St. Bernard 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 ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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 ...

. The

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 ...

and largest community is Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

– Metairie metropolitan statistical area; the parish is located southeast of the city of New Orleans and comprises the Chandeleur Islands and

Chandeleur Sound The Chandeleur Sound is a Sound (geography), sound that lies between Louisiana, mainland Louisiana and the Chandeleur Islands in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, Saint Bernard Parish. It is situated east of Breton Sound and south of Mississippi Sound. ...

in the east. St. Bernard was the fastest growing parish in Louisiana from 2010 to 2020, increasing from a population of 35,897 in the 2010 census to 43,764 in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. It remains at less than two-thirds of its

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

population of 67,229, prior to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

History

St. Bernard Parish contains a large community of Spanish descent. Sometimes referred to informally as "Spanish Cajuns", the are descended from

Canary Islanders Canary Islanders, or Canarians (), are the people of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain near the coast of Maghreb, Northwest Africa. The distinctive variety of the Spanish language spoken in th ...

. This linguistically isolated group eventually developed its own dialect. The settled along , a relict distributary bayou of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. According to , who was in Louisiana from 1719 to 1738, ( is 'steer' or 'ox' in French, thus means 'land of oxen') was named in that period, presumably due to the presence of domestic or feral cattle there, and not because of bison ( in French). This settlement was called and by Spanish officials, but was also called ( Spanish for 'land of oxen'). Saint Bernard, the patron saint of colonial governor , was used in documents to identify the area. St. Bernard Parish is also home to the earliest Filipino community in the United States,

Saint Malo, Louisiana Saint Malo ( ) was a small fishing village that existed along the shore of Lake Borgne in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana as early as the mid-18th century until it was destroyed by the 1915 New Orleans hurricane. Located along Bayou Saint Malo ...

. The chief historical attraction in St. Bernard Parish is the Battlefield (part of

Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve () protects the natural and cultural resources of Louisiana's Mississippi River Delta region. It is named after French pirate Jean Lafitte and consists of six separate sites and a park headquar ...

), at which the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815, between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

took place on January 8, 1815, during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. Many street names near the battlefield bear the names of the chief participants, or take a pirate theme, since the pirate

Jean Lafitte Jean Lafitte ( – ) was a French pirate, privateer, and slave trader who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time u ...

was considered to be a hero in the battle. A high school, later elementary and now a middle school, was named in honor of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

, who was the commanding officer in charge of defending

against the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

invasion. In 1863,

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

mentioned St. Bernard Parish in the

Emancipation Proclamation The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation had the eff ...

as an area not in rebellion against the Union during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. From 1919 to 1969, the parish was effectively ruled as part of the fiefdom of Leander Perez, a local Democratic official in neighboring Plaquemines Parish.

1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre

In 1868, St. Bernard Parish was home to one of the deadliest massacres in Louisiana history. The St. Bernard Parish massacre occurred during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, days before the Presidential election of 1868. As black men gained the right to vote, white Democrats of the parish feared losing their majority. Armed groups mobilized to violently silence these recently emancipated voters to win the election in favor of Democrat Horatio Seymour over Republican

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

. A Seymour victory meant the end of Reconstruction over the South and the return of Louisiana to home rule. Many freedmen were dragged from their homes and murdered. Others fled to the cane fields to hide from the perpetrators. The use of violence to suppress Republican votes was successful. Grant only received one vote from St. Bernard Parish, despite having a Republican majority. The reported number of freedmen killed varies from 35 to 135; the number of whites killed was two (one was killed in an attempt to help the victims).

Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927

During the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, New Orleans city and state leaders used

dynamite Dynamite is an explosive made of nitroglycerin, sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish people, Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht, Northern German ...

to breach a

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

at Caernarvon, below Canal Street, to save the city of

from flooding. At the time, it was thought by New Orleans residents that the dynamiting saved the city, but historians now believe that the dynamiting was unnecessary due to major upstream levee breaks that relieved pressure on the New Orleans levees. The levee breach caused flooding and widespread destruction in most of Eastern St. Bernard Parish and parts of Plaquemines Parish. Residents were never adequately compensated for their losses.

