St. Landry Parish, Louisiana

St. Landry Parish (: Paroisse de Saint-Landry) is a located in the  of. The is. In 2000, the population of the parish was 87,700. As of 2006, the population estimate is 91,528.

French and Spanish Territory
The land which became St. Landry has been inhabited since at least 10,500 B.C., as deducted from three prehistoric dwelling sites that have been excavated in the parish. In the 16th century the Indians settled in the area. The Attapakas were a warlike tribe, often praying on their neighbors, the Opelousas Indians, the s, and the. The three neighboring tribes united against the Attakapas, almost destroying the tribe and driving them from their lands in Louisiana. The Opelousas then gained control over the territory.

According to local legend, the first white man to reach the land of St. Landry Parish was a French trader named Michel de Birotte, who negotiated with the Opelousas Indians about 1690. Several years later, the French government of Louisiana established the Poste des Opelousas in the territory, which quickly became a stopping point for people travelling overland from to. Although St. Landry Parish is a governmental unit of civil administration, its name comes from a Catholic church parish. The main church serving the needs of the civil parish in the mid to late 1700's was named St. Landry Catholic Church. The saint  was a.

In the early 1740s the area welcomed its first non-military settlers, Jean Joseph LeKintrek and Joseph Blainpain, who had formed a parternship to trade with the Opelousas Indians, and arrived with their three African slaves, the first Africans to live in the area.

Three years after taking the territory of Louisiana from France, in 1765, the Spanish built a military and trade post at Opelousas, which became the governing center for the entire southwestern part of Louisiana. The large garrison was established slightly north of the modern-day city of Opelousas. Despite the fact that neither the French nor Spanish actively encouraged settlement in the area, by 1769 about 100 families were living near the Opelousas Post. Some of them were soldiers from Spain, Italy and Switzerland who had originally arrived as part of the Spanish military, while others had arrived from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Germany, and a large group of French-speaking n exiles had settles along the banks of the bayous in the area.

Property of the United States
The gained control of the territory in 1803 through the, and Americans from various parts of the United States began to migrate to the area, marking the first time that English was used in any widespread way in the area.

St. Landry Parish was officially established by a legislative act approved on April 10, from the central part of the former Opelousas County, becoming the largest parish in the state. The new parish was named after the Catholic Church located near the Opelousas Post, which was itself named for St. Landry, the Bishop of Parish in 650 A.D. At this time, the parish's boundaries encompassed all of the land between the Atchafalaya and Sabine rivers and between  and   and  and  Parishes. In the intervening years the parish has grown smaller, as six additional parishes were created from its territory. These include, , , , , and.

The city of Opelousas has been the seat of government for the parish since its formation. After fell to the Union troops during the Civil War in 1862, Opelousas became the state capital for nine months. The capital was moved again in 1863, this time to when Union troops occupied Opelousas.

was not kind to the area, and in 1868 between 25 and 50 blacks were killed in town when residents rioted against the conditions. This has been cited as one of the worst examples of Reconstruction violence in south Louisiana.

St. Landry Parish became a haven for refugees in May 1927, when heavy rains in northern and midwestern areas caused intense flooding in areas downstream, especially after levees near, and  collapsed. Over 81% of St. Landry Parish suffered some flooding, with 77% of the inhabitants affected. People in more southern areas of Louisiana, especially those communities along, were forced to flee their homes for areas which suffered less damage. By May 20th, over 5700 refugees were registered as being in Opelousas, which at that time had a population of only 6000 people. When all communities in St. Landry Parish were counted, it was estimated that the parish housed over 21,000 refugees.

Geography
The parish has a total area of 2,432 (939 ). 2,405 km² (929 sq mi) of it is land and 26 km² (10 sq mi) of it (1.08%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:I-49.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 71.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 167.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:US 190.svg|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 10.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 29.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 31.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 35.PNG|20px]]

Adjacent parishes

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * (south)
 * (southwest)
 * (northwest)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 87,700 people, 32,328 households, and 23,211 families residing in the parish. The was 36/km² (94/sq mi). There were 36,216 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (39/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 56.51%, 42.13% or , 0.14% , 0.20% , 0.01% , 0.31% from , and 0.70% from two or more races. 0.91% of the population were or  of any race. 16.7% reported speaking or  at home.

There were 32,328 households out of which 36.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.30% were living together, 17.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.20% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.21.

In the parish the population was spread out with 29.50% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 26.50% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.80 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $22,855, and the median income for a family was $28,908. Males had a median income of $29,458 versus $18,473 for females. The for the parish was $12,042. About 24.70% of families and 29.30% of the population were below the, including 37.70% of those under age 18 and 27.50% of those age 65 or over.