Evangeline Parish, Louisiana
Evangeline Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 33,984. The parish seat is Ville Platte.
History
The parish was created out of lands formerly belonging to St. Landry Parish in 1910. The majority of the area was originally settled by French Canadian colonists and former colonial marines 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 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 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. 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, of Savoy, France..
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and is water.Major highways
- Interstate 49
- U.S. Highway 190
- U.S. Highway 167
- Louisiana Highway 10
- Louisiana Highway 13
- Louisiana Highway 29
Adjacent parishes
- Rapides Parish
- Avoyelles Parish
- St. Landry Parish
- Acadia Parish
- Allen Parish
National protected area
- Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge
State parks
- Chicot State Park
- Louisiana State Arboretum
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 35,434 people, 12,736 households, and 9,157 families living in the parish. The population density was 53 people per square mile. There were 14,258 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile. The racial makeup of the parish was 70.42% White, 28.57% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.46% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 25.71% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, the highest percentage of any Louisiana parish.
There were 12,736 households out of which 38.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.30% were married couples living together, 15.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the parish the population was spread out with 29.60% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 20.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.10 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $20,532, and the median income for a family was $27,243. Males had a median income of $30,386 versus $16,793 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $11,432. About 27.20% of families and 32.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.10% of those under age 18 and 31.00% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Public Schools in Evangeline Parish are operated by the Evangeline Parish School Board.- Bayou Chicot Elementary School
- Chataignier Elementary School
- James Stephens Montessori School
- Mamou Elementary School
- Vidrine Elementary School
- Ville Platte Elementary School
- W. W. Stewart Elementary
- Basile High School
- Mamou High School
- Pine Prairie High School
- Ville Platte High School
- Evangeline Central School
Additionally, Evangeline Parish is served by one unaffiliated private school:
Evangeline Parish is served by one institutions of higher education:
- South Louisiana Community College, C. B. Coreil Campus (Ville Platte
Communities
City
- Ville Platte
Towns
- Basile
- Mamou
Villages
- Chataignier
- Pine Prairie
- Turkey Creek
Unincorporated areas
Census-designated places
- Reddell
- Vidrine
Other unincorporated communities
- Bayou Chicot
- Saint Landry
- Tate Cove
- Belaire Cove
- Beaver
- Lone Pine
- Lake Cove
Notable people
- Amédé Ardoin, Creole singer and Cajun accordion virtuoso
- Winston De Ville - noted genealogist and publisher of hundreds of articles and numerous books
- Eric LaFleur, lawyer and Senator and sponsor of several important bills and represented historic Senate Resolution #30
- Bernard LeBas, a Ville Platte pharmacist who has represented Evangeline and St. Landry parishes in the Louisiana House of Representatives since 2008
- Walter L. Lee - Evangeline Parish Clerk of Court, 1956-2012
Politics