Lacassine, Louisiana Explained

Lacassine, Louisiana
Settlement Type:Census-designated place
Pushpin Map:Louisiana#USA
Pushpin Label:Lacassine
Coordinates:30.235°N -92.922°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Louisiana
Subdivision Type2:Parish
Subdivision Name2:Jefferson Davis
Established Title:Founded
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[1]
Area Total Km2:4.53
Area Total Sq Mi:1.75
Area Land Km2:4.53
Area Land Sq Mi:1.75
Area Water Km2:0.00
Area Water Sq Mi:0.00
Elevation Ft:21
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:490
Population Density Km2:108.11
Population Density Sq Mi:280.00
Timezone1:CST
Utc Offset1:-6
Timezone1 Dst:CDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:-5
Postal Code Type:ZIP Code
Postal Code:70650
Area Code:337
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:22-40595
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:554960

Lacassine (French: La Cassine) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Davis Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census the population was 480.[2]

Etymology

One story about the name of the community is that a tribe of Comanche Indians, led by their chief Lacassine, migrated to southwest Louisiana to hunt and fish in the early 19th century, settling near this place.

Another story about the name states that the part of the parish where the community is located was visited regularly by different tribes of the area, including the Atakapa and Choctaw people. Game was abundant here, and the Indians called it their "hunting ground", or, in the Choctaw language, La Cassine. However, the phrase sounds more French than Indian.[3] La Cassine means "the small house" in French. According to Monsignor Jules Daigle, noted authority of the Cajun language, it was named for a small house built by an Indian chief in that location.[4]

Geography

Lacassine is in western Jefferson Davis Parish along U.S. Route 90, which leads west 6miles to Iowa and east the same distance to Welsh. Interstate 10 runs along the northern edge of Lacassine, with access from Exit 48 (Louisiana Highway 101). I-10 leads west to Lake Charles and east the same distance to Jennings, the Jefferson Davis parish seat.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Lacassine CDP has an area of 4.5sqkm, all of it land.[2] West Bayou Lacassine flows southward along the eastern edge of the community, reaching tidewater at Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge to the south.

Economics

The Little Kahuna Water Park was being constructed off Interstate 10 in Lacassine, but was never completed due to monetary problems. Lacassine is home of the Louisiana Spirits Distillery, where Bayou Rum, a popular adult beverage in Louisiana, is distilled. Construction began in 2011 and Bayou Rum was created in 2013.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files. United States Census Bureau. March 20, 2022.
  2. Web site: Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (G001): Lacassine CDP, Louisiana. U.S. Census Bureau. American Factfinder. June 29, 2018. https://archive.today/20200213112103/https://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/G001/1600000US2240595. February 13, 2020. dead.
  3. http://www.carencrohighschool.org/LA_Studies/ParishSeries/JeffersonDavisParish/Communities.htm www.carencrohighschool.org "Jeff Davis communities add to region's history"
  4. Jefferson Davis Parish: An Oral History, page 10