New Iberia, Louisiana

New Iberia, Louisiana
city
City of New Iberia
Evangeline Theatre in Downtown New Iberia
New Iberia Show map of Louisiana New Iberia Show map of the US
Coordinates: 30°0′13″N 91°49′6″W / 30.00361°N 91.81833°W / 30.00361; -91.81833Coordinates: 30°0′13″N 91°49′6″W / 30.00361°N 91.81833°W / 30.00361; -91.81833
Country	United States
States	Louisiana
Parish	Iberia
Settled	1779
Incorporated (city)	1839
Website	www.cityofnewiberia.com/site.php

Flooding in New Iberia due to Hurricane Ike, September 2008

New Iberia (Spanish: Nueva Iberia, French: La Nouvelle-Ibérie) is a small city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States.^[1] Located 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Lafayette.

In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747. The population was 32,623 at the 2000 census and 30,617 in 2010, a decrease of 2,006, or 6.2 percent, over the past decade.^[2]

New Iberia is the part of the Lafayette, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

New Iberia dates from mid-1779, when a group of some 500 Malagueños colonists led by Lt.Col. Francisco Bouligny came up Bayou Teche and settled around Spanish Lake. In 1814, the federal government opened a post office, and it was officially known as "New Iberia," but postmarks shortly thereafter reveal that the town was being called "Nova Iberia" (with Latin for "new"). The town was incorporated as "Iberia" in 1839, but the state legislature resolved the situation in 1847, naming the town New Iberia.

During the American Civil War, New Iberia was occupied by Union forces under General Nathaniel P. Banks. The soldiers spent the winter of 1862–1863 at New Iberia and, according to historian John D. Winters of Louisiana Tech University in his The Civil War in Louisiana, "found the weather each day more and more severe. The dreary days dragged by, and the men grumbled as they plowed through the freezing rain and deep mud in performing the regular routines of camp life."^[3] Banks' men from New Iberia foraged for supplies in the swamps near the city.^[4]

In 1868, Iberia Parish (county) was established, and New Iberia became the seat of parish government. At first, only rented space served for the courthouse, but by 1884 a new courthouse stood on a landscaped lot in downtown New Iberia, at the present-day site of Bouligny Plaza. That courthouse served Iberia Parish until 1940, when the current courthouse was built along Iberia Street, two blocks from the New Iberia downtown commercial district.

Geography

New Iberia is located at 30°0′13″N 91°49′6″W / 30.00361°N 91.81833°W / 30.00361; -91.81833 (30.003577, −91.818454)^[5] and has an elevation of 20 feet (6.1 m).^[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.6 square miles (27.4 km²), all land.

New Iberia enjoys a sub-tropical climate with above average rainfall. Among the lakes is Lake Peigneur, which was formerly a 10-foot (3.0 m) deep freshwater lake until a 1980 disaster involving oil drilling and a salt mine. The lake is now a 1,300-foot (400 m) deep salt water lake, having been refilled by the Gulf of Mexico via the Delcambre Canal. There is also Lake Tasse, better known as Spanish Lake. This region has many natural features of interest, such as Avery Island, famous for its Tabasco sauce factory, deposits of rock salt, and Jungle Gardens.

Demographics

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 32,623 people, 11,756 households, and 8,335 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,088.8 people per square mile (1,192.8/km²). There were 12,880 housing units at an average density of 1,219.5 per square mile (470.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.99% White, 38.42% African American, 0.21% Native American, 2.64% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 1.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,756 households out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.1% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.70 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $26,079, and the median income for a family was $30,828. Males had a median income of $30,289 versus $16,980 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,084. About 24.9% of families and 29.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.8% of those under age 18 and 20.8% of those age 65 or over.

Culture

Victorian home dating from the 1880s

• Shadows-on-the-Teche historic residence, owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.^[10]
• Avery Island, home of Tabasco sauce and the oldest salt mine in North America.
• Jungle Gardens, botanical garden and bird sanctuary.
• Jefferson Island, a wooded "island" atop a large column of salt. Located on Jefferson Island is a former salt mine, botanical garden, rookery, nursery, as well as the historic Victorian Jefferson Mansion.^[11]
• The Iberia Community Band hosts four public concerts throughout the year and is open to amateur, student, and professional band instrumentalists of all ages and skill levels.
• The Iberia Performing Arts League, also known as IPAL, is a community theater organization. It generally presents five major productions per year and a summer youth play or activity.
• The city used to hold a statue of Roman emperor Hadrian. It was located on the corner of Weeks and St. Peter Streets.^[12]
• New Iberia is home to fictional detective Dave Robicheaux and his creator, author James Lee Burke.^[13] In the Electric Mist, a movie based on one of Burke's novels, was filmed in New Iberia in 2009 and starred Tommy Lee Jones.

Festivals

• New Iberia hosts the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival^[14] in September. Sugar Cane Festival, celebrates the commencement of the sugar cane harvest, locally referred to as grinding. Sugar cane is a principal crop grown by New Iberia farmers.
• El Festival Español de Nueva Iberia, in November.^[15]
• World Championship Gumbo Cook-Off on the second full weekend in October.^[16]
• Cajun Hot Sauce Festival
• Great Gator Race
• Acadiana Dragon Boat Festival
• Blitz Dance Competition

Education

Iberia Parish School System serves the city.

• New Iberia Senior High School
• Anderson Middle School

Catholic High School is a Catholic high school in New Iberia.

Notable people

Sister cities

Flag	Cities	Countries
	Alhaurín de la Torre	Spain
	Fuengirola	Spain
	Saint-Jean-d'Angély	France
	Woluwe-Saint-Pierre	Belgium

See also

• Louisiana Hot Sauce – a hot sauce brand manufactured in New Iberia

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to New Iberia, Louisiana.

Wikisource has the text of the 1905 New International Encyclopedia article New Iberia.

Municipalities and communities of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States
Parish seat: New Iberia
Cities	Jeanerette New Iberia
Town	Delcambre‡
Village	Loreauville
CDP	Lydia
Unincorporated communities	Avery Island Belle Place Berard Bob Acres Boudreaux Bourgeois Landing Brannon Bronson Brousville Burke Caroline Charlotte Coopersville Coteau Daspit Dauterive Landing Davids Delaware Dennison Deslatte Derouen Duboin Emma Fish Island Gajan Gall Georgetown Greig Hope Hubertville Independent Jefferson Island Lasalle Leesburg Leleux Lifenite Little Valley Plantation Loisel Lozes Ludger Lyons Marce Masters Mestayer Migues Morbihan Nicholas Norbert Numa Olivier Oubre Patoutville Pesson Port Of Iberia Poufette Rynella Santiague Segura Sumerall Tony Ulyssee Vida Walet Weeks
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes

State of Louisiana
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