Houma, Louisiana
Houma (/ˈhoʊmə/ HOH-mə)[2] is the largest city in and the parish seat of[3] Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government was absorbed by the parish in 1984, which currently operates as the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government.[4][5]
Houma, Louisiana
1834
1848
1898
Government
Consolidated City-Parish
Jason W. Bergeron (since 2024)
14.60 sq mi (37.80 km2)
14.47 sq mi (37.47 km2)
0.13 sq mi (0.33 km2)
33,406
2,309.12/sq mi (891.55/km2)
208,178
22-36255
The population was 33,727 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1,334 over the 2000 census tabulation of 32,393.[6] In 2020, the population estimates program determined 32,467 people lived in the city.[7] At the 2020 census, its population rebounded to 33,406.[8] Many unincorporated areas are adjacent to the city of Houma. The largest, Bayou Cane, is an urbanized area commonly referred to by locals as being part of Houma, but it is not included in the city's census counts, and is a separate census-designated place. If the populations of the urbanized census-designated places were included with that of the city of Houma, the total would exceed 60,000 residents.
Etymology[edit]
The city was named after the historic Native American tribe of Houma people, believed to be related to the Choctaw. The United Houma Nation is recognized by the state of Louisiana, but it has not achieved federal recognition.[9]
Education[edit]
Terrebonne Parish School District operates the city and parish public schools. Houma is home to Louisiana's second-oldest high school, Terrebonne High School.[21][22] South Terrebonne High School was founded in 1961. H.L. Bourgeois High School, Ellender Memorial High School and Vandebilt Catholic High School are also in Terrebonne Parish. Southdown High School (originally Houma Colored High School) was constructed in the mid-20th century as a segregated school for black students, serving them exclusively from 1946 to 1969.[23] After that the school was integrated as a result of 1964 civil rights legislation.
Culture[edit]
Houma and the surrounding communities are steeped in the French, Native, Cajun, African and Creole history of the region. Originally the region was colonized by French and Spanish who made their way south through Bayou Lafourche. In the late 18th century, numerous Acadians (later known as Cajuns) settled in the region. The Acadians had been expelled by the British from Nova Scotia during the Seven Years' War for their unwillingness to take a loyalty oath to the British King. The number expelled was about 15,000 in number, of which 3,000 eventually settled in this region. Others went to France. As the French, Spanish, Acadians and Native American people mixed over the decades, a unique Cajun culture was born.
The swampland around Houma resulted in the area being quite isolated from the rest of Louisiana and the United States well into the 1930. Outside influences such as radio and concomitant popular culture failed to penetrate Cajun culture, so Cajun culture and the use of French language in this region persevered much longer than in cities on the border of Cajun country, such as Lake Charles or Baton Rouge. Traditional Cajun culture in Houma includes the French language, Cajun cuisine, and celebration of Catholic festivals such as Mardi Gras. That folk culture remains evident today and attracts many tourists to the region.[24]
In the 1970s, many South Vietnamese refugees emigrated following the reunification of Vietnam. They settled in Southern Louisiana to work as shrimpers, just as they had in Vietnam. A fairly significant portion of them settled in New Orleans, and many settled in Houma as well, in addition to elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. Many ethnic Vietnamese families still work at shrimping, as their families have for several decades.[25]
Downtown Houma has been designated as an historic district and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It offers a downtown walking tour and attractions such as the Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum, the Folklife Culture Center, the Regional Military Museum, Southdown Plantation, the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center, monuments to local armed forces, and local eateries.[26]
Although Houma is quickly changing, many residents in the surrounding communities continue to make their living from the Gulf as their ancestors did. They harvest shrimp, oyster, crab, fish, and engage in trapping, although more have shifted to work in occupations of the oil industry and shipbuilding. According to the United States Government Patent and Trademark Office, Houma, Louisiana was the site of the deepest oil well in Terrebonne Parish.
Tab Benoit's Voice of the Wetlands Music Festival, established in 2005, takes place in Houma, annually in October.[27]
Houma is served by Houma-Terrebonne Airport, located 3 miles (4.8 km) southeast of the central business district.[30]
Good Earth Transit is Houma's parish bus system.[31] It has five major routes and serves the surrounding suburban areas, including the small bayou communities and the city of Thibodaux.[32]
Houma relies mainly on roads and personal vehicles as the main form of transportation. The major roads in Houma are:
, Canada
Bathurst, New Brunswick
Notes
Bibliography