he described the Great Mississippi Flood which covered it with six feet of water.

Ville Platte, Louisiana, the seat of Evangeline Parish, was itself so named by one of Napoleon Bonaparte's former soldiers, Adjutant Major Marcellin Garand (1781–1852), of Savoy, France. (See Napoleon's Soldiers In America, by Simone de la Souchere-Delery, 1999).

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 680 square miles (1,800 km2), of which 662 square miles (1,710 km2) is land and 17 square miles (44 km2) (2.5%) is water.[4]

Major highways

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Adjacent parishes

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National protected area

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State parks

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Communities

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Map of Evangeline Parish, with municipal labels

City

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Towns

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Villages

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Unincorporated areas

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Census-designated places

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Other unincorporated communities

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
192023,485—
193025,4838.5%
194030,49719.7%
195031,6293.7%
196031,6390.0%
197031,9320.9%
198033,3434.4%
199033,274−0.2%
200035,4346.5%
201033,984−4.1%
202032,350−4.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790-1960[6] 1900-1990[7]
1990-2000[8] 2010[9]
Evangeline Parish racial composition as of 2020[10]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 21,162 65.42%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 8,609 26.61%
Native American 45 0.14%
Asian 183 0.57%
Pacific Islander 2 0.01%
Other/Mixed 1,013 3.13%
Hispanic or Latino 1,336 4.13%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 32,350 people, 12,172 households, and 7,739 families residing in the parish.

Education

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Public Schools in Evangeline Parish are operated by the Evangeline Parish School Board.

  • Bayou Chicot Elementary School (Grades PK-8) (Ville Platte)
  • Chataignier Elementary School (Grades PK-8) (Chataignier)
  • James Stephens Montessori School (Grades PK-6) (Ville Platte)
  • Mamou Elementary School (Grades PK-4) (Mamou)
  • Vidrine Elementary School (Grades PK-8) (Ville Platte)
  • Ville Platte Elementary School (Grades PK-4) (Ville Platte)
  • W. W. Stewart Elementary (Grades PK-4) (Basile)
  • Basile High School (Grades 5–12) (Basile)
  • Mamou High School (Grades 5–12) (Mamou)
  • Pine Prairie High School (Grades 9–12) (Pine Prairie)
  • Ville Platte High School (Grades 5–12) (Ville Platte)
  • Evangeline Central School (Grades 4–12) (Ville Platte)

Evangeline Parish is also served by the Diocese of Lafayette with one school:

Additionally, Evangeline Parish is served by one unaffiliated private school:

  • Christian Heritage Academy (Grade K) (Ville Platte)

Evangeline Parish is served by one institutions of higher education:

Notable people

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Politics

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United States presidential election results for Evangeline Parish, Louisiana[12]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 11,053 71.72% 4,158 26.98% 201 1.30%
2016 10,360 69.61% 4,208 28.28% 314 2.11%
2012 10,181 64.56% 5,330 33.80% 259 1.64%
2008 9,793 61.30% 5,853 36.64% 330 2.07%
2004 7,949 56.86% 5,757 41.18% 273 1.95%
2000 7,290 53.56% 5,763 42.34% 559 4.11%
1996 5,278 35.53% 7,847 52.83% 1,729 11.64%
1992 5,147 31.43% 8,564 52.30% 2,665 16.27%
1988 7,437 48.29% 7,693 49.95% 270 1.75%
1984 8,680 54.78% 6,981 44.06% 183 1.16%
1980 7,412 51.26% 6,722 46.48% 327 2.26%
1976 3,715 32.14% 7,578 65.56% 265 2.29%
1972 5,523 60.03% 2,919 31.72% 759 8.25%
1968 1,549 13.40% 2,647 22.90% 7,362 63.70%
1964 3,975 39.21% 6,163 60.79% 0 0.00%
1960 1,105 11.32% 7,865 80.55% 794 8.13%
1956 2,170 38.20% 3,336 58.73% 174 3.06%
1952 2,445 41.84% 3,398 58.16% 0 0.00%
1948 206 3.57% 1,149 19.90% 4,418 76.53%
1944 275 8.32% 3,029 91.68% 0 0.00%
1940 220 5.81% 3,569 94.19% 0 0.00%
1936 331 8.68% 3,484 91.32% 0 0.00%
1932 52 1.64% 3,115 98.36% 0 0.00%
1928 300 13.81% 1,873 86.19% 0 0.00%
1924 153 20.21% 603 79.66% 1 0.13%
1920 587 51.99% 542 48.01% 0 0.00%
1916 26 2.99% 808 92.77% 37 4.25%
1912 31 5.68% 457 83.70% 58 10.62%

For most of the 20th Century, Evangeline was a Democratic-leaning parish, voting Republican only in landslide elections such as 1972, 1980 and 1984. However, like other Acadian parishes with large Cajun populations, Evangeline turned sharply right in the 21st century based on cultural issues and Democrats' discomfort with the oil and gas industry.[13]

See also

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Sources

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  • Title: The Cajunization of French Louisiana: Forging a Regional Identity. Authors: Trepanier, Cecyle Source: Geographical Journal; Jul 91, Vol. 157 Issue 2, p161, 11p, 2 charts, 10 maps
  • French, Cajun, Creole, Houma : a primer on francophone Louisiana / Carl A. Brasseaux.
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20091026030323/http://geocities.com/old_time_time/many.htm
  • A history of Evangeline : its land, its men and its women who made it a beautiful place to live, Robert Gahn, Sr. ; edited by Revon John Reed, Sr. Baton Rouge, LA : Claitor's, c 1972
  • La Voix des Prairies, Evangeline Genealogical and Historical Society.
  • Bonnes Nouvelles : good news about people, places and things in Evangeline Parish. Ville Platte, La. : Bonnes Nouvelles, 1993-
  • Fort Toulouse : The French Outpost at the Alabamas on the Coosa, Gregory A. Thomas
  • Louisiana's French Creole Culinary & Linguistic Traditions: Facts vs. Fiction Before And Since Cajunization, John laFleur II, Brian Costello w/ Dr. Ina Fandrich 2013
  • Louisiana's Creole French People, Our Food, Language & Culture: 500 Years of Culture copyright 2014, John laFleur II

National Guard

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The 1086th Transportation Company of the 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion resides in Ville Platte, Louisiana. This unit belongs to the 139th RSG (regional support group).

References

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  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Evangeline Parish, Louisiana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Evangeline Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  4. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  5. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  6. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  7. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  8. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  9. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  10. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  11. ^ "Our Colleges". Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 9, 2018.
  13. ^ Martin, Jonathan (November 16, 2019). "Why the Louisiana Governor's Race Is So Close". The New York Times.
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Geology

30°44′N 92°25′W / 30.73°N 92.41°W / 30.73; -92.41

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