Gueydan, Louisiana

Geobox Town
name = Town of Gueydan
native_name =
other_name =
other_name1 =
category = Town


image_size =
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flag_size =
symbol =
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nickname =
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country = United States
state = Louisiana
region = Vermilion
region_type = Parish
area_imperial = 0.9
area_land_imperial = 0.9
area_water_imperial = 0.0
area_water_percentage = auto
area_percentage_round = 2
area_round = 1
location =
lat_d = 30
lat_m = 01
lat_s = 38
lat_NS = N
long_d = 92
long_m = 30
long_s = 27
long_EW = W
elevation_imperial = 7
elevation_round = 1
population_as_of = 2000
population = 1598
population_density_imperial = 1784.9
population_density_round = 1
government =
established_type =
established =
leader =
timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
postal_code =
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area_code = 337
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free_type =
free =
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map_size =
map_caption = Location of Gueydan in Louisiana
map_locator = Louisiana
map1 = Map of USA LA.svg
map1_caption = Location of Louisiana in the United States
website =

Gueydan is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,598 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In the early 1860s, Jean Pierre Gueydan, the founder of the town, lived in Abbeville, Louisiana, about 30 miles east of present day Gueydan. He often came to the future town site to hunt deer, ducks, geese, pheasant, cache-cache (Jack Snipe), papabottes, and other game. The area was in reality a hunter's paradise. Game and fish were boundless.

Forty thousand acres (160 km²) of land described by surveyors as "sea marsh, unfit for cultivation" was purchased by Jean Pierre and Francois Gueydan in 1884 for twelve and one-half cents per acre. By 1896 a small portion of their purchase became known as the "Gueydan Pasture". It was later chartered as a village when the population reached 250. Jean Pierre was the official founder of Gueydan as he had purchased his brother's landholdings. In 1902, the settlement became the town of Gueydan.

Realizing the importance of a railroad to the rice farmers , Mr. Gueydan donated a section of land and extensive right-of-way to induce the Southern Pacific Railroad to build a branch line from Midland, Louisiana. Shortly thereafter, the first property lots were offered for sale. Settlers began to arrive from other parts of the state and the rest of the country.

The very first irrigation pump in the state of Louisiana was built nearby at Primeaux landing. This enabled water to be pumped to irrigate thousands of acres of rice helping to promote this area into the rice growing power it was soon to be.

The founder of the town, Mr. Jean Pierre Gueydan, resided in a plantation about two miles south of the community.The name of his plantation was St. Bennette which eventually housed the town's first school which opened with 10 students in 1894.

As with any other small pioneering towns, Gueydan has suffered numerous near catastrophes. There were fires in 1901, 1903, 1910, and 1927 that caused extensive damage. But perhaps the worst tragedy was the Flood of 1940. This deluge which occurred in August 1940 inundated the entire town after near record rainfalls. Locals still vividly recall the disaster.

The reason for such extensive flooding is that the entire area is prairie land, with an average elevation of nine feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The elevation tends to be in the range of 5 to 12 feet.

The whole area was once low marshy land subject to overflow by the waters of the nearby Mermentau River when the stream occasionally left its banks. A modern system of canals for drainage purposes and irrigation was created as early as 1901.

Geography

Gueydan is located at coor dms|30|1|38|N|92|30|27|W|city (30.027123, -92.507449)GR|1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,598 people, 644 households, and 416 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,874.9 people per square mile (725.9/km²). There were 724 housing units at an average density of 849.5/sq mi (328.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 86.61% White, 12.83% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.31% from other races, and 0.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.25% of the population.

There were 644 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.3% were married couples living together, 15.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.4% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.0% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 82.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,165, and the median income for a family was $32,039. Males had a median income of $25,682 versus $13,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,738. About 16.1% of families and 21.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.

The town is the site of the annual Duck Festival,which is held the weekend before Labor Day, and is officially recognized as the Duck Capital of America.It is only fitting that the festival is held here annually as the area is well-renowned for its duck and goose hunting. The Louisiana state championships for duck and goose calling are held in conjunction with the festival.

References