Plaquemines Parish (; French: Paroisse de Plaquemine, Louisiana French: Paroisse des Plaquemines, ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 census, the parish seat is Pointe à la Hache and the largest community is Belle Chasse. The parish was formed in 1807.
Plaquemines Parish is part of the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area. It was severely damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, and in hurricane events in 2011 and 2021.
History
The name "Plaquemines," in French Creole, was derived from the Atakapa word piakimin, meaning the local fruit persimmon. The French used it to name a military post they built on the banks of the Mississippi River, as the site was surrounded by numerous persimmon trees. Eventually the name was applied to the entire parish and to a nearby bayou.
The oldest European settlement in the parish was La Balize, where the French built and inhabited a crude fort by 1699 near the mouth of the Mississippi River. The name in French meant "seamark", a tall structure of wood built as a guide for ships. By 1721 the French built one high. A surviving map from about 1720 shows the island and fort, and the mouth of the river.
As traffic and trade on the river increased, so did the importance of river pilots who were knowledgeable about the complicated, ever-changing currents and sandbars in the river. They lived at La Balize with their families. The village was destroyed and rebuilt numerous times, but it was abandoned for good after being destroyed by a September 1860 hurricane. The pilots moved upriver and built the settlement they named Pilottown, which reached its peak of population in the 19th century. The river pilots' expertise continues to be critical, but now they generally live with their families in more populated areas. They stay at Pilottown temporarily for work.
An important historical site is Fort Jackson, built in 1822 as recommended by General Andrew Jackson, hero of the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. In 1861, Fort Jackson served as an important Confederate defense for the city of New Orleans during the Civil War because it was at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The US Army used it as a training base during World War I, 1917–1918.
Plaquemines is one of only two parishes that have kept their same boundaries from the beginning of Louisiana's parishes in 1807 to today, the other being St. Bernard Parish.
20th century to present
Because Plaquemines Parish encompasses the last of the Mississippi River before it reaches the Gulf of Mexico, it is the site of several oil refineries, which rely on the shipping lanes for moving their product. The Mississippi River Delta of Plaquemines is also a base for assistance to offshore oil rigs. Plaquemines Parish was the first place in the United States where shippers used a container for cargo in foreign trade. The area is also known for having the southernmost point in Louisiana, at just under 29 degrees north.
The August 1901 Hurricane caused damage, including 4 feet of water in Buras.
The Great Hurricane of 1915 devastated much of the parish, with multiple levee breaches on both sides of the Mississippi, a 12-foot storm surge, and hundreds of deaths. Homelessness was widespread, and many people were reduced to starvation until charitable aid arrived. The old Parish Courthouse in Pointe à la Hache was among the many buildings destroyed in the storm, but a new one was completed within the year.
In the early 1900s, Plaquemines was an exporter of citrus. Farmers used the railroads and the Mississippi to ship the large annual harvest to markets. Commercial fisheries, especially for oysters, have been important in the parish economy.
From 1924 to 1969, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes were effectively the domain of the Democratic political boss Leander Perez, who established a strong hold over the area. He was notorious for fixing elections and enforcing strict racial segregation. Upon his death, his sons Leander Perez, Jr., and Chalin O. Perez were elected as the dominant political figures of the parish as district attorney and parish president, respectively. Interpersonal feuding weakened the family's hold on power. After another decade, by 1980 political opponents had begun to win local elections.
In 1969, Hurricane Camille devastated portions of Plaquemines Parish. Storm surge over 10 feet, winds over 100 miles per hour, and peak pressure at 941 hPa devastated Buras, Louisiana, Venice, Louisiana, and many more towns and cities.