Destrehan, Louisiana

Destrehan
Census-designated place
Destrehan Plantation est.1780-1790
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	St. Charles
Elevation	10 ft (3.0 m)
Coordinates	29°57′44″N 90°22′09″W / 29.96222°N 90.36917°W / 29.96222; -90.36917Coordinates: 29°57′44″N 90°22′09″W / 29.96222°N 90.36917°W / 29.96222; -90.36917
Area	7.9 sq mi (20.5 km2)
- land	6.9 sq mi (18 km2)
- water	1.0 sq mi (3 km2), 12.66%
Population	11,535 (2010)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code	985
Location of Destrehan in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Destrehan is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,535 at the 2010 census, an increase of 275 over the 2000 tabulation of 11,260.

The community is named after Jean Noël Destréhan (1754–1823), who was twice President of the Orleans Territory's legislative council during his service there in 1806 and 1811. He was elected to the United States Senate when Louisiana became a state in 1812, but he resigned after a month. He served in the Louisiana State Senate from 1812 to 1817.

Destrehan Plantation, his former home, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The main house has been restored and is one of the attractions on the Great River Road along the Mississippi River.

Before the Hale Boggs Memorial Bridge was completed connecting the communities of Destrehan and Luling, automobile ferries connected the towns. On October 20, 1976, one of these ferries, the George Prince, was struck by a tanker and capsized as it crossed the Mississippi River. Seventy-eight passengers and crew died.

Destrehan was briefly notorious in 1974 for the case of Gary Tyler, a black student who was accused by local officials of a shooting, convicted and sentenced to prison. The case was highlighted by New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in 2007 as an egregious example of a racially motivated abuse of the justice system, as Tyler was unjustly imprisoned.