Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

History

Acadian pioneer Firmin Breaux arrived as a single person with Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil in early 1765, probably with the family of Michel Trahan. The Acadians suffered many deaths between April and November, 1765, and some left with the priest, Fr. Jean Francois, to go to St. James Parish. A census of Attakapas dated April 25, 1766, lists Firmin at a place named Bayou Tortue. He left after this census and went to St. James where he is listed on the Sept, 14, 1769 Census of The Acadian Coast. In 1774, Firmin, who by then was in Ascension Parish, LA, petitioned Spanish Governor Unzaga to allow him to return to Attakapas. This petition was approved, and Firmin purchased land in the vicinity of the present-day city of Breaux Bridge from Jean François Ledée, a wealthy New Orleans merchant who had acquired the land as a French land grant approved by the Spanish during the waning years of the French administration for the Spanish. By 1774, Breaux's branding iron was registered, and by 1786 he was one of the largest property owners in the Bayou Teche country.

In 1799, Breaux built a footbridge across the Bayou Teche to help ease the passage for his family and neighbors. This first bridge was a suspension footbridge, likely made of rope and small planks. It was stabilized by being tied to small pilings located at each end of the bridge, as well as to a pair of huge live oak trees on both sides of the bayou. When traveling directions were given, residents would often instruct people to "go to Breaux's bridge ...", which eventually was adopted as the city's name.

In 1817, Firmin's son Agricole built the first vehicular bridge, allowing for the passage of wagons and increasing commerce in the area. The town received its official founding in 1829 when Scholastique Picou Breaux, Agricole's widow, drew up a plan called Plan de la Ville Du Pont des Breaux for the city and began developing the property by selling lots to other Acadian settlers. A church parish was created in 1847, and Breaux Bridge was officially incorporated in 1859.

In 1959, the Louisiana legislature officially designated Breaux Bridge as "la capitale mondiale de l'écrevisse" ("The Crawfish Capital of the World").

Geography

Breaux Bridge is located at 30°16′33″N 91°54′4″W (30.275939, -91.901230).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17 km²), of which, 6.6 square miles (17 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it is water. The total area is 1.65% water.

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 8,139 people residing in the city. 50.0% were White, 47.3% African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.4% from some other race and 1.3% from two or more races. 1.3% were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,281 people, 2,512 households, and 1,821 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,111.7 people per square mile (429.2/km²). There were 2,740 housing units at an average density of 418.3 per square mile (161.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 49.84% White, 48.66% African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.27% from other races, and 0.80% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.65% of the population. Of the population over the age of five, 68.3% spoke English at home, 28.3% spoke French, 1.7% spoke Spanish, and 1.6% spoke Louisiana Creole French.

There were 2,512 households out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were married couples living together, 24.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.5% were non-families. 23.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the city, the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,102, and the median income for a family was $31,570. Males had a median income of $30,880 versus $17,819 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,536. About 26.8% of families and 30.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.0% of those under age 18 and 25.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools in St. Martin Parish are operated by the St. Martin Parish School Board. The city of Breaux Bridge is zoned to Breaux Bridge Primary School (Grades PK-3), Breaux Bridge Elementary School (Grades 4-6), Breaux Bridge Junior High School (Grades 7-8), and Breaux Bridge High School (Grades 9-12).

Private schools include St. Bernard Elementary (Grades PreK-8), and Louisiana Christian School (Grades PreK-12) .