Albany, Louisiana
Albany, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Hungarian Settlement School in Albany | |
 Location of Albany in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. | |
.svg) Location of Louisiana in the United States | |
| Coordinates: 30°30′16″N 90°34′56″W / 30.50444°N 90.58222°W[1] | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Livingston |
| Incorporated | October 7, 1953 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Eileen Bates-McCarroll (R) (elected 2018)[2] |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.34 sq mi (3.47 km2) |
| • Land | 1.34 sq mi (3.47 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,235 |
| • Density | 921.64/sq mi (355.88/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code | 70711[4] |
| Area code | 225 |
| GNIS feature ID | 2407407 [5] |
| FIPS code | 22-00835 |
| Website | townofalbanyla |
Albany is a town in eastern Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,088 at the 2010 census and 1,235 in 2020. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
District 95 State Representative Sherman Q. Mack, an attorney, resides in Albany.
Etymology
[edit]It is speculated that the name of the community is derived from the Choctaw word abani which means "to cook over a fire" in the Choctaw language.[6] After interviewing many of the older residents and comparing their answers it was determined that the community was named after the nearby Natalbany River. During an interview Mrs. George (Mary Addison) Cunningham who was born on November 11, 1884, stated that when the Illinois Central Railroad built a line through the town they tried to name the community Natalbany but the railroad and post office refused the name because there was already a community with the same name.[7]
Hungarian Settlement
[edit]Historic Hungarian Settlement is in Albany. Between 1896 and 1920 hundreds of Hungarian immigrants settled here and named the community Árpádhon. In 1900, there were eleven families living in the Hungarian Settlement and by 1908 there were about forty Hungarian families on new farms in the area. By 1910, there were sixty-five families. In 1920, there were about two hundred families on farms in the area. The Hungarian name is derived from Árpád, the leader of the Hungarian tribes and -hon meaning home. Árpádhon was the largest rural Hungarian settlement in the United States at that time with an estimated 350 Hungarian families living within the community.[8] During the 1930s many of the Hungarian families became strawberry farmers.[9]
Geography
[edit]Albany is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 190 and Louisiana Highway 43 and I-12 passes south of the city. The Little Natalbany River flows past the east side of the city and joins the Natalbany River approximately two miles to the southeast.[10]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), all land.
Demographics
[edit]| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 557 | — | |
| 1970 | 700 | 25.7% | |
| 1980 | 857 | 22.4% | |
| 1990 | 645 | −24.7% | |
| 2000 | 865 | 34.1% | |
| 2010 | 1,088 | 25.8% | |
| 2020 | 1,235 | 13.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[11] | |||
As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 865 people, 371 households, and 234 families residing in the town. By the 2010 census, its population grew to 1,088; in 2020, its population was 1,235.
Cultural and historic sites
[edit]- The Hungarian Settlement School is located in Albany and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 2, 2001. The old school is home to the Hungarian Settlement Museum and the grand opening was celebrated on September 27, 2017.
- In 1909, a twenty-acre church site was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Juhasz and in that same year, Archbishop James Blenk from the Archdiocese of New Orleans approved the official name of St. Margaret Catholic Church
- Albany Plantation, which promotes the heritage of the French Cajun culture of Louisiana, sits on 34 acres of land.
Education
[edit]Albany is within the Livingston Parish Public Schools system.
Schools that serve Albany include:
- Albany Lower Elementary School (Louisiana)
- Albany Upper Elementary School (Louisiana)
- Albany Middle School (Louisiana)
- Albany High School
References
[edit]- ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Albany, Louisiana
- ^ "Election Returns: Livingston Parish". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
- ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ "Albany LA ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Albany, Louisiana
- ^ Leeper, Clare D'Artois (October 19, 2012). Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries. LSU Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8071-4740-5.
- ^ Pardue, D. N. "Albany, Livingston Parish, Louisiana". LAGenWeb Archives. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
From the book entitled The Free State - A History and Place-Names Study of Livingston Parish by the members of the Livingston Parish American Revolution Bicentennial Committee in cooperation with the Livingston Parish Police Jury and the Louisiana American Revolution Bicentennial Commission, 1976.
- ^ Fanni Kaszás. "Árpádhon, a Hungarian Settlement in Rural Louisiana". HungaryToday. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ Mocsary, Victoria. "Community History". Archived from the original on July 5, 2008.
- ^ Albany, LA and Springfield, LA, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, 1974 and 1963 (1978 and 1984 revisions resp.)
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
External links
[edit]- Hungarian Settlement Museum
- St. Margaret Queen of Scotland Church
- Árpádhon Hungarian Settlement Cultural Association
Municipalities and communities of Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes | |
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