Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

Vermilion Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, created in 1844. The parish seat is Abbeville. Vermilion Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area, and located in southern Acadiana. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 57,359.

In the past several decades, much of the southern portion of the parish has been swept away by water erosion, especially after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005.

History

Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, from different cultures. By historic times, the Chitimacha and Atakapa inhabited the area and were the American Indians encountered by Spanish and French explorers and settlers. The tribes' numbers were drastically reduced as a result of exposure to European diseases.

French, Spanish, enslaved Africans, and French-Canadians from Acadia expelled after the Seven Years' War won by Great Britain, had all entered the area by the end of the 18th century. As the population became mostly Cajun, the primary language was French for years. In the mid- to late 19th century, they were joined by European Americans; immigrants from Italy, recruited to work on the plantations, as well as Jewish immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe due to outreach efforts from the state via the Louisiana Immigration Society. They tended to settle in towns and become merchants.

Geography

thumb|350px|Timelapse of six years in southern Vermilion Parish, Louisiana (1973, 1980, 1986, 1992, 2003, 2011) land being overtaken by water.|left

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (24%) is water. It is the fifth-largest parish in Louisiana by total area. The Gulf of Mexico is located to the south of the parish.

Major highways

25px U.S. Highway 167
25px Louisiana Highway 13
25px Louisiana Highway 14
25px Louisiana Highway 82
25px Louisiana Highway 89
25px Louisiana Highway 91
25px Louisiana Highway 92
25px Louisiana Highway 330
25px Louisiana Highway 331
25px Louisiana Highway 338
25px Louisiana Highway 339
25px Louisiana Highway 343

Adjacent parishes

Acadia Parish (north)
Lafayette Parish (northeast)
Iberia Parish (east)
Cameron Parish (west)
Jefferson Davis Parish (northwest)

Communities

thumb|250px|Map of Vermilion Parish, with municipal labels

Cities

Abbeville (parish seat and largest municipality)
Kaplan

Towns

Delcambre (partly in Iberia Parish)
Erath
Gueydan
Maurice

Census-designated place

Perry

Unincorporated communities

Bancker
Boston
Bayou Tigre
Camille
Charogne
Chenier Au Tigre
Cossinade
Cow Island
Esther
Forked Island
Grosse Isle
Henry
Leblanc
Leroy
Indian Bayou
Intracoastal City
Laurents Point
Leleux
Leroy
Mack
Marceaux
Meaux
Mouton Cove
Mulvey
Nunez
Pecan Island
Riceville
Rose Hill
Theall
Woodlawn
Wright
Youngs

Demographics

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"

|+Vermilion Parish, Louisiana – Racial and ethnic composition

!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!Pop 1980

!Pop 1990

!Pop 2000

!Pop 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020

!% 1980

!% 1990

!% 2000

!% 2010

!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020

|White alone (NH)

|41,005

|41,765

|44,026

|46,305

|style='background: #ffffe6; |44,020

|84.62%

|83.44%

|81.82%

|79.84%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76.74%

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|6,365

|6,930

|7,527

|8,246

|style='background: #ffffe6; |7,859

|13.14%

|13.84%

|13.99%

|14.22%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |13.70%

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|35

|77

|153

|195

|style='background: #ffffe6; |171

|0.07%

|0.15%

|0.28%

|0.34%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%

|Asian alone (NH)

|216

|671

|971

|1,148

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,253

|0.45%

|1.34%

|1.80%

|1.98%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.18%

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |9

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%

|Other race alone (NH)

|11

|20

|18

|53

|style='background: #ffffe6; |170

|0.02%

|0.04%

|0.03%

|0.09%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.30%

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|366

|667

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,581

|0.68%

|1.15%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.76%

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|826

|592

|742

|1,381

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,296

|1.70%

|1.18%

|1.38%

|2.38%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.00%

|Total

|48,458

|50,055

|53,807

|57,999

|style='background: #ffffe6; |57,359

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

Home to a number of Cajun peoples, at the 2000 U.S. census, there were 53,807 people, 19,832 households, and 14,457 families residing in the parish. The population density was . At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 59,865 people living in the parish, up from 57,999 at the 2010 U.S. census. By the 2020 United States census, there were 57,359 people, 22,086 households, and 15,143 families residing in the parish.

In 2000, were 22,461 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the parish was 82.68% White, 14.17% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races; 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race; 24.89% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.64% speak Vietnamese and 1.02% Spanish. In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup was 81.4% non-Hispanic white, 14.5% Black and African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.1% from two or more races. An estimated 3.5% of the population were Hispanic and Latin American of any race. It operates most public schools in the parish. Schools serving Delcambre are located in Vermilion Parish but are operated by the Iberia Parish School System. The Vermilion Parish district pays money to the Iberia parish district to educate Delcambre students in Vermilion Parish.

Schools

Public Schools that are run by the Vermilion Parish School Board include:

Cecil Picard Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Maurice)
Dozier Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Erath)
Eaton Park Elementary (Grades PK-2) (Abbeville)
Forked Island - E. Broussard Elementary (Grades PK-8) (Abbeville)
Indian Bayou Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Rayne)
James A. Herod Elementary (Grades 3–5) (Abbeville)
Jesse Owens Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Gueydan)
Kaplan Elementary (Grades PK-4) (Kaplan)
Leblanc Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
Meaux Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
Seventh Ward Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
Erath Middle (Grades 6–8) (Erath)
J. H. Williams Middle (Grades 6–8) (Abbeville)
North Vermilion Middle (Grades 6–8) (Maurice)
Rene A. Rost Middle (Grades 5–8) (Kaplan)
Abbeville High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)
Erath High School (Grades 9–12) (Erath)
Gueydan High (Grades 6–12) (Gueydan)
Kaplan High (Grades 9–12) (Kaplan)
North Vermilion High (Grades 9–12) (Maurice)

Vermilion Parish is also served by the Diocese of Lafayette with three schools:

Maltrait Memorial School (Grades PK-8) (Kaplan)
Mt. Carmel Catholic School (Grades PK-8) (Abbeville)
Vermilion Catholic High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)

Additionally, Vermilion Parish is served by two unaffiliated private schools:

Harvest Time Christian Academy (Grades PK-12) (Abbeville)
Lighthouse Christian High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)

Vermilion Parish is served by one institution of higher education:

South Louisiana Community College service area, Gulf Area Campus (Abbeville)

Politics

For most of the 20th Century, Vermillion was a Democratic-leaning parish, voting Republican only in landslide elections such as 1972, 1980, and 1984. However, like other Acadian parishes with large Cajun populations, the county has turned sharply right in the 21st century based on cultural issues and Democrats' discomfort with the oil and gas industry.

References

External links

Heinrich, P. V., 2006, White Lake 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Heinrich, P. V., J. Snead, and R. P. McCulloh, 2003, Crowley 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Vermilion Historical Society
Vermilion Parish Sheriff's Office