TERREBONNE PARISH, LOUISIANA

'Terrebonne Parish' (Cajun French:''Paroisse Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its population is 104,503 (as of 2000). The parish seat is Houma. It is the largest parish in Louisiana in terms of land area.
The parish has been run by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government since it absorbed the powers of the City of Houma.

Contents

History

Geography

Major Highways

Adjacent parishes

Demographics

Cities and towns

Trivia

See also

External links

History

Terrebonne Parish was formed in 1822 from part of Lafourche Parish. The name "Terrebonne" means "good earth" in French.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 5,387 km² (2,080 mi²). 3,250 km² (1,255 mi²) of it is land and 2,137 km² (825 mi²) of it (39.66%) is water.

Major Highways

★ U.S. Highway 90

★ Louisiana Highway 24

★ Louisiana Highway 55

★ Louisiana Highway 56

★ Louisiana Highway 57

★ Louisiana Highway 58

Adjacent parishes

★ Assumption Parish (north)

★ Lafourche Parish (east)

★ Gulf of Mexico (south)

★ St. Mary Parish (northwest)

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 104,503 people, 35,997 households, and 27,393 families residing in the parish. The population density was 32/km² (83/mi²). There were 39,928 housing units at an average density of 12/km² (32/mi²). The racial makeup of the parish was 74.07% White, 17.79% Black or African American, 5.29% Native American, 0.81% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 1.56% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 10.66% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.5% speak Spanish.&ea=&order=r
There were 35,997 households out of which 39.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 19.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.29.
In the parish the population was spread out with 29.20% under the age of 18, 10.10% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 21.10% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $35,235, and the median income for a family was $39,912. Males had a median income of $34,869 versus $20,705 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $16,051. About 15.80% of families and 19.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.90% of those under age 18 and 17.60% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

★ Bayou Cane

★ Bourg

★ Chauvin

★ Dulac

★ Gibson

★ Gray

★ Houma

★ Montegut

★ Schriever

Trivia

The parish was setting of the 2005 motion picture ''The Skeleton Key''. (It should be noted that the movie was not actually filmed in Houma, or Terrebonne Parish.)

See also

★ USS ''Terrebonne Parish'' (LST-1156)

★ Terrebonne Parish French

External links

★ Official site

★ Terrebonne Parish School District

★ Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office

★ Houma Today (website of ''The Courier'' newspaper)