Assumption Parish (, ) is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

located in the U.S. state of

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,039. Its

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

is Napoleonville. Assumption Parish was established in 1807, as one of the original parishes of the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was Admission to ...

. Assumption Parish is one of the twenty-two

Acadiana Acadiana (; French language, French and Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''L'Acadiane'' or ''Acadiane''), also known as Cajun Country (Cajun French language, Louisiana French: ''Pays des Cadiens''), is the official name given to the ...

parishes. Its major product is

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

. In proportion to its area, Assumption Parish produces the most sugar of any parish of Louisiana.

History

In 1807, Assumption became the eighth parish of the

Orleans Territory The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 180 ...

. 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

Acadian The Acadians (; , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Today, most descendants of Acadians live in either the Northern American region of Acadia, ...

s exiled from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

between 1755 and 1764.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (7.1%) is water.

Major highways

* Future Interstate 49 *

U.S. Highway 90 U.S. Route 90 or U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) is an east–west major United States highway in the Southern United States. Despite the "0" in its route number, US 90 never was a full coast-to-coast route. It generally travels near Int ...

Louisiana Highway 1 Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) is a state highway in Louisiana. At , it is the longest numbered highway of any class in Louisiana. It runs diagonally across the state, connecting the oil field, oil and gas fields near the island of Grand Isle, ...

Louisiana Highway 70 Louisiana Highway 70 (LA 70) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, St. Mary, St. Martin Parish, St. Martin, Assumption Parish, Assumption, and Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Ascension parishes. It is primarily a t ...

Louisiana Highway 182 Louisiana Highway 182 (LA 182) is a state highway located in central and southeastern Louisiana. It runs in a northwest to southeast direction from LA 29 in Whiteville to U.S. Highway 90 (US 90) north of Raceland. Along the ...

Louisiana Highway 308 Louisiana Highway 308 (LA 308) is a state highway in Louisiana that serves Ascension, Assumption, and Lafourche Parishes. It spans , following the east bank of Bayou Lafourche from Donaldsonville to Golden Meadow. It parallels LA 1 during ...

Adjacent parishes

Iberville Parish Iberville Parish () is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana, formed in 1807. The parish seat is Plaquemine. The population was 30,241 at the 2020 census. History The parish is named for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberv ...

(north) *

Ascension Parish Ascension Parish (; ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created in 1807. Ascension Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metr ...

(north) * St. James Parish (northeast) *

Lafourche Parish Lafourche Parish () is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Thibodaux. The parish was formed in 1807. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, which consisted of the present ...

(east) *

Terrebonne Parish Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 109,580. The parish seat is Houma. The parish was founded in 1822. Terr ...

(southeast) * St. Mary Parish (southwest) *

Iberia Parish Iberia Parish (, ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia. The parish was formed in 1868 during the Reconstruction era and named for Iberia. It is p ...

(northwest) * St. Martin Parish (west)

Communities

Village

* Napoleonville (parish seat and only municipality)

Census-designated places

Bayou Corne The Bayou Corne sinkhole () was created from a collapsed underground salt dome cavern operated by Texas Brine Company and owned by Occidental Petroleum. The sinkhole, located near the community of Bayou Corne, Louisiana, Bayou Corne in norther ...

* Bayou L'Ourse * Belle Rose * Labadieville *

Paincourtville Paincourtville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Assumption Parish, Louisiana, Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 911 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. History Legend says an early traveler, unable t ...

* Pierre Part * Supreme

Other unincorporated communities

* Albemarle * Belle Alliance * Belle River * Bruly St. Martin * Cancienne * Foley * Klotzville * Plattenville * Westfield * Wildwood * Woodlawn

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,039 people, 8,552 households, and 5,484 families residing in the parish. During the 2010 United States census, there were 23,421 people living in the parish. Among its 2010 population, 66.8% were

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 30.5% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.0% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 2.1% were

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

(of any race). 38.2% were of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

French Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...

Cajun The Cajuns (; French: ''les Cadjins'' or ''les Cadiens'' ), also known as Louisiana ''Acadians'' (French: ''les Acadiens''), are a Louisiana French ethnicity mainly found in the US state of Louisiana and surrounding Gulf Coast states. Whi ...

and 9.4%

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

ancestry.

Education

The

Assumption Parish School Board Assumption Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in the unincorporated area of Assumption Parish, Louisiana, United States. The district serves Assumption Parish. School uniforms The district requires its students to wear sch ...

operates local public schools. Assumption High School serves the whole parish. There is one

private school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

in the parish,

Saint Elizabeth School In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...

, which was founded in 1834. * Assumption High School * Bayou L'Ourse Primary School * Belle Rose Middle School * Belle Rose Primary School * Labadieville Middle School * Labadieville Primary School * Napoleonville Middle School * Napoleonville Primary School * Pierre Part Elementary School * Saint Elizabeth School

National Guard

The 928th

Sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

Company, a unit of the 769th Engineer

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

and the

225th Engineer Brigade The 225th Engineer Brigade is a combat heavy engineer brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is one of the largest engineer formations in the United States Army National Guard. The 225th Engineer Brigade is headquartered at Camp Beaur ...

Politics

Assumption Parish is represented in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

by Beryl Amedee, a Republican, and Chad Brown, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. During the "Solid South" era, conflicts over trade policy often caused Assumption Parish to deviate somewhat from overwhelming Democratic support, as did rebellion in the Acadiana region against

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's perceived hostility towards 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 James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

in 1948 and

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

in 1956 before showing powerful pro-Catholic behaviour in 1960 and then turning powerfully against liberal

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

Democrats in 1968 and 1972. With the nomination of the more centrist Southerner

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

in 1976, Assumption became again Democratic leaning until the 2000s, when, like all of the rural white South, it has turned powerfully Republican.Cohn, Nate
‘Demographic Shift: Southern Whites’ Loyalty to G.O.P. Nearing That of Blacks to Democrats’
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', April 24, 2014

Notable people

* Kim Willoughby, American indoor volleyball player, 2008 U.S. volleyball Olympian, former

University of Hawaii A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

volleyball player, 2003

AVCA The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) is an organization of over 9,000 members, incorporated as a private non-profit corporation, non-profit educational corporation in 1981, as the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches Association. It is cur ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

National Player of the Year * Charles Melançon, former Democratic member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

Troy E. Brown Troy Earl Brown (born August 22, 1971) is a Democratic Party (United States), Democratic former member of the Louisiana State Senate. From 2012 to 2017, when he resigned his seat in scandal, Brown represented Louisiana's 2nd State Senate distri ...

, a former member of the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

Brandon Jacobs Brandon Christopher Jacobs (born July 6, 1982) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the New York Giants. He played college football for the Auburn Tig ...

, two-time

Super bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

winner, former running back for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

* Johnny Meads, is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

* J. E. Jumonville Sr., was a businessman, farmer, and horse breeder born in

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

* Samuel A. LeBlanc I, was a lawyer from Napoleonville born in

in Assumption Parish * Whitmell P. Martin, was a U.S. Representative from Assumption Parish Louisiana from 1915 to 1929.

References

{{authority control Louisiana parishes Parishes in Acadiana Acadiana 1807 establishments in the Territory of Orleans Populated places established in 1807