Pointe Coupee Parish, , 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.
History
Point Coupee is the oldest white settlement on the lower Mississippi, having been made by some wandering Canadian trappers as early as 1708. Bienville established this place as a military post, before the commencement of New Orleans. The fort was moved in 1722 to an area near the present St. Francisville Ferry landing.
After several floods, Governor Luis de Unzaga in 1772 moved the European settlement to a new post, the so-called Post Unzaga. Recently, historians Cazorla and Polo, from the Louis de Unzaga Historical Society research team, using satellite remote sensing techniques and comparative plans from the General Archive of the Indies, have managed to locate the position of the Unzaga post, which included, along with it, a parish. After the slave rebellion of 1795 this settlement was left uninhabited.
Pointe Coupee Parish (originally and recently, informally pronounced pwahnt coo-pay) was organized by European Americans in 1805 as part of the Territory of Orleans (statehood for Louisiana followed in 1812). It was originally called Pointe Coupee County, and was one of the original 12 counties of the Territory of Orleans. It was renamed as Pointe Coupee Parish in 1816. The original Pointe Coupee Parish included parts of present-day Iberville and West Baton Rouge Parishes. 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
right|200px|thumb|Map of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (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.
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Major waterways
Atchafalaya River
False River
Mississippi River
Old River
Raccourci Old River (not a river but an oxbow lake)
Red River
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
Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,758 people, 8,960 households, and 5,625 families residing in the parish.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 22,763 people, 8,397 households, and 6,171 families residing in the parish. The population density was 41 people per square mile (16/km2). There were 10,297 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (7/km2). The racial makeup of the parish was 68.91% White, 29.61% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 1.08% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 93.61% of the population spoke only English at home, while 4.89% spoke French or Cajun French, 0.96% spoke Spanish, and 0.73% spoke Louisiana Creole French.[https://web.archive.org/web/20130815140430/http://www.mla.org/cgi-shl/docstudio/docs.pl?map_data_results]
There were 8,397 households, out of which 35.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.50% were non-families. 23.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the parish the population was spread out, with 27.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 27.00% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $30,618, and the median income for a family was $36,625. Males had a median income of $35,022 versus $20,759 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,387, ranking 23rd out of 64 parishes. About 18.70% of families and 23.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.20% of those under age 18 and 23.90% are the age of 65 and older.
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.
; Private
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.
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
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City
New Roads (parish seat)
Towns
Fordoche
Livonia
Village
Morganza
Census-designated place
Ventress
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
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.
Norma McCorvey - anonymous plaintiff in 1973 U.S. Supreme Court landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade.
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
Politics
Prior to 2008, Pointe Coupee Parish was a Democratic stronghold in presidential elections, only failing to back the party's nominees four times between 1912 and 2004 even as the South began trending more Republican in presidential elections. Since then, it has consistently supported Republican nominees, with Donald Trump winning the county by a margin of over twenty-two points in the most recent presidential election of 2020. However, the substantial African-American minority has kept the Republican swing less pronounced compared to many other rural counties throughout the South.