Hurricane Katrina, 2005

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On August 29, 2005, St. Bernard was devastated by

. The storm damaged virtually every structure in the parish. The eye of Katrina passed over the eastern portion of the parish, pushing a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

into the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet ("MRGO"). This surge destroyed the parish levees. Almost the entire parish was flooded, with most areas left with between 5 and 15 feet () of standing water. The water rose suddenly and violently, during a period which witnesses reported as no more than fifteen minutes. In many areas, houses were smashed or washed off their foundations by a storm surge higher than the roofs. For more than two months after the storm, much of the parish remained without proper services, including electricity, water, and sewage. Parish President Henry "Junior" Rodriguez declared all of the parish's homes unlivable. Emergency Communities offered one reason for hope in the first year after Hurricane Katrina. In the parking lot of a destroyed off-track betting parlor, EC built the Made with Love Cafe and Grill, a free kitchen and community center serving 1500 meals per day. Made with Love, housed in a geodesic dome, also offered food and clothing distribution, and emotionally supportive volunteers. Upon leaving, EC has offered logistical support for the founding of a new long-term Community Center of St Bernard. As of late November 2005, it was estimated that the Parish had some 7,000 full-time residents, with some 20,000 commuting to spend the day working, cleaning up, or salvaging in the parish and spending their nights elsewhere. By mid-December some businesses had returned to the Parish, most notably the

ExxonMobil Exxon Mobil Corporation ( ) is an American multinational List of oil exploration and production companies, oil and gas corporation headquartered in Spring, Texas, a suburb of Houston. Founded as the Successors of Standard Oil, largest direct s ...

plant in Chalmette and the Domino Sugar plant in Arabi, together with a handful of small local stores and businesses. At the start of January 2006, it was estimated that some 8,000 people were living in the Parish. The H.O.P.E. Project, a collective of volunteer relief workers, founded itself in January 2006 in the empty shell of the Corinne Missionary Baptist Church in Violet, LA, providing the tools for rebuilding and community empowerment. Since June 2006, Camp Hope, located in Arabi, has been housing volunteers' assisting residents of St. Bernard Parish in their recovery from Hurricane Katrina. A grassroots organization, the St. Bernard Project, opened in March 2006. A fully volunteer-run organization funded by the United Way, they help residents get back into their homes by working on the houses, providing tools, support and where possible, funding. As of October 2006, the population was estimated to be 25,489. After population losses due to Hurricane Katrina, the school was reopened for elementary grades for the 2006–2007 school year.

Hurricane Ida, 2021

With the

landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

of Hurricane Ida on August 29, 2021, St. Bernard Parish experienced heavy flooding. Two days before, local officials and weather experts advised citizens to prepare for the storm, warning that storm surge could reach as much as 11 feet. St. Bernard Parish President, Guy McInnis, stated he did not plan to issue a formal evacuation order.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (83%) is water. It is the second largest parish in Louisiana by total area and has the largest percentage of area in water of any parish. The parish of St. Bernard embraces numerous small islands. The parish is classed among the alluvial lands of the state. The ridges comprise the arable lands of the parish and have an area of . The principal streams are the Bayous Terre aux Boeufs and La Loutre. There are numerous smaller streams which are efficient drainage canals. The dominant tree species is

bald cypress ''Taxodium distichum'' (baldcypress, bald-cypress, bald cypress, swamp cypress; ; ''cipre'' in Louisiana) is a deciduous conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is native to the southeastern United States. Hardy and tough, this tree adapts to a w ...

, of which the most valuable trees have been cut and processed.

Bodies of water

* Lake Borgne (north) *

(southwest) *

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

(east)

Major highways

* Louisiana Highway 39 * Louisiana Highway 46 * Louisiana Highway 47

Adjacent counties and parishes

* Hancock County,

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

(north across

Mississippi Sound The Mississippi Sound is a sound along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It runs east-west along the southern coasts of Mississippi and Alabama, from the mouth of the Pearl River at the Mississippi-Louisiana state border to the Dauphin Islan ...

) * Harrison County,

(northeast across

and

) * Orleans Parish (northwest) * Plaquemines Parish (south) * St. Tammany Parish (northwest)

National protected areas

* Breton National Wildlife Refuge (part) * Jean Lafitte National Historical Park (part, in Chalmette)

State park

* St. Bernard State Park

Communities

There are no incorporated areas in St. Bernard Parish.

Census-designated places

* Arabi * Chalmette (parish seat) * Delacroix * Meraux * Poydras * Violet

Unincorporated communities

* Caernarvon * Hopedale (La Chinche) * Reggio (Bencheque) * Saint Bernard * Shell Beach *

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

* Verret

Ghost towns

* Alluvial City * Fazendeville * Proctorville * St. Malo

Demographics

2020 census

The 2019

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

determined 46,266 people and 15,005 households lived in the parish. At the 2020 census, there were 43,764 people, down from the prior census estimates yet up from 2010's 35,897 people. The racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 69.4%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 23.3% Black and African American, 0.4%

American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...

, 2.5% Asian, 0.1%

Native Hawaiian Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous peoples of Oceania, Indigenous Polynesians, Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was set ...

and other

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 ...

