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Ascension Parish, Louisiana
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Seat	Donaldsonville
Largest city	Gonzales
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	303 sq mi (784 km²) 292 sq mi (755 km²) 11 sq mi (29 km²), 3.75
Population  - (2000)  - Density	76,627 263/sq mi (101/km²)
Founded	1807
Named for	Ascension of Our Lord Church in Donaldsonville
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Ascension Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ascension) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is one of the fastest growing parishes in the state. Its population is estimated to be greater than the 2000 census. One of the major reasons for parish growth is the number of families wanting to move their children from the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools to the higher-performing Ascension public school system.

Ascension Parish is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Baton Rouge–Pierre Part Combined Statistical Area.

Law and government

The parish is thought to be becoming politically conservative. Since 2000, nearly 14,000 new voters have registered in Ascension Parish, and fewer than 1,000 of those are Democrats.

Democrats still lead in registrants with 28,181; Republicans follow with 16,218. There are also 13,052 "No Party" registrants, as permitted under Louisiana law. Robert Poche, Ascension Parish voter registrar told the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate in 2007 that "History tells us that those with no party affiliation have been voting conservatively."

Ascension Parish also had a small number of voters registered as upper case Independents. There are thirty-one Libertarian Party members, and thirty-three Reform Party registrants. The total registrants in April 2007 stood at 58,221.^[1]

Geography

The parish has a total area of 303 square miles (784 km²). 292 square miles (755 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (29 km²) of it (3.75%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 10
• U.S. Highway 61
• Louisiana Highway 1
• Louisiana Highway 16
• Louisiana Highway 18
• Louisiana Highway 73
• Louisiana Highway 22
• Louisiana Highway 30
• Louisiana Highway 42
• Louisiana Highway 44

Adjacent parishes

• East Baton Rouge Parish (north)
• Livingston Parish (northeast)
• St. John the Baptist Parish (east)
• St. James Parish (southeast)
• Assumption Parish (southwest)
• Iberville Parish (west)

		East Baton Rouge Parish	Livingston Parish
	Iberville Parish		St. John the Baptist Parish
		Ascension Parish, Louisiana
	Assumption Parish		St. James Parish

Demographics

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 76,627 people, 26,691 households, and 20,792 families residing in the parish. The population density was 263 people per square mile (101/km²). There were 29,172 housing units at an average density of 100 per square mile (39/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 77.39% White, 20.28% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 94.46% of the population spoke only English at home, while 2.76% spoke French or Cajun French, and 2.41% spoke Spanish [1].

There were 26,691 households out of which 42.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.10% were non-families. 18.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the parish the population was spread out with 30.10% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $44,288, and the median income for a family was $50,626. Males had a median income of $41,109 versus $23,054 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $17,858. About 10.70% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 15.40% of those age 65 or over.

Cities, towns, and villages

Map of Ascension Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Incorporated

Unincorporated

Waterways

Education

Ascension Parish School Board operates local public schools. The parish is also home to private schools.

National Guard

The 922nd Engineer Company (Horizontal), a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade.

Media

Two newspapers are based in Ascension Parish's two cities, Donaldsonville and Gonzales. The Gonzales Weekly Citizen is a bi-weekly newspaper formed after the merger of The Gonzales Weekly (founded 1920) and The Ascension Citizen (founded 1996). The Donaldsonville Chief, founded in 1871, is the parish's longest continually published newspaper

See also

Louisiana portal

References

Further reading

• McCulloh, R. P., P. V. Heinrich, and J. Snead, 2003, Ponchatoula 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

External links

• Ascension Parish government's website
• Ascension Parish Sheriff's website
• Weekly Citizen newspaper
• Ascension Parish Library
• Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary

Municipalities and communities of Ascension Parish, Louisiana Parish seat: Donaldsonville Cities Donaldsonville | Gonzales Town Sorrento Unincorporated communities Aben | Acy | Barmen | Barton | Belle Helene | Bowden | Brittany | Bruly McCall | Bullion | Burnside | Claybank | Cofield | Cornerview | Darrow | Duckroost | Duplessis | Dutchtown | Galvez | Geismar | Hillaryville | Hobart | Hohen Solms | Hope Villa | Lake | Lemannville | Little Prairie | Marchand | McCall | McElroy | Modeste | Mount Houmas | Noel | Oak Grove | Palo Alto | Philadelphia Point | Prairieville | St. Amant | St. Elmo | Smoke Bend | Southwood | Weber City

