LaPlace, Louisiana

LaPlace(/ləˈplɑːs/lə-PLAHSS) is acensus-designated place(CDP) inSt. John the Baptist Parish,Louisiana, United States, situated along the east bank of theMississippi River, in theNew Orleans metropolitan area. In 2020, it had a population of 28,841.
LaPlace is the southern terminus ofInterstate 55, where it joins withInterstate 10, and ofUS 51, where it terminates at the junction withUS 61. LaPlace is located 25 miles (40 km) west ofNew Orleans.
TheChitimachalived in the region prior to the arrival of European colonists. The tribe’s lands once encompassed the entireAtchafalaya Basin, westward toLafayette, southward to theGulf of Mexicoand eastward to the New Orleans area. The Chitimacha tribe currently resides on a reservation inSt. Mary Parish.
Present-day LaPlace was settled by German immigrants in the early 18th century during Louisiana'sFrench colonialperiod, as part of a larger settlement on the bank of the Mississippi called Karlstein.Karlstein was one of the four settlements collectively known as the "German Coast" (French:la Côte des Allemands), having been populated by German-speaking immigrants since 1721.French andAcadiansintermarried with the Germans, and the area came to be known as Bonnet Carré (French for "squarebonnet").The name Bonnet Carré was inspired by the right-angle turn of the Mississippi river near the settlement and its resemblance to a square bonnet.
Manual Andry built Woodland plantation in 1793 and forced enslaved people to cultivatesugarcanethere. The amount of money he stole from their forced labor was sizable. Severe violence was inflicted on the enslaved people, as had been common in Haiti (and had led to a successful slave rebellion there).
In early January 1811, slaves at Woodland Plantation and several nearby plantations attempted theGerman Coast Uprising.A group of 200-500 slaves armed with guns, axes, andcane knivesset out from LaPlace to conquer New Orleans and gain freedom for themselves and others.Local white "militia" men crushed the rebellion within three days, and nearly 100 slaves were either killed in battle, slaughtered by pursuing militia, or executed after summary trials by planter tribunals.Although more slaves may have participated in theBlack Seminolerebellion in 1836 and the whole of theSecond Seminole War, this is now considered the largest slave rebellion.
In 1879,pharmacist, planter, andpatent medicinepurveyorBasile Laplace arrived from New Orleans and established a large plantation in Bonnet Carré. In 1883, he allowed theNew Orleans and Baton Rouge Railroadto cut through his land.The settlement'srailroad depotwas named after Laplace, then the post office, and eventually the town itself.
In the 1920s, Woodland Plantation was bought by the Montegut family, but the most famous person born there may have beenKid Ory, who was born in an outbuilding and later led a successful New Orleans jazz band.
In the period between 1850 and 1883, the levee on the east bank of the Mississippi flooded several times.In 1850, a flood created theBonnet Carré Crevasse, a levee breach that was more than a mile wide.Several major floods were exacerbated by this crevasse near LaPlace, and one resulted in severe flooding ofNew Orleansin 1871.The breach was closed in 1883.
In 1983, a violent F4 tornado devastated part of the town.
In August 1992,Hurricane Andrewspawned an F3 tornado that killed 2 people.
In 2012, about 5,000 houses were damaged by flooding in LaPlace duringHurricane Isaac.
In February 2016 and again in March 2016, severaltornadoestouched down in LaPlace, damaging hundreds of buildings and disrupting power.
LaPlace was badly damaged byHurricane Idaon August 29, 2021.
Despite the spelling used for LaPlace's namesake, the St. John the Baptist ParishPolice Jurydecreed in 1971 that the official spelling of the town includes a capital letter "P".
Andouille, asmokedporksausagethat originated in France, is popular in LaPlace and elsewhere in Louisiana, but in the 1970s, then-GovernorEdwin Edwardsproclaimed LaPlace the "Official Andouille Capital of the World".Since 1972, LaPlace has held an Andouille Festival every October.On his programFeasting on Asphalt, TV chefAlton Brownvisited LaPlace to sample its andouille.
ThePort of South Louisianais headquartered in LaPlace.Other major employers in the region includeShell Chemical Company,DuPont,ADM Growmark, andArcelorMittal(formerly Bayou Steel).
LaPlace is located at30°4′30″N90°29′6″W﻿ / ﻿30.07500°N 90.48500°W﻿ /30.07500; -90.48500(30.075025, -90.484896)and has an elevation of 10 feet (3.0 m).
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 22.7 square miles (59 km), of which 21.5 square miles (56 km) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km) (5.29%) is water.
At the2010 United States census,there were 29,872 people, 11,159 households, and 10,592 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,287.8 inhabitants per square mile (497.2/km). There were 9,888 housing units at an average density of 460.0 per square mile (177.6/km). The racial makeup of the CDP was 47.0%White, 47.9%African American, 0.4%Native American, 1.0%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 1.11% fromother races, and 1.17% from two or more races. The cultural groups forHispanicorLatino, of any race, were 6.1% of the population. At the 2019American Community Survey, there were 29,108 people living in the community,and 28,841 at the2020 U.S. census. In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of LaPlace was 52.1% Black and African American, 41.4%non-Hispanic white, 1.6% Asian, 2.9% some other race, and 2.0% two or more races.
In 2010, there were 9,171 households, out of which 44.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.4% were married couples living together, 14.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 16.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 4.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.34.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 31.2% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 6.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males. In 2019, the median age was 36.3.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $45,103, and the median income for a family was $50,024 at the 2010 U.S. census. Males had a median income of $39,304 versus $23,277 for females. Theper capita incomefor the CDP was $17,090. About 9.9% of families and 12.1% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 13.0% of those age 65 or over. In 2019, the median household income increased to $53,253 and the poverty rate was 15.3%.
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TheSt. John the Baptist Parish School Board, the school district for the entire parish,operates public schools in LaPlace.
Schools in the LaPlace census-designated place:
Schools in other unincorporated areas with LaPlace postal addresses:
Prior to 2017,the following schools had attendance boundaries including sections of the LaPlace CDP: East St. John, LaPlace, Lake Ponchartrain, and Watkins elementary schools.
East St. John High Schoolis in Reserve CDP.
Other schools:
Source:
Private schools in LaPlace CDP include the following Catholic schools (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans)
These two non-Catholic Christian private schools are in Reserve CDP:
Cable and Internet services in LaPlace are provided byReserve Telecommunications.