St. Gabriel, Louisiana

St. Gabriel is a city in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,514 at the 2000 census. The city of St. Gabriel includes the areas of Sunshine and Carville. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

St. Gabriel was incorporated as a town in 1994 and received city designation in 2001. It is located on the east bank of the Mississippi River, approximately 12 miles south of Baton Rouge. Bayou Manchac serves as the official boundary between St. Gabriel, Ascension Parish, and East Baton Rouge Parish. Over the years, the area has been transformed from a primarily agricultural economy to one that is now dominated by the petrochemical industry.

Geography

St. Gabriel is located at 30°15′13″N 91°6′5″W (30.253739, -91.101305)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 29.0 square miles (75.0 km²), of which, 28.7 square miles (74.4 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.76%) is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 5,514 people, 898 households, and 639 families residing in the town. The population density was 191.9 people per square mile (74.1/km²). There were 986 housing units at an average density of 34.3/sq mi (13.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 27.08% White, 71.98% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.12% of the population.

There were 898 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were married couples living together, 26.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.8% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.36.

In the town the population was spread out with 13.8% under the age of 18, 16.0% from 18 to 24, 46.9% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 5.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 147.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 156.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,352, and the median income for a family was $30,859. Males had a median income of $28,281 versus $19,167 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,952. About 23.0% of families and 23.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.0% of those under age 18 and 25.3% of those age 65 or over.

History

This area is in a part of Acadiana, which was founded by the Acadians, after their expulsion from Nova Scotia in the mid 1700s.

Historical Sites

St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church is perhaps one of the oldest churches in the Louisiana Purchase Territory. Tradition sets the date of the formation of the parish in 1761 [1]. The church steeple was destroyed by Hurricane Gustav during the 2008 Atlantic Hurricane Season.

External links

• City of St. Gabriel