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Ascension Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Ascension, Spanish: Parroquia de Ascensión) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500.[1] Its parish seat is Donaldsonville.[2] The parish was created in 1807.[3] Ascension Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

Ascension Parish
Parish
Ascension Parish Courthouse in Donaldsonville
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 30°12′N 90°55′W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Founded	1807
Named for	Ascension of Jesus Christ
Seat	Donaldsonville
Largest city	Prairieville
Area
• Total	303 sq mi (780 km2)
• Land	290 sq mi (800 km2)
• Water	13 sq mi (30 km2)  3.75%
Population  (2020)
• Total	126,500
• Density	420/sq mi (160/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	2nd, 6th
Website	www.ascensionparish.net

Early European settlers of the area that was developed as Ascension and Gonzales were, for the most part, of French and Spanish ancestry. They settled among the Houma Indians who lived in the area.

Among the projects and plans carried out by Luis de Unzaga 'le Conciliateur' while he was governor of Louisiana between 1769 and 1777 was the promotion of new settlements by Europeans, among them were French Acadians and Malaga in the fertile Mississippi region and more specifically in the Unzaga Post or 'Puesto de Unzaga' that he created in 1771 in Pointe Coupee, the parish of Saint Gabriel in 1773 and Fort Manchac in 1776; the Ascension people occupied land at the confluence of the aforementioned European settlements.[4]

During the American Civil War, desertions had been of major concern to the Confederate States Army. Henry Watkins Allen, before he was governor, reported more than eight thousand deserters and draft-dodgers about Bayou Teche. There were some 1,200 deserters in Livingston, St. Tammany, and Ascension parishes.[5]

Planters in Ascension Parish later complained of raids by guerrillas. In 1864, planter W.R. Hodges requested soldiers to protect the planted fields from such attacks. Union soldiers were accused of "wandering about at will, and helping themselves . . . to whatever could be found," explains the historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana (1963).[6]

During the historic 2016 Louisiana Floods, around one-third of all homes in Ascension Parish were flooded. 15,000 homes and businesses took on water, mostly in the Galvez-St. Amant area, prompting a visit to St. Amant by then-presidential candidate, Donald J. Trump.[7][8]

Ascension Parish is one of the 22 parishes that make up Acadiana, the heartland of the Cajun people and their culture. This is exhibited by the prevalence of the French or Cajun French language heard throughout the parish, as well as the many festivals celebrated by its residents, including the Boucherie Festival, Lagniappe Music and Seafood Festival, Crawfish Festival, and the world-famous Jambalaya Festival.[9][10][11][12] The largest city in Ascension Parish, Gonzales, is celebrated as the "Jambalaya Capital of the World".[13]

Law and government

Long a Democratic bastion, since the late 20th century, like much of the rest of the South, Ascension Parish has registered more Republicans and election results have shifted. Since 2000, nearly 14,000 new voters have registered in Ascension Parish, and fewer than 1,000 of those are Democrats.

Democrats still lead in registrants with 28,181; Republicans follow with 16,218. There are also 13,052 "No Party" registrants, as permitted under Louisiana law.

Ascension Parish also had a small number of voters registered as upper case Independents. As of April 2007 there were 31 Libertarian Party members and 33 Reform Party registrants. The total registrants in April 2007 stood at 58,221.[14]

Republican Eddie J. Lambert, an attorney in Gonzales who resides in Prairieville, has represented Ascension Parish in the Louisiana State Senate since 2016. Previously, he was the area state representative from 2004 to 2016.[15] He unseated Juba Diez, the representative from 1976 to 2004.

Joe Sevario, a Prairieville businessman, served in the state Senate for District 18, including Ascension Parish, from 1976 to 1994.

On March 8, 2017, Ascension Parish President Kenneth Paul "Kenny" Matassa (born September 12, 1949), a Republican,[16] along with Olin Glenn Berthelot (born August 1948), a Democratic[17] businessman from Gonzales, faced indictment in an attempted bribery scheme. The pair is charged with encouraging a candidate to withdraw from a local election on November 8, 2016. The grand jury released its true bill to Judge Tess Stromberg of the 23rd Judicial District Court in Ascension, Assumption, and St. James parishes. Among those who testified in the case were Democratic Gonzales City Council member Neal Bourqueat. Matassa and Berthelot allegedly bribed the Democrat A. Wayne Lawson with offers of money and a government job to drop out of the city council race in Division E against Bourque,[18] who nevertheless won reelection with 61 percent of the ballots cast.[19] Matassa and Berthelot turned themselves in to authorities and posted a $5,000 bond. Reports, meanwhile, surfaced of a move before the parish council calling for Matassa to resign. He cannot be forced from the office, however, unless convicted of the crime. Matassa and Berthelot could have received up to two years in state prison either with or without hard time and/or a fine of $2,000.[18] Matassa was instead acquitted in July 2018 of the election bribery allegations and returned to his duties as parish president with a legal cloud lifted from his shoulders.[20]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 303 square miles (780 km²), of which 290 square miles (750 km²) is land and 13 square miles (34 km²) (4.2%) is water.[21] It is the fourth-smallest parish in Louisiana by total area.

