Abbeville, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
 St. Mary Magdalene Church | |
 Location withinVermilion Parish andLouisiana | |
.svg) Location of Louisiana in the United States | |
| Coordinates:29°58′30″N92°06′55″W / 29.97500°N 92.11528°W /29.97500; -92.11528[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Vermilion |
| Incorporated | 1850 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Roslyn White (no party)[2][3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 6.08 sq mi (15.74 km2) |
| • Land | 6.05 sq mi (15.66 km2) |
| • Water | 0.031 sq mi (0.08 km2) |
| Elevation | 07 ft (2.1 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 11,186 |
• Estimate (2024) | 10,902 |
| • Density | 1,849.9/sq mi (714.26/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 70510, 70511 |
| Area code | 337 |
| FIPS code | 22-00100 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2403057[1] |
| Website | cityofabbeville.net |
Abbeville is a city in, and theparish seat of,Vermilion Parish,Louisiana, United States.[5][6] The population was 12,257 at the2010 census.[7] At the 2020population estimates program, the population of the city was 11,927.[8] It is located 21 miles (34 km) southwest ofLafayette.[9]
Formerly called La Chapelle, the land that became Abbeville was purchased by founding father Père Antoine Désiré Mégret ("Père" isFrench for "Father"), aCapuchin missionary on July 25, 1843, for $900. There are two hypotheses as to how the town was named. The more generally accepted hypothesis is that Mégret named the town after hishome in France. The second hypothesis states that it is a combination of "Abbé" (the French word for "Abbot") for Abbé Mégret, and "ville" (the French word for "Town") – hence Abbé's town. Some support for the second theory can be found in the fact that the town in France is pronounced differently (as "Abbville") by its denizens. However, in 1995, Jean Desobry discovered in the diocesan archives ofAmiens evidence that Antoine Jacques Désiré Mégret was born on May 23, 1797, in Abbeville, France, thus confirming the first hypothesis.[10] Dr Mary-Theresa MacCarthy wrote in her articleUn Autre Abbeville in the 1996 edition of Bulletin de la Société des Antiquaires de Picardie (translation by Father Hebert),
On February 12, 1844, the pastor gave to his American town the name of the town of his birth. Residents find this name especially fitting because of the French word abbé which means father [or priest] added to the French word ville [which means town]. Their Abbeville is truly la ville de l'abbé [the priest's town].[10]
Settlers were primarily descendants of theAcadians fromNova Scotia that moved to the area from 1766 to 1775. The town was incorporated in 1850.[9]There were two people living on the land at the time, Joseph LeBlanc and his wife Isabelle Broussard, whose former home Father Megret converted into a chapel. The chapel burned in 1854 and, in 1910,St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church was built, which still stands today.[11][better source needed]
Father Megret modeled his original plan for the village after a French Provincial village. In a map he designed in 1846, the town was 38 to 40 acres (160,000 m2) 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 byBayou Vermilion. At this point in time the town was called "Abbville".
The center of downtown is Magdalen Square, which is accented by large oak trees, a fountain, andgazebo. A statue in memory of Father Megret stands in the square. In 1856, theLast Island Hurricane destroyed every building in the town.[citation needed]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.7 square miles (14.7629 km2), of which 5.7 square miles (15 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.53%) is water. Abbeville is located near the southern terminus ofU.S. Highway 167. Abbeville Chris Crusta Memorial Airport is in the eastern part of the city. TheVermilion River runs through downtown, and several canals and coulees run through other parts of Abbeville.
Abbeville has ahumid subtropical climate in common with the rest ofLouisiana. It typically experiences long, hot and very humid summers and brief, cool but quite windy winters, and mild to warm temperatures during spring and autumn.Precipitation is relatively heavy by world standards and falls throughout the year, but peaks between June and September which see twice the amount of rainy days than winter. June to September is also, while hot, cloudier than the rest of year with clear and sunny skies being most common in the autumn.
| Climate data for Abbeville, Louisiana | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 63.9 (17.7) | 65.7 (18.7) | 72.6 (22.6) | 78.7 (25.9) | 84.7 (29.3) | 89.9 (32.2) | 90.5 (32.5) | 91.2 (32.9) | 88.2 (31.2) | 81.7 (27.6) | 72.0 (22.2) | 64.5 (18.1) | 78.6 (25.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 43.2 (6.2) | 45.0 (7.2) | 51.8 (11.0) | 58.0 (14.4) | 64.4 (18.0) | 70.8 (21.6) | 72.3 (22.4) | 72.6 (22.6) | 68.1 (20.1) | 57.8 (14.3) | 48.8 (9.3) | 43.8 (6.6) | 58.1 (14.5) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.1 (130) | 4.1 (100) | 4.2 (110) | 4.1 (100) | 4.9 (120) | 6.4 (160) | 6.5 (170) | 6.0 (150) | 5.5 (140) | 4.3 (110) | 4.4 (110) | 5.0 (130) | 60.5 (1,540) |
| Source: Weatherbase[12] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 545 | — | |
| 1880 | 255 | −53.2% | |
| 1890 | 637 | 149.8% | |
| 1900 | 1,536 | 141.1% | |
| 1910 | 2,907 | 89.3% | |
| 1920 | 3,461 | 19.1% | |
| 1930 | 4,356 | 25.9% | |
| 1940 | 6,672 | 53.2% | |
| 1950 | 9,338 | 40.0% | |
| 1960 | 10,414 | 11.5% | |
| 1970 | 10,996 | 5.6% | |
| 1980 | 12,391 | 12.7% | |
| 1990 | 11,187 | −9.7% | |
| 2000 | 11,887 | 6.3% | |
| 2010 | 12,257 | 3.1% | |
| 2020 | 11,186 | −8.7% | |
| 2024 (est.) | 10,902 | [13] | −2.5% |
| U.S. Decennial Census[14] | |||
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 4,970 | 44.43% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 4,732 | 42.3% |
| Native American | 39 | 0.35% |
| Asian | 613 | 5.48% |
| Other/Mixed | 392 | 3.5% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 440 | 3.93% |
Abbeville is the principal city of the Abbevillemicropolitan statistical area, which includes all of Vermilion Parish, also part of theLafayette metropolitan statistical area and the largerLafayette–Acadianacombined statistical area.
