Morgan City, Louisiana
Morgan City is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States, located in the Acadiana region. The population was 11,472 at the 2020 census. Known for being "right in the middle of everywhere", Morgan City is located 68 miles (109 km) southeast of Lafayette, 64 miles (103 km) south of Baton Rouge, and 86 miles (138 km) west of New Orleans.[2]
Morgan City, Louisiana
United States
Lee Dragna
6.25 sq mi (16.19 km2)
5.98 sq mi (15.50 km2)
0.27 sq mi (0.69 km2)
7 ft (2 m)
11,472
1,917.11/sq mi (740.19/km2)
22-52040
Morgan City sits on the banks of the Atchafalaya River. The town was originally named "Tiger Island" by surveyors appointed by U.S. Secretary of War John Calhoun, because of a particular type of wild cat seen in the area. It was later changed for a time to "Brashear City", named after Walter Brashear, a prominent Kentucky physician who had purchased large tracts of land and acquired numerous sugar mills in the area.[3] It was incorporated in 1860.
Morgan City, and all of St. Mary Parish, is included in the Lafayette-Opelousas-Morgan City CSA.
History[edit]
Capture of Brashear City[edit]
During the American Civil War, the Star Fort of Fort Brashear was the larger of two works erected by the Union Army occupying the city to defend a Federal military depot and the town. During the Bayou Teche Campaign, on the night of June 22, 1863, 325 Confederates of Gen. A. A. Mouton's command, led by Major Sherod Hunter, landed their skiffs and flats in the rear of the town. Attacking the next day, they surprised and captured the city, taking 1,300 Union prisoners, 11 heavy siege guns, 2,500 stands of rifles, immense quantities of quartermaster, commissary and ordnance stores. They also captured 2,000 African Americans, between 200 and 300 wagons and tents, all while suffering losses of only 3 killed, 18 wounded.[4]
St. Mary Parish School Board operates public schools:
Elementary schools:
There is a private Catholic Pre-k through grade 12 school, Central Catholic High School.