Estherwood, Louisiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Estherwood, Louisiana
Village
Downtown Estherwood
Location of Estherwood in Acadia Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Acadia
Area
• Total	1.86 sq mi (4.83 km2)
• Land	1.86 sq mi (4.83 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	16 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	694
• Density	372.32/sq mi (143.76/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code(s)	337
FIPS code	22-24460

Estherwood is a small village located in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. In 2020, about 694 people lived there. It is part of the wider Crowley area, which is a group of towns and villages connected by their economy.

History of Estherwood

The area where Estherwood now stands had two older names. One was Tortue, named after a local Native American chief. The other was Coulée Trief or Trive. This name came from Jean-Baptiste Trief, a mysterious person who built a cabin there around 1816. He was said to be a tall, dark man who wore large earrings.

There are a few stories about how Estherwood got its current name. One popular idea is that it combines two names: "Wood" from a well-known local doctor named Dr. Wood, and "Esther" from the wife of a railroad executive. Another story suggests that the "wood" part comes from the fact that trains used to stop there to get wood for fuel.

How Estherwood Grew

In the early 1890s, Jacob Kollitz and A. D. LeBlanc opened stores near the old Trief cabin. A small community started to form around these stores. Kollitz also ran a 15-room hotel called the Estherwood Hotel for some time, but it closed in 1907.

The village really began to grow after 1900. The Miller-Morris Canal was built, which was one of the first big systems to bring water for growing rice. This helped the rice farming industry become very important in the area. In 1900, the Eureka rice mill also opened in Estherwood.

By the spring of 1900, Estherwood had more than 30 homes. New streets were being built, and sidewalks were added. A chapel was completed in 1910. It served as a mission of the St. John the Evangelist Church in Mermentau. Estherwood officially became a village on March 12, 1901. Henry Feitel was chosen as its first mayor.

Geography of Estherwood

Estherwood is located at 30°11′3″N 92°27′48″W / 30.18417°N 92.46333°W / 30.18417; -92.46333. This means it's in the southern part of Louisiana.

The United States Census Bureau reports that the village covers a total area of about 4.8 square kilometers (or 1.86 square miles). All of this area is land, with no large bodies of water within the village limits.

Population and People

The pontoon bridge that leads into Estherwood

According to the census taken in 2000, there were 807 people living in Estherwood. These people lived in 291 households, and 215 of these were families. The population density was about 432 people per square mile (or 168 people per square kilometer). There were 314 housing units in the village.

Out of the 291 households, about 38.5% had children under 18 years old living with them. About 60.1% were married couples living together. About 11.0% were households where a woman was the head of the house and her husband was not present. About 25.8% were not families.

The average household in Estherwood had about 2.77 people. The average family had about 3.28 people.

The population was spread out by age:

• 29.5% were under 18 years old.
• 11.5% were between 18 and 24 years old.
• 27.4% were between 25 and 44 years old.
• 21.1% were between 45 and 64 years old.
• 10.5% were 65 years or older.

The median age in the village was 32 years old. This means half the people were younger than 32 and half were older. For every 100 females, there were about 94.5 males.

See also

In Spanish: Estherwood (Luisiana) para niños