Assumption Parish, Louisiana


Assumption Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,039. Its parish seat is Napoleonville. Assumption Parish was established in 1807, as one of the original parishes of the Territory of Orleans.
Assumption Parish is one of the twenty-two Acadiana parishes. Its major product is sugar cane. In proportion to its area, Assumption Parish produces the most sugar of any parish of Louisiana.
WWW Official Site

History

In 1807, Assumption became the eighth parish of the Orleans Territory. Its history is rooted in its waterways and its large expanse of fertile soils ideal for farming. Settled in the middle 18th century by French and Spanish settlers, the area retains strong cultural ties to its past with conversational French still common among residents. Assumption was also a final destination for many of the French Acadians exiled from Nova Scotia between 1755 and 1764.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

Communities

Village

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated communities

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 21,039 people, 8,409 households, and 5,484 families residing in the parish. The median age was 42.9 years. 21.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.6 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the parish was 65.2% White, 28.6% Black or African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.4% from some other race, and 4.1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 4.3% of the population.
35.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 64.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 8,409 households in the parish, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.8% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 25.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 9,935 housing units, of which 15.4% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 81.4% were owner-occupied and 18.6% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%.

2010 census

During the 2010 census, there were 23,421 people living in the parish. Among its 2010 population, 66.8% were White, 30.5% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.0% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 2.1% were Hispanic or Latino. 38.2% were of French, French Canadian or Cajun and 9.4% American ancestry.

Education

The Assumption Parish School Board operates local public schools. Assumption High School serves the whole parish. There is one private school in the parish, Saint Elizabeth School, which was founded in 1834.

National Guard

The 928th Sapper Company, a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade.

Politics

Assumption Parish is represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives by Beryl Amedee, a Republican, and Chad Brown, a Democrat.
During the "Solid South" era, conflicts over trade policy often caused Assumption Parish to deviate somewhat from overwhelming Democratic support, as did a 1920 rebellion in the Acadiana region against Wilsonian foreign policy conflicts with France.
Since the Dixiecrat revolt, by contrast, Assumption has been a typical rural South Louisiana parish in its political behaviour. It backed Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 before showing powerful pro-Catholic behaviour in 1960 and then turning powerfully against liberal Midwestern Democrats in 1968 and 1972. With the nomination of the more centrist Southerner Jimmy Carter in 1976, Assumption became again Democratic leaning until the 2000s, when, like all of the rural white South, it has turned powerfully Republican.

Notable people