| Golden Meadow, Louisiana | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Image Map1: | Louisiana in United States (US48).svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location of Louisiana in the United States |
| Coordinates: | 29.3881°N -90.2694°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Louisiana |
| Subdivision Type2: | Parish |
| Subdivision Name2: | Lafourche |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Joey Bouziga (elected 2012) |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 7.59 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.93 |
| Area Land Km2: | 6.34 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.45 |
| Area Water Km2: | 1.25 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.48 |
| Elevation Ft: | 0 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 1761 |
| Population Density Km2: | 277.91 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 719.66 |
| Timezone1: | CST |
| Utc Offset1: | -6 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -5 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 70357[2] |
| Area Code: | 985 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 22-29640 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Wikimedia Commons |
| Website: | Golden Meadow, Louisiana |
Golden Meadow (French: '''Canal Yankee''') is a town along Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,761 in 2020. It is part of the Houma - Bayou Cane - Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Its main source of revenue is the oil and gas industry. The fishing and seafood industries also have strong economic impacts, with charter fishing, restaurants, and lodging actively serving patrons. The town was once known as a speed trap, but it has since been bypassed by Hwy 3235 and city traffic has been reduced to mostly locals; however, the speed limit is reduced to 50 mph on Hwy 3235 and said highway is still patrolled heavily. As in other places in Louisiana, there is a noticeable presence of Cajun culture, music, and cuisine.
The Golden Meadow name was given by the original land grant owners, Benjamin and Louisa Hobbs Barker of Illinois. In 1839, they named it so because of the yellow flowers growing everywhere. They hoped to become wealthy selling lots to French and English settlers, but abandoned the plan.[3]
Golden Meadow is located at (29.388192, -90.269457).[4]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.9sqmi, of which 2.4sqmi is land and 0.5sqmi (15.92%) is water.
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,409 | 80.01% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 26 | 1.48% | |
| Native American | 130 | 7.38% | |
| Asian | 10 | 0.57% | |
| Other/Mixed | 89 | 5.05% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 97 | 5.51% |
On July 1, 1950, the town marshal, the first head law enforcement agent of the town, took his position and became the first head of the town police department.[5]
The United States Postal Service operates the Golden Meadow Post Office.[6]
Lafourche Parish Public Schools is the school district of the whole parish.[7] It operates public schools:
South Lafourche High School is in the Galliano census-designated place, north of Golden Meadow, and serves the community.[11] [12]
Francophone private schools were the first educational institutions serving the community. In 1917 the first public elementary school opened. Golden Meadow High School opened in 1933. It was consolidated with Larose-Cut Off High School to form South Lafourche High School in 1966.[13] The former Golden Meadow High building is currently Golden Meadow Middle School.[14]
Lafourche Parish Library operates the Golden Meadow Branch.[15] Hurricane Ida destroyed a previous facility, which meant the parish had to have a new library built.[16]
Fletcher Technical Community College has Lafourche Parish in the college's service area.[17] Additionally, a Delgado Community College document stated that Lafourche Parish was in the college's service area.[18]