Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana
| Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana | |
 Location in the state of Louisiana |
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 Louisiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1822 |
|---|---|
| Named for | terre bonne, French for good earth due to the richness and fertility of the soil. |
| Seat | Houma |
| Largest city | Houma |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
2,080 sq mi (5,387 km²) 1,255 sq mi (3,250 km²) 825 sq mi (2,137 km²), 39.66% |
| Population - (2008) - Density |
108,576 83/sq mi (32/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.tpcg.org |
Terrebonne Parish (French: Paroisse Terrebonne) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Houma. Its population was 111,860 (as of 2010). It is the second largest parish in Louisiana in terms of land area.
Terrebonne Parish is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Terrebonne is represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives by the Republican businessman Gordon Dove of Houma. Dove's seat was previously held by Hunt Downer, a former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives.
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[edit] History
Terrebonne Parish was formed in 1822 from part of Lafourche Parish. The name "Terrebonne" means "good earth", "good land", "good soil" in French.
The parish has been run by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government since it absorbed the powers of the City of Houma. The parish is led by President Michel Claudet, elected in 2007.
[edit] Geography
The parish has a total area of 2,080 square miles (5,387 km²), of which, 1,255 square miles (3,250 km²) of it is land and 825 square miles (2,137 km²) of it (39.66%) is water.
[edit] Major highways
U.S. Highway 90
Louisiana Highway 24
Louisiana Highway 55
Louisiana Highway 56
Louisiana Highway 57
Louisiana Highway 58
[edit] Adjacent parishes
- Assumption Parish (north)
- Lafourche Parish (east)
- Gulf of Mexico (south)
- St. Mary Parish (northwest)
[edit] National protected area
[edit] Demographics
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 24,464 |
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| 1910 | 28,320 | 15.8% | |
| 1920 | 26,974 | −4.8% | |
| 1930 | 29,816 | 10.5% | |
| 1940 | 35,880 | 20.3% | |
| 1950 | 43,328 | 20.8% | |
| 1960 | 60,771 | 40.3% | |
| 1970 | 76,049 | 25.1% | |
| 1980 | 94,393 | 24.1% | |
| 1990 | 96,982 | 2.7% | |
| 2000 | 104,503 | 7.8% | |
| 2010 | 111,860 | 7.0% | |
| Terrebonne Parish Census Data[1] | |||
As of the census of 2008 there were 108,576 people, 35,997 households, and 27,393 families residing in the parish. The population density was 83 people per square mile (32/km²). There were 39,928 housing units at an average density of 32 per square mile (12/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 74.07% White, 17.79% Black or African American, 5.29% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 1.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.66% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.5% speak Spanish.[1]
There were 35,997 households out of which 39.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 19.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the parish the population was spread out with 29.20% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $35,235, and the median income for a family was $39,912. Males had a median income of $34,869 versus $20,705 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $16,051. About 15.80% of families and 19.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.90% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over. (Newly entered 2008 census number requires newly updated figures in above information). [5]In 2009 Terrebonne Parish has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country.
[edit] Communities
Houma is the only incorporated city in Terrebonne Parish.
Census-designated places include:
Other unincorporated areas include:
[edit] Education
Terrebonne Parish School District operates public schools.
[edit] Media
The parish was setting of the 2005 motion picture The Skeleton Key. (The movie was not actually filmed in Houma, or Terrebonne Parish.) It has been the setting for several other movies in recent years.
The parish is the location for the fictional Belle Reve prison, a prominent facility in the DC Comics universe.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
4. http://www.tpcg.org/view.php?f=main&p= history 5. http://m.tpcg.org/?p=pm President's message
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Terrebonne Parish School District
- Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office
- Houma Today (website of The Courier daily newspaper)
- Tri-Parish times (website of Tri-Parish times weekly regional newspaper)
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