Rayne, Louisiana
| City of Rayne | |
| City | |
 Downtown Rayne
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| Nickname: Frog Capital of the World | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Acadia |
| Elevation | 36 ft (11 m) |
| Coordinates | 30°14′15″N 92°16′05″W / 30.2375°N 92.26806°W |
| Area | 3.5 sq mi (9.1 km2) |
| - land | 3.5 sq mi (9 km2) |
| - water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0% |
| Population | 8,552 (2000) |
| Density | 2,476.1 / sq mi (956 / km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 337 |
  Location of Rayne in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Website: http://www.rayne.org | |
Rayne is a city in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,552 at the 2000 census. It is nicknamed the "Frog Capital of the World", as well as the "Louisiana City of Murals".
Rayne is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area.
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[edit] Geography
Rayne is located at 30°14′15″N 92°16′5″W / 30.2375°N 92.26806°W (30.237379, -92.268175)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.0 km²), of which, 3.5 square miles (8.9 km²) of it is land and 0.29% is water.
[edit] Tornado Disaster
An EF2 tornado hit the southwestern Louisiana town of Rayne on Saturday, March 5, 2011 , injuring at least twelve people and killing one person, leveling homes and causing natural gas leaks that prompted evacuations.[2][3][4][5]
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 8,552 people, 3,183 households, and 2,228 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,476.1 people per square mile (957.1/km²). There were 3,480 housing units at an average density of 1,007.6 per square mile (389.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.55% White, 33.52% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.81% of the population.
There were 3,183 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.0% were non-families. 26.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.6% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 85.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $22,369, and the median income for a family was $27,991. Males had a median income of $27,140 versus $14,980 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,588. About 24.5% of families and 29.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.2% of those under age 18 and 24.7% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Acadia Parish School Board serves the city. Rayne High School is located in Rayne.
- Rayne Catholic Elementary high school .
Mire Elementary, a Pre-Kindergarte through 8th grade school in the community of Mire, Louisiana, also feeds into Rayne High School. Indian Bayou Elementary School, also a Pre-K-8 school, and located 7 miles outside of the city in nearby Vermilion Parish, is a feeder school into North Vermilion High School. Branch Elementary, also a Pre-K through 8th grade is a feeder school of Rayne High.
[edit] Notable residents
- Harry Choates, Joe Falcon, Jo-El Sonnier, Amedée Breaux, Johnnie Allan, Lawrence Walker and Tony Thibodeaux, Cajun musicians
- Donnie Meche and Gerard Melancon, jockeys
- Josh Reed, American football wide receiver
- Ed Zaunbrecher, American football coach
- Gerald Paddio, basketball player
- Mike Heinen, professional golfer
- Joshua Benton, director of Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University
[edit] Events
Rayne holds a yearly Frog Festival the second full weekend in November as of 2008. The yearly Frog Festival, which used to be held on the first full weekend of September following Labor Day, attracts thousands of visitors.[7]
[edit] Frog Murals
[edit] References
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
- ^ http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/0269fa3ee4ca49fabcd0ef6e2c7bc379/LA--Louisiana_Tornado/ AP via Indiana Republic
- ^ http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20110305/NEWS01/110305004 The Daily Advertiser
- ^ http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/05/louisiana.storm/ CNN
- ^ http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2011/03/05/people-injured-louisiana-tornado/ Fox News)
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ www.rayne.org "City of Rayne"
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rayne, Louisiana |
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