, 2.0% some other race, and 2.4% from two or more races in 2019; an estimated 10.1% of the population were

Hispanic and Latino American Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

of any race in 2019. In 2020, the racial and ethnic composition was 52.93% non-Hispanic white, 25.98% Black or African American, 0.49% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 4.63% two or more races, and 13.73% Hispanic and Latino American of any race, reflecting the trend of diversification in the U.S. Of the population, 90.7% spoke English at home, 5.5% Spanish, 1.6% other

Indo-European languages The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

, 1.6% Asian and Pacific Islander languages, and 0.7% other languages in 2019. Among the 15,005 households, the median age was 34.2. Approximately 73.2% of the population were aged 18 and older, 7.4% under 5 years of age, and 11.1% aged 65 and older. The parish population was spread out in 17,035 housing units and there was a home-ownership rate of 67.7% compared to 64.0% nationwide from 2015 to 2019. The median housing value was $151,300, and median gross rent was $951. There was a median household income of $44,661; males had a median income of $48,252 versus $33,302 for females. An estimated 26.2% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line.

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

was the parish's largest religion according to the

Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making t ...

in 2020. Most of the religiously affiliated population are members of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

via the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, with 14,439 adherents as of 2020. Historically common throughout the state,

Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

were the second-largest Christian group in the parish;

Southern Baptists The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Ch ...

made up 1,012 members and National Missionary Baptists numbered 1,230. Non/inter-denominational

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

spread among independent congregationalist,

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, and United or Uniting churches numbered 900 in 2020 per the Association of Religion Data Archives.

Education

Public schools in the parish are operated by the St. Bernard Parish Public Schools

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

. Due to Hurricane Katrina (2005), the parish's 20 plus public schools were consolidated as one school, the St. Bernard Unified School, or SBUS. St. Bernard Unified School broke up into several different schools in the 2006–2007 school year. The parish is served by Nunez Community College. Additionally Delgado Community College states that its Sidney Collier Campus in East New Orleans is in proximity to St. Bernard Parish. St. Bernard Parish also has only one Catholic school, Our Lady of Prompt Succor of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans. There is also one private Montessori school, Classique Academy.

Sports and recreation

* Frederick J. Sigur Civic Center - Auditorium and ballroom * Val Riess Recreation Complex - baseball fields, softball fields and multi-purpose building

Media

While St. Bernard is served mainly by New Orleans media sources, such as a local section of '' The Times-Picayune'', the Parish does have multiple newspapers. '' The St. Bernard Voice'', established in 1890, serves as the official journal of the parish. The ''St. Bernard News'' was established in 1967 and publishes weekly. Formerly published newspapers that served the parish include the ''St. Bernard Eagle'' and the ''St. Bernard Weekly Eagle'' which published in the 1870s through 1884 in Arabi, ''Progress'' which published from Stock Landing (Arabi) in 1888–1889, ''St. Bernard Protector'' 1925–1926, and the ''St. Bernard Guide'' which published from 1982 to 1986.

Politics

Up to 1944, like all of Louisiana, St. Bernard Parish was almost unanimously Democratic. However, like neighbouring Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish was ruled by the notorious

political boss In the politics of the United States of America, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of th ...

Leander Perez, who directed voters away from the national party to Strom Thurmond in 1948 and to

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 the ensuing decade. Apart from giving almost seventy percent of its ballots to segregationist

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who was the 45th and longest-serving governor of Alabama (1963–1967; 1971–1979; 1983–1987), and the List of longest-serving governors of U.S. s ...

in 1968, St. Bernard Parish has remained strongly Republican ever since then. Although

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 and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

in 1996 did carry it by plurality,

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

remains the last Democratic presidential nominee to gain an absolute majority.

Notable people

* Renato Beluche * P. G. T. Beauregard * Walter Boasso * A. G. Crowe * Chris Dier * Albert Estopinal * Frank Fernández Jr. * Ray Garofalo * Alcide "Yellow" Núñez * Samuel B. Nunez, Jr. * Irvan "Puco" Pérez * Leander Perez * François Marie, Chevalier de Reggio * Mitchell Robinson * Junior Rodriguez * Jean Saint Malo * Elmer R. Tapper * Jacques Villeré * Norris Weese * Tommy Wiseau

References

External links

Official website
of the St. Bernard's Parish Government
Official website
of the St. Bernard Parish Tourist Commission
St. Bernard Chamber of Commerce

Los Isleños Heritage and Cultural Society

St.Bernard Project Official Website
* St. Bernard Project Wikipedia Page
H.O.P.E. Project of Violet, Louisiana

Post-Katrina cleanup and volunteer efforts

"Hurricane Journal", Samantha Perez of St. Bernard Parish

St Bernard Health Statistics, History, and Vital Information

Chalmation.net
St. Bernard Internet Portal
St. Bernard Parish Net
Online Guide to St. Bernard Parish
Geology and Hurricane-Protection Strategies in the Greater New Orleans Area

Engineering Geology of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

Water Resources of St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...

{{Coord, 29.89, -89.35, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-LA_source:UScensus1990 Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana Louisiana parishes on the Mississippi River 1807 establishments in the Territory of Orleans Louisiana Isleño communities Populated places established in 1807