St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana

St. John the Baptist Parish (: Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste) is a located in the  of. In 2000, its population was 43,044. The is.

Geography
The parish has a total area of 901 (348 ). 567 km² (219 sq mi) of it is land and 334 km² (129 sq mi) of it (37.07%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-10.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:I-55.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 51.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 61.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 18.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 44.PNG|20px]]

Adjacent parishes

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (west)
 * &  (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 43,044 people, 14,283 households, and 11,312 families residing in the parish. The was 76/km² (197/sq mi). There were 15,532 housing units at an average density of 27/km² (71/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 52.58%, 44.76% or , 0.26% , 0.53% , 0.03% , 0.86% from , and 0.98% from two or more races. 2.86% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 14,283 households out of which 43.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% were living together, 18.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.80% were non-families. 17.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.38.

In the parish the population was spread out with 31.20% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 7.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.70 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $39,456, and the median income for a family was $43,925. Males had a median income of $37,293 versus $22,323 for females. The for the parish was $15,445. About 13.90% of families and 16.70% of the population were below the, including 21.70% of those under age 18 and 17.80% of those age 65 or over.

History
St. John the Baptist Parish was the second permanent settlement in Louisiana. The parish was established in the early 1720s by a group of German colonists. Many families established towns around the Mississippi River in the areas now known as Lucy, Garyville, and Reserve. The area was under the French regime until 1768 when France delivered Louisiana to the Spanish. Around this time period, many Acadians, or "", began arriving in south Louisiana due to being exiled from their homes in what is now. The first Acadian village was established in what is now Wallace. The German and French cultures thrived alongside one another, but came to be the dominant language.

In these early years, much transportation was done by boat, mainly on the bayous and lakes, but the Mississippi River as well. St. John, with its fertile land being nine feet above sea level proved to be an excellent settlement for farming and agriculture.

As the families of the settlement grew, a need for education grew also. Sometimes a plantation owner would hire a teacher and invite the neighborhood children to attend classes. Private schools taught in the French language were established around 1869. The first high schools at Edgard and Reserve were built in 1909. Children attended the schools by horse drawn buses or by commuter train.

Eight communities comprise the whole of St. John Parish. On the west bank of the river lies the sprawling towns of Lucy, Edgard and Wallace. This area is primarily agricultural. Rows and rows of sugar cane cover the fields. The east bank has LaPlace, Reserve, Lions, Garyville and Mt. Airy, each a thriving, bustling community. Industries follow along the river, including a chemical plant, sugar refinery, grain elevators and an oil refinery.