State of Louisiana The Pelican State Baton Rouge (capital) Topics History | Music | Louisianans | Constitution | Governors | Lieutenant Governors | Attorneys General | Legislature | Supreme Court | Congressional Districts | Visitor Attractions | Culture Regions Acadiana | Ark-La-Tex | Central Louisiana | Florida Parishes | Greater New Orleans | North Louisiana Cities Alexandria | Baton Rouge | Bossier City | Hammond | Houma | Kenner | Lafayette | Lake Charles | Monroe | New Iberia | New Orleans | Opelousas | Ponchatoula | Ruston | Shreveport | Slidell | Sulphur CDPs Chalmette | Harvey | LaPlace | Marrero | Metairie | Terrytown Metros Alexandria | Baton Rouge | Houma‑Bayou Cane‑Thibodaux | Lafayette | Lake Charles | Monroe | New Orleans | Shreveport‑Bossier City Parishes Acadia | Allen | Ascension | Assumption | Avoyelles | Beauregard | Bienville | Bossier | Caddo | Calcasieu | Caldwell | Cameron | Catahoula | Claiborne | Concordia | De Soto | East Baton Rouge | East Carroll | East Feliciana | Evangeline | Franklin | Grant | Iberia | Iberville | Jackson | Jefferson | Jefferson Davis | La Salle | Lafayette | Lafourche | Lincoln | Livingston | Madison | Morehouse | Natchitoches | Orleans | Ouachita | Plaquemines | Pointe Coupee | Rapides | Red River | Richland | Sabine | St. Bernard | St. Charles | St. Helena | St. James | St. John the Baptist | St. Landry | St. Martin | St. Mary | St. Tammany | Tangipahoa | Tensas | Terrebonne | Union | Vermilion | Vernon | Washington | Webster | West Baton Rouge | West Carroll | West Feliciana | Winn

Coordinates: 30°12′N 90°55′W / 30.20°N 90.91°W / 30.20; -90.91

From Familypedia

Ascension Parish, Louisiana
Map
File:Map of Louisiana highlighting Ascension Parish.png Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the USA
Statistics
Founded	1807
Seat	Donaldsonville
Largest City	Gonzales
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	sq mi ( km²)  sq mi ( km²)  sq mi ( km²), 3.75
wikipedia:Population  - (2000)  - Density	76627
Time zone	Central : UTC-6/-5
Named for: Ascension of Our Lord Church in Donaldsonville

Ascension Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ascension) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is one of the fastest growing parishes in the state. Its populaton is estimated to be 20,000 to 30,000 residents greater than the 2000 census. One of the major reasons for parish growth is the number of families wanting to move their children from the East Baton Rouge Parish public schools to the higher-performing Ascension public school system. For a time, Hurricane Katrina also brought in new residents from surrounding areas, but Ascension Parish President Ronnie Hughes said that the influx of hurricane victims has decreased and remains a small percent of growth.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 784 km² (303 sq mi). 755 km² (292 sq mi) of it is land and 29 km² (11 sq mi) of it (3.75%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 10
• U.S. Highway 61
• Louisiana Highway 1
• Louisiana Highway 16
• Louisiana Highway 18
• Louisiana Highway 22
• Louisiana Highway 30
• Louisiana Highway 42
• Louisiana Highway 44

Adjacent parishes

• East Baton Rouge Parish (north)
• Livingston Parish (northeast)
• St. John the Baptist Parish (east)
• St. James Parish (southeast)
• Assumption Parish (southwest)
• Iberville Parish (west)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 76,627 people, 26,691 households, and 20,792 families residing in the parish. The population density was 101/km² (263/sq mi). There were 29,172 housing units at an average density of 39/km² (100/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 77.39% White, 20.28% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.99% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. 2.46% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 94.46% of the population spoke only English at home, while 2.76% spoke French or Cajun French, and 2.41% spoke Spanish [1].

There were 26,691 households out of which 42.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 13.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.10% were non-families. 18.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.85 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the parish the population was spread out with 30.10% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 32.60% from 25 to 44, 20.20% from 45 to 64, and 7.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 96.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.50 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $44,288, and the median income for a family was $50,626. Males had a median income of $41,109 versus $23,054 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $17,858. About 10.70% of families and 12.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.30% of those under age 18 and 15.40% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

The parish is thought to be becoming politically conservative. Since 2000, nearly 14,000 new voters have registered in Ascension Parish, and fewer than 1,000 of those are Democrats.

Democrats still lead in registrants with 28,181; Republicans follow with 16,218. There are also 13,052 "No Party" registrants, as permitted under Louisiana law. Robert Poche, Ascension Parish voter registrar told the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate in 2007 that "History tells us that those with no party affiliation have been voting conservatively."

Ascension Parish also had a small number of voters registered as upper case Independents. There are thirty-one Libertarian Party members, and thirty-three Reform Party registrants. The total registrants in April 2007 stood at 58,221.^[1]

Cities, towns, and villages

Map of Ascension Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Incorporated

Unincorporated

Waterways

Notes

1. ^ John McMillan, Baton Rouge Advocate, River parishes bureau, Apr 29, 2007, Page: 1b

External links

• Ascension Parish government's website
• Ascension Citizen newspaper
• Ascension Parish Library

Municipalities and communities of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana
Parish seat: Donaldsonville, Louisiana
Cities	Donaldsonville | Gonzales
Towns	Galvez | Sorrento
Villages	Darrow | Burnside | McCall | St. Amant | Lake | Duplessis | Geismar | Modeste |
Communities	Aben | Acy | Barmen | Barton | Belle Helene | Bowden | Brittany | Bruly McCall | Bullion | Claybank | Cofield | Cornerview | Duckroost | Dutchtown | Hillaryville | Hobart | Hohen Solms | Hope Villa | Lemannville | Little Prairie | Marchand | McElroy | Mount Houmas | Noel | Oak Grove | Palo Alto | Philadelphia Point | Prairieville | Smoke Bend | Southwood | St. Elmo | Weber City |

State of Louisiana Baton Rouge (capital)

History | Louisianans | Constitution | Governors | Lieutenant Governors | Attorneys General | Legislature | Supreme Court

Coordinates: 30°12′N 90°55′W / 30.20, -90.91