Grand Isle, Louisiana

Grand Isle is a town in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, located on a barrier island of the same name. The island is at the mouth of Barataria Bay where it meets the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,541; during summers, the population has increased to over 20,000.

Grand Isle's only land connection to the mainland is via an automobile causeway bridge, near the west end of the island, which connects it to southern Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. To reach the rest of Jefferson Parish by roadway, one has to travel through two different parishes (Lafourche and St. Charles) through a total distance of about 95 miles (153 km).

History

Grand Isle has been repeatedly pummelled by hurricanes through its history. On average, Grand Isle has been affected by tropical storms or hurricanes every 2.68 years since 1877, with hurricane direct hits on average every 7.88 years [1]. Only some of the more severe are listed here.

In 1860 a 6-foot (1.8 m) storm surge and great winds resulted in the total devastation of the island.

In the 1893 Atlantic hurricane season Grand Isle was devastated by a 16-foot (4.9 m) storm surge.

In the 1909 Atlantic hurricane season the island was hit with a second 16-foot (4.9 m) storm surge.

A Category 4 hurricane devastated Grand Isle on 29 September during the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season.

Grand Isle was hit by a 3.6-foot (1.1 m) storm surge on 22 August during the 1947 Atlantic hurricane season.

In 1956 Hurricane Flossy damaged the island.

Grand Isle was hit by Hurricane Betsy in September of 1965.

Tropical Storm Frances put the entire island under water in 1998.

On 26 September, 2002, Grand Isle was hit by Hurricane Isidore.

Hurricane Katrina hit Grand Isle very hard, on August 28-29, 2005, destroying or damaging homes and camps along the entire island. Katrina's surge reached 5 ft (1.5 m) at Grand Isle. Large waves severely damaged the only bridge linking Grand Isle to the mainland. A news report published less than two days after the hurricane hit falsely noted, however, that the area had been completely destroyed, reporting a scenario similar to that which befell Last Island in 1856.

Less than a month later, Grand Isle was further affected by Hurricane Rita. By mid October, a number of businesses were again open on the island.

On September 1, 2008, Hurricane Gustav completely submerges Grand Isle, but damage to infastructure was moderate to severe flood damage.

Geography

Grand Isle is located at 29°13′40″N 90°0′44″W (29.227769, -90.012115)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town covered a total area of 7.8 square miles (20.1 km²), where 6.1 square miles (15.9 km²) of it is land, and 4.2 km² (1.6 sq mi or 20.88%) of it is water.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 1,541 people, 622 households, and 436 families residing in the town. The population density was 251.1 people per square mile (96.9/km²). There were 1,875 housing units at an average density of 305.6/sq mi (117.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.04% White, 2.27% Native American, 0.19% African American, 0.19% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.49% of the population.

There were 622 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.2% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 108.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,548, and the median income for a family was $35,517. Males had a median income of $34,000 versus $19,333 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,330. About 9.1% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Grand Isle, like all locations in Jefferson Parish, is served by the Jefferson Parish Public Schools.

The Grand Isle School, a K-12 school, is located on Grand Isle.

Arts and culture

• In 1928 the annual Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo, a fishing tournament, was established on the island.

Grand Isle State Park, on the east end of the island, is the only state-owned and operated beach on the Louisiana Gulf Coast, a beach frequented by people from the Greater New Orleans area.

The island is home to the Grand Isle Coast Guard Station, which is located on the eastern end of the island.

Media

• Grand Isle is the setting for The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Chopin spent her summers in Grand Isle for over a decade.
• The second episode of Route 66 (TV series) was filmed here. The plot involved the local shrimp fishing community imperiled by an approaching hurricane.

External links

• Town of Grand Isle
• Grand Isle State Park, including a map
• Island community all but vanishes in hurricane's wake, an August 31, 2005 article about the damage from Hurricane Katrina