Broussard, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Broussard, Louisiana | |
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| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Parish | Lafayette Parish |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Charles Langlinais |
| Area | |
| - City | 29.6 km² (11.4 sq mi) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - City | 5,874 |
| - Density | 199.1/km² (515.7/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Website: www.broussardla.com | |
Broussard is a town in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,754 from the 2005 Census Est.[1]
Originally named Cote Gelee (Frozen Hills) because of its hilly ridge area and the severe winter of 1784. Broussard was founded in 1884...named after Valsin Broussard, a prominent local merchant, who formed the first Vigilante Committee when his own store was robbed. He was also a direct descendant of Joseph Gaurhept Broussard de Beau Soleil, one of the first 200 Acadians to arrive in Louisiana on February 27, 1765 aboard the Santo Domingo.
Primary agricultural resources include sugarcane, soybean and hay production as well as horse and cattle farming. Principal industries consist of oil and gas service companies, food distributors, real estate developments and manufacturing.
Broussard has gone from a horse and buggy community, with large sugarcane plantation homes, to a current day industrial community with over 300 businesses. Yet, one still experiences its charm though the atmosphere of elegant dining. Creole home cooking and cajun food at our local restaurants.[2]
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[edit] History
The town of Broussard is situated in the center of an area identified as Cote Gelee by the Acadians who began settling around nearby St. Martinville in the 1760s. Although French trappers and Indians lived in and around the Cote Gelee prior to this time, it was not until the exiled Acadians arrived that permanent settlement began. Some of the early families included the Broussards, Comeauxs, Landrys, Breauxs, Girouards, Menards, and LeBlancs. By the end of the century the landscape was dotted with small Acadian farms.
As the nineteenth century progressed, these farms became increasingly interspersed with ever-expanding sugar plantations as south Louisiana experienced the economic growth of large-scale agricultural production. The prosperity generated by "King Sugar" was, of course, interrupted by the Civil War, and the Cote Gelee area suffered economically along with the rest of the state.
It is in the years immediately following the war that the town of Broussard has its origins. A railroad from New Orleans to Morgan City had been completed before the war and work commenced in the late 1860s on extending the road further west toward what would become Broussard.
In 1870, perhaps anticipating the coming of the railroad, Valsin Broussard contracted with a Mr. F. J. Rosk, an engineer, to lay out a town on part of his sugar plantation. Following the drawn plans, Valsin Broussard donated the eight arpents of land on which the present Catholic church and cemetery are located. As construction of the rail line continued and reached completion to his town, Broussard donated the land for a railroad depot. The first train from New Orleans arrived at Valsin Broussard's community in 1879.
The new community on Broussard's plantation began to grow as lots were sold, and in 1883 a small church was built. In 1884, the town of Broussard was duly incorporated and received a charter which provided for a government consisting of a mayor, council, clerk and marshal. In that same year the first public school was opened, having been built on land donated by Valsin Broussard. Two years after incorporation, in 1886, the town was reincorporated and a new government was put into place.
A pivotal event in Broussard's history occurred in 1889 when Martial Billeaud converted his horse powered syrup mill into a steam powered sugar factory. The new factory was constructed at a cost of $50,000 and had a daily capacity of four hundred tons of cane. Now area sugar planters had a local mill for their product. The Billeaud Sugar Mill brought a tremendous wave of prosperity to Broussard which coincided with the previously mentioned sugar boom in southern Louisiana as a whole.
From the early years of settlement the majority of the land in the Broussard area was cultivated with sugarcane. However, this has been changing in the last fifty or so years because the community is directly in the path of an ever-expanding Lafayette. Lafayette's development as an oil and medical center has produced an urban growth explosion. The once largely agricultural sugarcane economy of the Broussard area has changed to a fast growth urban development. Land formerly used for agricultural purposes is now the site of subdivisions, apartments, shopping centers and industrial parks. This trend accelerated in the early 1990s.
[edit] Historic Places
Although the town of Broussard dates back to the 1870s, its most conspicuous development took place between c.1890 and c.1910. This turn-of-the-century growth spurt replaced most of what existed before and created the town's present architectural heritage. In many ways this growth reflected a contemporaneous boom in the production of sugar which affected much of southern Louisiana. The products of this economic boom can be seen today in and seen throught the town in its historic buildings.
Properties on the National Historic Register:
Alesia House
Andre' Billeaud House
Martial Billeaud, Jr. House
Valsin Broussard House
Comeaux House
Ducrest Building
Janin Store
Roy-Leblanc House
St. Cecilia School
St. Julien House
Main Street Historic District
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,874 people, 2,197 households, and 1,619 families residing in the town. The population density was 199.1/km² (515.7/mi²). There were 2,346 housing units at an average density of 79.5/km² (205.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 81.31% White, 16.70% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.37% Asian, 0.39% from other races, and 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.48% of the population.
There were 2,197 households out of which 41.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.0% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 21.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.3% 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 3.11.
In the town the population was spread out with 28.8% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 34.3% from 25 to 44, 19.9% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $36,676, and the median income for a family was $45,668. Males had a median income of $36,368 versus $21,833 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,441. About 9.5% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.6% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
- St Cecilia Elementary School
- Katherine Drexel Elementary
- Broussard Middle School
[edit] External links
- City of Broussard
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