Waterways

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

• East Baton Rouge Parish (north)
• Livingston Parish (northeast)
• St. John the Baptist Parish (east)
• St. James Parish (southeast)
• Assumption Parish (southwest)
• Iberville Parish (west)

Communities

Cities

• Donaldsonville (parish seat)
• Gonzales

Town

• Sorrento

Census-designated places

• Lemannville
• Prairieville

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1810	2,219		—
1820	3,728		68.0%
1830	5,246		40.7%
1840	6,951		32.5%
1850	10,752		54.7%
1860	11,484		6.8%
1870	11,577		0.8%
1880	16,895		45.9%
1890	19,545		15.7%
1900	24,142		23.5%
1910	23,887		−1.1%
1920	22,155		−7.3%
1930	18,438		−16.8%
1940	21,215		15.1%
1950	22,387		5.5%
1960	27,927		24.7%
1970	37,086		32.8%
1980	50,068		35.0%
1990	58,214		16.3%
2000	76,627		31.6%
2010	107,215		39.9%
2020	126,500		18.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[22] 1790-1960[23] 1900-1990[24] 1990-2000[25] 2010-2019[26]

Ascension Parish racial composition as of 2020[27]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	79,645	62.96%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	30,296	23.95%
Native American	266	0.21%
Asian	1,681	1.33%
Pacific Islander	32	0.03%
Other/Mixed	4,197	3.32%
Hispanic or Latino	10,383	8.21%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 126,500 people, 44,267 households, and 32,305 families residing in the parish.

Education

Ascension Parish School Board operates the local public schools.

The parish is also home to private schools and — since 1998, to River Parishes Community College.

National Guard

The 922nd Engineer Company (Horizontal), a unit of the 769th Engineer Battalion and the 225th Engineer Brigade. The 1021st Vertical Engineer Company also resides in Gonzales, Louisiana.

Media

Two newspapers are based in Ascension Parish's two cities, Donaldsonville and Gonzales. The Gonzales Weekly Citizen is a bi-weekly newspaper formed after the merger of The Gonzales Weekly (founded 1920) and The Ascension Citizen (founded 1996). The Donaldsonville Chief, founded in 1871, is the parish's longest-continually-published newspaper.

KKAY 1590 AM is headquartered in Donaldsonville on historic Railroad Avenue. It is a local radio station that airs programs from local ministers and churches and about local high school softball and football.

Politics

United States presidential election results for Ascension Parish, Louisiana[28]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	40,687	65.28%	20,399	32.73%	1,239	1.99%
2016	36,143	66.10%	16,476	30.13%	2,059	3.77%
2012	33,856	66.29%	16,349	32.01%	868	1.70%
2008	31,239	67.08%	14,625	31.40%	707	1.52%
2004	24,661	63.07%	13,955	35.69%	484	1.24%
2000	16,818	54.53%	13,385	43.40%	641	2.08%
1996	10,885	37.02%	15,263	51.91%	3,252	11.06%
1992	10,275	37.03%	13,036	46.98%	4,437	15.99%
1988	10,726	46.15%	12,147	52.27%	367	1.58%
1984	11,945	51.55%	11,048	47.68%	177	0.76%
1980	7,238	35.83%	12,381	61.29%	581	2.88%
1976	4,435	31.73%	9,100	65.10%	443	3.17%
1972	5,187	54.48%	3,324	34.91%	1,010	10.61%
1968	1,338	12.69%	3,203	30.37%	6,004	56.94%
1964	3,197	39.59%	4,879	60.41%	0	0.00%
1960	1,012	13.30%	5,689	74.76%	909	11.94%
1956	1,853	40.86%	2,606	57.46%	76	1.68%
1952	1,787	33.22%	3,593	66.78%	0	0.00%
1948	433	14.52%	1,126	37.75%	1,424	47.74%
1944	364	13.71%	2,291	86.29%	0	0.00%
1940	385	13.58%	2,451	86.42%	0	0.00%
1936	350	12.92%	2,359	87.05%	1	0.04%
1932	279	13.42%	1,800	86.58%	0	0.00%
1928	436	23.72%	1,402	76.28%	0	0.00%
1924	277	28.97%	679	71.03%	0	0.00%
1920	496	44.36%	622	55.64%	0	0.00%
1916	106	15.19%	531	76.07%	61	8.74%
1912	64	10.26%	413	66.19%	147	23.56%

See also

• Acadian Coast
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ascension Parish, Louisiana
• Johnny Berthelot
• Ralph Falsetta
• Eddie J. Lambert
• Sidney McCrory
• Edward J. Price
• Mert Smiley

References

Further reading

• McCulloh, R. P., P. V. Heinrich, and J. Snead, 2003, Ponchatoula 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

External links

• Ascension Parish government's website
• Ascension Parish Sheriff's website
• Weekly Citizen newspaper
• Ascension Parish Library
• Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• Census shows shift
• Radio station website

На других языках

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[de] Ascension Parish

Das Ascension Parish[1] (französisch Paroisse de l'Ascension) ist ein Parish im US-amerikanischen Bundesstaat Louisiana. Im Jahr 2010 hatte das Parish 107.215 Einwohner und eine Bevölkerungsdichte von 142 Einwohnern pro Quadratkilometer.[2] Der Verwaltungssitz (Parish Seat) ist Donaldsonville[3], benannt nach William Donaldson aus New Orleans.

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- [en] Ascension Parish, Louisiana

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[ru] Асеншен (приход)

Прихо́д Асе́ншен[1] (англ. Ascension Parish) или Асансьо́н (фр. Paroisse de l'Ascension) — один из приходов штата Луизиана, США. Официально образован в 1807 году. По состоянию на 2013 год, численность населения составляла 114 393 человека.

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