According to the2000 U.S. census, there were 11,887 people, 4,698 households, and 3,014 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,027.7 inhabitants per square mile (782.9/km2). There were 5,257 housing units at an average density of 907.3 per square mile (350.3/km2).[16][17][18] At the 2020population estimates program, 11,927 people lived in the city.[8] By the publication of the2020 United States census, there were 11,186 people, 4,761 households, and 2,752 families residing in the city.
In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup was 54.29%White, 38.56%African American, 0.19%Native American, 5.50%Asian, 0.39%other races, and 1.06% two or more races.Hispanic orLatino Americans of any race were 1.93% of the population. In 2000, 76.0% of the population over the age of five spokeEnglish at home, 16.5% of the population spokeFrench orCajun, and 5.5% spokeVietnamese.[19] The 2019American Community Survey estimated the racial and ethnic makeup was 49.6%non-Hispanic white, 42.8% African American, 0.5% Native American, 4.8% Asian, 0.9% some other race, and 1.3% two or more races.[20]
The2010 U.S. census reported there were 4,698 households, of which 60.34% had children under the age of 18 present, 33.35% weremarried couples living together, 24.44% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.72% were non-families; 31.55% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.32% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.20.[17]
In 2019, the median household income was $38,900. Males had a median income of $46,182 versus $37,958 for females; approximately 30.4% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.[20]
Abbeville is an agricultural trade and processing center forrice,sugarcane, dairy products, locally sold corn, cotton, andseafood, in particularcrawfish,alligator, andcrab.[21][22] Theoil andnatural gas fields off the coast in theGulf of Mexico are serviced by companies throughout the region including Abbeville.[6] Chemical products and consumer goods are manufactured locally.[21] A related tourist attraction is a large open-kettle sugarcane syrup mill.[9][21]
The city of Abbeville is served by theVermilion Parish School District. The following arepublic andparochial schools in Abbeville:[23]
Abbeville is home to several festivals:
TheAbbey Players' Theater is a prominent local playhouse in Abbeville. The Acadian Museum is east of the city in nearbyErath, Louisiana.Avery Island, which contains a bird sanctuary,salt dome, and world-famous Tabasco factory is 15 miles southeast of the city.[6]
Abbeville is the home of numerous historic buildings that have been added periodically to theNational Historic Register. Starting in 1987, theAbbeville Commercial Historic District, in the area surrounded by Concord, State, Lafayette, and Jefferson Streets, was added to the register. That same year, theAbbeville Residential Historic District was created between W. Oak, State, Cherry, and theVermilion River.St. Mary Magdalen Church, Rectory, and the Cemetery were added the following year. In the 1990s, theOvide Broussard House,Chauviere House,Gordy House,Lyons House, and theCaldwell House were all added, in addition to theDowntown Abbeville Historic District, which is bounded by State, 1st, Pere Megret, and Concord St and theVermilion Bayou. Finally, just before the turn of the century, theRichard Cattle Auction Barn and theSt. Mary Congregational Church were both added. North of Abbeville,A La Bonne Veillee was added in 1984.[24]
Abbeville is the home of HHC (headquarters company), 2ndBattalion, 156thInfantry (mech.), of the LouisianaArmy National Guard. The 2nd Battalion served with the256th Infantry Brigade ("The Tiger Brigade") duringOperation Iraqi Freedom in 2004–2005.
The Louisiana & Delta Railroad has a route through the city, which helped bring freight produced locally to market.[9]
TheFreshwater Bayou Deepwater Channel connects Abbeville to theGulf of Mexico,[6] and theIntracoastal Waterway runs south of the city.[21]
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The1988 remake of the 1958 filmThe Blob was filmed in Abbeville.
Part ofLucio Fulci'sDoor to Silence takes place in Abbeville.
Robert J. Flaherty chose Abbeville in 1948 as his base of operations during the filming ofLouisiana Story. He rented a house in the current downtown area for 15 months over 1946–47.
In 1990,Julia Roberts filmed part ofSleeping With the Enemy in Abbeville.[25]
Abbeville is one of the main locations in thefirst season of the HBO TV seriesTrue Detective.
Media related toAbbeville, Louisiana at Wikimedia Commons
Municipalities and communities ofVermilion Parish, Louisiana,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes | |
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