Ascension Parish, Louisiana Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Ascension Parish

Parish

Parish of Ascension

Ascension Parish Courthouse in Donaldsonville

Flag

Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana

Louisiana's location within the U.S.

Country

United States

State

Louisiana

Founded

1807

Named for

Ascension of Jesus Christ

Seat

Donaldsonville

Largest city

Prairieville

Area

• Total

303 sq mi (780 km²)

• Land

290 sq mi (800 km²)

• Water

13 sq mi (30 km²) 3.75%

Population

(2020)

• Total

126,500

• Density

417.5/sq mi (161.2/km²)

Time zone

UTC−6 (Central)

• Summer (DST)

UTC−5 (CDT)

Congressional districts

2nd, 6th

Ascension Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ascension, Spanish: Parroquia de Ascensión) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created in 1807. Ascension Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

Early European settlers of the area that was developed as Ascension and Gonzales were, for the most part, of French and Spanish ancestry. They settled among the Houma Indians who lived in the area.

Among the projects and plans carried out by Luis de Unzaga 'le Conciliateur' while he was governor of Louisiana between 1769 and 1777 was the promotion of new settlements by Europeans, among them were French Acadians and Malaga in the fertile Mississippi region and more specifically in the Unzaga Post or 'Puesto de Unzaga' that he created in 1771 in Pointe Coupee, the parish of Saint Gabriel in 1773 and Fort Manchac in 1776; the Ascension people occupied land at the confluence of the aforementioned European settlements.

During the American Civil War, desertions had been of major concern to the Confederate States Army. Henry Watkins Allen, before he was governor, reported more than eight thousand deserters and draft-dodgers about Bayou Teche. There were some 1,200 deserters in Livingston, St. Tammany, and Ascension parishes.

Planters in Ascension Parish later complained of raids by guerrillas. In 1864, planter W.R. Hodges requested soldiers to protect the planted fields from such attacks. Union soldiers were accused of "wandering about at will, and helping themselves . . . to whatever could be found," explains the historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana (1963).

During the historic 2016 Louisiana Floods, around one-third of all homes in Ascension Parish were flooded. 15,000 homes and businesses took on water, mostly in the Galvez-St. Amant area, prompting a visit to St. Amant by then-presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump.

Ascension Parish is one of the 22 parishes that make up Acadiana, the heartland of the Cajun people and their culture. This is exhibited by the prevalence of the French or Cajun French language heard throughout the parish, as well as the many festivals celebrated by its residents, including the Boucherie Festival, Lagniappe Music and Seafood Festival, Crawfish Festival, and the world-famous Jambalaya Festival. The largest city in Ascension Parish, Gonzales, is celebrated as the "Jambalaya Capital of the World".

Geography
Demographics
- 2020 census
- 2010 census
National Guard
Communities
Education
See also

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 303 square miles (780 km²), of which 290 square miles (750 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (4.2%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest parish in Louisiana by total area.

Waterways

Alligator Bayou
Amite River
Amite River Diversion Canal
Anderson Canal
Babin Canal
Bayou Antoine
Bayou Manchac
Bayou Narcisse
Bayou Pierre
Bayou Reponds Pas
Bayou Conway
Bayou Francois
Bayou Lafourche
Bayou Napoleon
Bayou Verret
Bayou Vicknair
Black Bayou
Blind River
Boudreau Bayou
Boyle Bayou
Braud Bayou
Cocodrie Bayou
Cotton Bayou
Crowley Ditch
Duckroost Bayou
Flat Lake
Grand Goudine Bayou
Hackett Canal
Heath Bayou
Henderson Bayou
Jim Bayou
Johnson Bayou
Lake Millet
Lake Villars
Laurel Ridge Canal
McCall Bayou
Mississippi River
Muddy Creek
New River
New River Canal
Old New River
Panama Canal
Pipeline Canal
Rocky Canal
Roddy Bayou
Saveiro Canal
Sides Bayou
Smith Bayou
Spanish Lake
Welsh Gully

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
Louisiana Highway 70

Adjacent parishes

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1810	2,219	—
1820	3,728	68.0%
1830	5,246	40.7%
1840	6,951	32.5%
1850	10,752	54.7%
1860	11,484	6.8%
1870	11,577	0.8%
1880	16,895	45.9%
1890	19,545	15.7%
1900	24,142	23.5%
1910	23,887	−1.1%
1920	22,155	−7.3%
1930	18,438	−16.8%
1940	21,215	15.1%
1950	22,387	5.5%
1960	27,927	24.7%
1970	37,086	32.8%
1980	50,068	35.0%
1990	58,214	16.3%
2000	76,627	31.6%
2010	107,215	39.9%
2020	126,500	18.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2019

2020 census

Ascension Parish racial composition
Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	79,645	62.96%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	30,296	23.95%
Native American	266	0.21%
Asian	1,681	1.33%
Pacific Islander	32	0.03%
Other/Mixed	4,197	3.32%
Hispanic or Latino	10,383	8.21%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 126,500 people, 44,267 households, and 32,305 families residing in the parish.

2010 census

At the 2010 United States census, there were 107,215 people living in the parish; 73.3% were White, 22.2% Black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.9% of some other race and 1.2% of two or more races. 4.7% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 26.3% were of French, French Canadian or Cajun, 7.9% American, 7.3% German, 5.7% English, 5.5% Italian and 5.5% Irish ancestry.

National Guard

The 922nd Engineer Company (Horizontal), a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade. The 1021st Vertical Engineer Company also resides in Gonzales, Louisiana.