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

Major highways

* Future Interstate 49 * U.S. Highway 90 * Louisiana Highway 1 * Louisiana Highway 70 *

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

Adjacent parishes

* Iberville Parish (north) * Ascension Parish (north) * St. James Parish (northeast) * Lafourche Parish (east) * Terrebonne Parish (southeast) * St. Mary Parish (southwest) * Iberia Parish (northwest) * St. Martin Parish (west)

Communities

Village

* Napoleonville (parish seat and only municipality)

Census-designated places

* Bayou Corne * Bayou L'Ourse * Belle Rose * Labadieville * Paincourtville * 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 (of any race). 38.2% were of French,

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 ...

or Cajun and 9.4% American 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.

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. 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 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

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 * Brandon Jacobs, 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

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 Paincourtville

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 Paincourtville 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