Iota, Louisiana

Iota is a town in Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The population was 1,500 at the 2010 census.

Iota, Louisiana
Town
Town of Iota
Location of Iota in Acadia Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 30°19′43″N 92°29′35″W
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishAcadia
Area
 • Total1.27 sq mi (3.29 km2)
 • Land1.27 sq mi (3.29 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
30 ft (9 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total1,500
 • Estimate 
(2018)[2]
1,449
 • Density1,159.84/sq mi (447.79/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Zip Code
70543
Area Code337
FIPS code22-37410

The history of Iota is identified with Pointe-aux-Loups (French for Wolf Point), one of the oldest place names in southwest Louisiana, and the location of mineral springs that attracted many visitors beginning about 1858. The older settlement was located on Bayou des Cannes about two miles west of the present Town of Iota. A post office named Cartville, for the first postmaster Samuel Cart, was established in the vicinity of Pointe-aux-Loups in 1884. Ten years later, a railroad branch line from Midland to Eunice bypassed Cartville by a mile or so to the east. The railroad company built a depot at a point on the line nearest to the Cartville and Pointe-aux-Loups settlements, naming it Iota. The Cartville post office was changed to Iota in 1900.

C.C. Duson is credited with being the founder of Iota. It was he who promoted the construction of the Southern Pacific rail line to Eunice, the new town that he founded in St. Landry Parish. At the same time, 1894, Duson acquired the land on which Iota now stands, a 160-acre tract which had been homesteaded by Archille Doucet in 1835. Duson divided the land into town lots and sold them. Duson was the prime mover in the establishment of the Acadia Canal Company in the vicinity of Iota, and president of the town's first rice mill in 1901—two businesses said to have been responsible for Iota's early economic development.

Iota and its people continued to prosper throughout the 20th century, with agriculture and petroleum as the primary sectors of the local economy. During this time, rice and later crawfish developed as the main cash crops of the area.

In the 1990s, it was discovered that Iota has an unusually high number of people carrying Tay-Sachs, a rare genetic disorder.

Iota was represented in the novel No Place Louisiana by Martin Pousson, published in 2002.

Iota is the home of American Legion Post No. 371 and many veterans of foreign wars.

Iota is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

Iota is located at 30°19′43″N 92°29′35″W (30.328500, -92.493123).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km2), all land.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1910769—
19208024.3%
19308273.1%
19401,00020.9%
19501,16216.2%
19601,2457.1%
19701,2712.1%
19801,3264.3%
19901,256−5.3%
20001,3769.6%
20101,5009.0%
Est. 20181,449[2]−3.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[3]

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,376 people, 524 households, and 374 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,084.1 people per square mile (418.3/km²). There were 583 housing units at an average density of 459.3 per square mile (177.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 87.94% White, 11.26% African American, 0.15% Asian, 0.22% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.31% of the population.

There were 524 households out of which 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the town, the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $24,107, and the median income for a family was $31,328. Males had a median income of $31,538 versus $19,479 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,916. About 21.4% of families and 25.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.5% of those under age 18 and 23.6% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture
Mardi Gras celebration near Iota

The annual Iota Mardi Gras Folklife Festival attracts thousands of tourists and visitors, offering authentic Cajun food, music and crafts. In contrast to the elaborate costumes and parades of urban Carnival krewes, in Iota and nearby rural communities like Tee Mamou and LeJeune Cove, Cajuns celebrate Courir de Mardi Gras. Disguised with masks, costumes, and conical hats called capuchons, the townspeople travel through the surrounding countryside, making merry while begging for money and gumbo ingredients. The gumbo is the centerpiece of a communal supper and dance, where the Mardi Gras riders sing the Chanson de Mardi Gras, an old Cajun French drinking and begging song, and then take off their masks to reveal, ostensibly for the first time that day, the identity of each rider.

Education

Acadia Parish School Board serves Iota, operating Iota High School. St. Francis Catholic School is also located in the district.

Iota High School

References
  1. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 2, 2017.
  2. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  3. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
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