Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Lafayette Parish (French: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 221,578. The parish seat is Lafayette. The parish was founded in 1823. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who rendered assistance to the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War.

Lafayette Parish is part of the Lafayette, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

See History of Lafayette, Louisiana for main article.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 269 square miles (700 km²), of which 269 square miles (700 km²) is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) (0.2%) is water. It is the fifth-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and third-smallest by total area.

Major highways

Interstate 10

Interstate 49

U.S. Highway 90

U.S. Highway 167

Louisiana Highway 89

Louisiana Highway 92

Louisiana Highway 93

Louisiana Highway 96

Louisiana Highway 182

Adjacent parishes

Louisiana

Louisiana (ⁱ/luːˌiːziˈænə/ or ⁱ/ˌluːziˈænə/; French: État de Louisiane, [lwizjan]; Louisiana Creole: Léta de la Lwizyàn) is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are the local government's equivalent to counties. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, and the largest by land area is Plaquemines. Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.

Much of the state's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas. These support an exceptionally large number of plant species, including many species of orchids and carnivorous plants.

Louisiana (shipwreck)

The Louisiana was a steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Washington, Door County, Wisconsin, United States, during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. In 1992 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The Louisiana was constructed in Marine City, Michigan in 1887, while her engine was built at the Dry Dock Complex in Detroit, Michigan.

On November 2, 1913, the Louisiana departed from Lorain, Ohio to deliver a load of coal to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After completing her stop in Milwaukee, the Louisiana made way for Escanaba, Michigan to pick up a load of iron ore. In the early morning hours of November 8, the ship passed through Porte des Morts. Upon reaching the strait, she was greeted by a severe snowstorm. The captain attempted to take refuge at Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin, but the heavy seas and howling wind proved too strong for the ship's anchors to hold her in place, and she was run aground.

Despite the situation on board the Louisiana, the crew opted to remain aboard the vessel rather than taking the one small lifeboat they had out to the raging seas. However, a fire broke out in the cargo hold later in the morning and the crew members were left with no choice. A rescue ship had been deployed from Plum Island, but the breaking waves were too powerful for the ship to be able to reach the crew. In the end, the crew was able to make it to shore.

Louisiana, Missouri

Louisiana is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,300 at the 2010 census. Louisiana is located in northeast Missouri, on the Mississippi River south of Hannibal.

Louisiana is at the junction of State Route 79 and US 54. The former follows the Mississippi River for most of its length from Hannibal to St. Charles County. The latter enters Louisiana from Illinois via the Champ Clark Bridge, named for a former US Speaker of the House from nearby Bowling Green.

History

The town was founded in 1817 by John Walter Basye and named after his daughter, Louisiana Basye. Other notable early residents were Samuel Caldwell and Joel Shaw, both of whom purchased land from Bayse in 1818. All three properties became the original town plat and comprised mainly riverfront properties. Many of the towns residents trace their ancestry to these town pioneers. Louisiana proved to be a profitable shipping point on the Mississippi River, and that wealth led to numerous substantial antebellum homes. Many of those still remain and, along with the Georgia Street Historic District in downtown Louisiana, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has noted that the town has "the most intact Victorian Streetscape in the state of Missouri."