ABBEVILLE, LOUISIANA

The small city of 'Abbeville' is the parish seat of Vermilion Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana, 150 miles (241 km) west of New Orleans.
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As of 2005, the population estimates recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 11,664.^[3]
Abbeville is in the heart of "Cajun Country," and is home to many restaurants that specialize in the authentic tastes of the region.

Contents

Geography

Demographics

History

Life in Abbeville

Education

National Guard

Large Food Distributors

Notable Restaurants

Festivals

Popular culture

Notable Residents

Films

Notes and references

External links

Geography

Abbeville is located at (29.972489, -92.129056) and has an elevation of .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.7 km² (5.7 mi²). 14.6 km² (5.7 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.53%) is water.
Abbeville is the southern terminus of U.S. Highway 167. Abbeville Municipal Airport is in the eastern part of the city. The Vermilion River runs through downtown Abbeville, and numerous canals and coulies go through other parts of the city.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,887 people, 4,499 households, and 3,014 families residing in the city. The population density was 812.3/km² (2,104.3/mi²). There were 5,125 housing units at an average density of 350.2/km² (907.3/mi²).

St. Mary Magdalene Church‎

The racial makeup of the city was 54.29% White, 38.56% African American, 0.19% Native American, 5.50% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.93% of the population.
There were 4,499 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.0% were non-families. 28.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the city of Abbeville, the population was spread out with 29.7% under the age of 18, 9.4% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 19.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,714, and the median income for a family was $21,400. Males had a median income of $27,766 versus $16,073 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,680. About 33.3% of families and 37.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 53.8% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over.

History

The land that was to become Abbeville was purchased by founding father Père Antoine Désiré Mégret (Père is French for 'Father'), Capuchin missionary, on July 25, 1843 for $900. Megret named the town after his home in France. There were two people living on the land at that time, Joseph LeBlanc and his wife Isabelle Broussard, whose former home Father Megret converted into a chapel. The chapel burned in 1854, and St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church now stands at the same location.
Father Megret modeled his original plan for the village after a French Provincial village. In a map he made in 1846, the town was 38 to 40 acres in size. It was bounded on the north by St. Victor Boulevard, on the south by Lafayette Boulevard, on the east by "the sisters of Charity," and on the west by Bayou Vermilion. At this point in time the town was called “Abbville”. It is not clear exactly when or why the transition to "Abbeville" took place. At the center of downtown is Magdalen Square, which is a beautiful town square accented by huge oak trees, a fountain, and gazebo. Today, a statue stands in Magdalen Square in memorial to Father Megret.
In 1890, 637 people lived in Abeville; in 1900, 1,536; in 1910, 2,907; and in 1940, Abbeville was the home of 6,672 occupants. In 1990, 11,187 people lived in Abbeville, and, in 2006, census showed that 12,500 people made Abbeville their home.

Life in Abbeville

Modern Abbeville is a trade center for agricultural products, especially rice and seafood. Abbeville and its citizens also provide many services for the oil and natural gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico.

Education

The City of Abbeville is served by the Vermilion Parish School District.^[4] The following public schools are located in Abbeville:

★ Abbeville High School (Grades 9-12)

★ J.H.Williams Middle School (Grades 6-8)

★ Eaton Park Elementary School (Grades PK-5)

★ Forked Island - E. Broussard Elementary School (Grades PK-8)

★ Herod Elementary School (Grades PK-5)

★ Meaux Elementary School (Grades PK-6)

★ Seventh Ward Elementary School (Grades PK-5)
In addition, the following parochial schools are located in Abbeville:

★ Vermilion Catholic High School (Grades 9-12)

★ Mount Carmel Elementary School (Grades PK-8)

National Guard

Abbeville is the home of HHC (headquarters company), 2nd Battalion, 156th Infantry (mech.), of the Louisiana Army National Guard. The 2nd Battalion served with the 256th Infantry Brigade ("The Tiger Brigade") during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2004-2005.

Large Food Distributors

★ C. S. Steen's Syrup Mill, Inc.

★ Riviana Rice
:(In January 2006, Riviana's parent company Ebro Puleva SA, announced plans to close or sell the Abbeville facility, as well as others in Vermilion Parish. A buyer has reportedly stepped forward to keep the rice mill operating. This immediately prevents, or at least postpones, closure of the facility and loss of jobs important to the city.)

Notable Restaurants

★ Black’s Oyster Bar

★ Dupuy’s Oyster Shop

★ Lynn G’s Seafood & Steakhouse

★ The River Front Restaurant

★ Shucks Restaurant

★ Comeaux's Cafe

★ Richards Crawfish Patio

★ Cajun Claws

Festivals

★ Daylily Festival and Garden Show

★ Giant Omelette Celebration

★ Les Lumieres du Village d'Abbeville

★ Louisiana Cattle Festival

★ Vermilion Carousel of Arts

Popular culture

Notable Residents

★ Sammy Kershaw, country music artist, was born in Abbeville in 1958

★ Charlton Lyons, considered the "father of the Republican Party in Louisiana", was born in Abbeville in 1894.

★ George Petty, artist, was also born in Abbeville in 1894

★ Ned Theall, member of swamp pop band The Boogie Kings

Films

The 1988 remake of The Blob movie was filmed in Abbeville.
Robert J. Flaherty chose Abbeville in 1948 as his base of operations during the filming of "The Louisiana Story." He rented a house in the current downtown area for 15 months over 1946-47.

Notes and references

★ "Abbeville," ''The Encyclopædia Britannica.''


1.
"Abbeville, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes),
''City Data'', 2007, webpage:
C-Abbvl.

2.
"Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list),
US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage:
C2000-LA.

3. "Abbeville, Louisiana," city-data.com.[1]
4. Official website of the Vermilion Parish School District.[2]

External links

★ City of Abbeville, Louisiana

★ Abbeville Walking Tour on Louisiana Main Street

★ Vermilion Parish Tourist Commission