Assumption Parish, Louisiana should not be confused with Ascension Parish, Louisiana.
| County: | Assumption Parish |
| State: | Louisiana |
| Ex Image: | StAnneNapWM.jpg |
| Ex Image Size: | 300px |
| Ex Image Cap: | St. Anne Catholic Church in Napoleonville |
| Founded Year: | 1807 |
| Seat Wl: | Napoleonville |
| Largest City Wl: | Pierre Part |
| City Type: | community |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 365 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 339 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 26 |
| Area Percentage: | 7.1 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 21039 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | auto |
| Time Zone: | Central |
| Web: | https://www.assumptionla.com/ |
| District: | 2nd |
| District2: | 6th |
Assumption Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Assomption, Spanish; Castilian: 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.[1] Its parish seat is Napoleonville.[2] Assumption Parish was established in 1807, as one of the original parishes of the Territory of Orleans.[3]
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.
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.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and (7.1%) is water.[4]
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 13,580 | 64.55% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 5,973 | 28.39% | |
| Native American | 83 | 0.39% | |
| Asian | 56 | 0.27% | |
| Other/Mixed | 433 | 2.06% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 914 | 4.34% |
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.
The 928th Sapper Company, a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade.
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.[6]
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[7] 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.[8]