Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Assumption Parish (Paroisse de l'Assomption, Parroquia de la Asunción) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,039. Its parish seat is Napoleonville. Assumption Parish was established in 1807, as one of the original parishes of the Territory of Orleans.

Assumption Parish is one of the twenty-two Acadiana parishes. Its major product is sugar cane. In proportion to its area, Assumption Parish produces the most sugar of any parish of Louisiana.

History
In 1807, Assumption became the eighth parish of the Orleans Territory. Its history is rooted in its waterways and its large expanse of fertile soils ideal for farming. Settled in the middle 18th century by French and Spanish settlers, the area retains strong cultural ties to its past with conversational French still common among residents. Assumption was also a final destination for many of the French Acadians exiled from Nova Scotia between 1755 and 1764.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 365 sqmi, of which 339 sqmi is land and 26 sqmi (7.1%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-49 (Future).svg|25px]] Future Interstate 49
 * [[Image:US 90.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 90
 * [[Image:Louisiana 1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 1
 * [[Image:Louisiana 70 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 70
 * [[Image:Louisiana 308 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 308

Adjacent parishes

 * Iberville Parish (north)
 * Ascension Parish (north)
 * St. James Parish (northeast)
 * Lafourche Parish (east)
 * Terrebonne Parish (southeast)
 * St. Mary Parish (southwest)
 * Iberia Parish (northwest)
 * St. Martin Parish (west)

Village

 * Napoleonville (parish seat and only municipality)

Census-designated places

 * Bayou Corne
 * Bayou L'Ourse
 * Belle Rose
 * Labadieville
 * Paincourtville
 * Pierre Part
 * Supreme

Other unincorporated communities

 * Albemarle
 * Belle Alliance
 * Belle River
 * Bruly St. Martin
 * Cancienne
 * Foley
 * Klotzville
 * Plattenville
 * Westfield
 * Wildwood
 * Woodlawn

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,039 people, 8,552 households, and 5,484 families residing in the parish. During the 2010 United States census, there were 23,421 people living in the parish. Among its 2010 population, 66.8% were White, 30.5% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.0% of some other race and 0.9% of two or more races. 2.1% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 38.2% were of French, French Canadian or Cajun and 9.4% American ancestry.

Education
The Assumption Parish School Board operates local public schools. Assumption High School serves the whole parish. There is one private school in the parish, Saint Elizabeth School, which was founded in 1834.
 * Assumption High School
 * Bayou L'Ourse Primary School
 * Belle Rose Middle School
 * Belle Rose Primary School
 * Labadieville Middle School
 * Labadieville Primary School
 * Napoleonville Middle School
 * Napoleonville Primary School
 * Pierre Part Elementary School
 * Saint Elizabeth School

National Guard
The 928th Sapper Company, a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade.

Politics
Assumption Parish is represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives by Beryl Amedee, a Republican, and Chad Brown, a Democrat. During the "Solid South" era, conflicts over trade policy often caused Assumption Parish to deviate somewhat from overwhelming Democratic support, as did rebellion in the Acadiana region against Woodrow Wilson's perceived hostility towards France.

Since the Dixiecrat revolt, by contrast, Assumption has been a typical rural South Louisiana parish in its political behaviour. It backed Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond in 1948 and Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 before showing powerful pro-Catholic behaviour in 1960 and then turning powerfully against liberal Midwestern Democrats in 1968 and 1972. With the nomination of the more centrist Southerner Jimmy Carter in 1976, Assumption became again Democratic leaning until the 2000s, when, like all of the rural white South, it has turned powerfully Republican due to disagreements with the Democratic Party's liberal views on social issues.

Notable people

 * Kim Willoughby, American indoor volleyball player, 2008 U.S. volleyball Olympian, former University of Hawaii volleyball player, 2003 AVCA NCAA National Player of the Year
 * Charles Melançon, former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives
 * Troy E. Brown, a former member of the Louisiana State Senate
 * Brandon Jacobs, two-time Super bowl winner, former running back for the New York Giants
 * Johnny Meads, is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League Houston Oilers Washington Redskins
 * J. E. Jumonville Sr., was a businessman, farmer, and horse breeder born in Paincourtville state senator
 * Samuel A. LeBlanc I, was a lawyer from Napoleonville born in Paincourtville in Assumption Parish
 * Whitmell P. Martin, was a U.S. Representative from Assumption Parish Louisiana from 1915 to 1929.