Edgard, Louisiana
| Edgard | |
| CDP | |
 St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church, Edgard
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | St. John the Baptist |
| Elevation | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Coordinates | 30°02′02″N 90°33′14″W / 30.03389°N 90.55389°WCoordinates: 30°02′02″N 90°33′14″W / 30.03389°N 90.55389°W |
| Area | 17.9 sq mi (46.4 km2) |
| - land | 15.5 sq mi (40 km2) |
| - water | 2.3 sq mi (6 km2), 12.85% |
| Population | 2,637 (2000) |
| Density | 169.7/sq mi (65.5/km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 70049 |
| Area code | 985 |
  Location of Edgard in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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Edgard is a census-designated place (CDP) in and the parish seat of St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,637 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area. Edgard is part of the German Coast of Louisiana.
One of the parish's first communities and a social haunt of the privateer Jean Lafitte, Edgard has been the parish seat since 1848. Originally named St. John the Baptist for the church at its heart, Edgard was renamed in 1850 for its postmaster, Edgar Perret. Edgard's first St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (1772) was destroyed by the Poché Crevasse in 1821. Another church was soon erected. Unfortunately, in 1918 fire gutted the sacred building. A testament to the church's place in the community, the parishioners gave generously, and when the new church opened its doors, all debts had been paid.
The economic history of Edgard included a sawmill operated by Severin Tassin, a brick factory begun in 1878, and several sugar plantations that operated in the century between 1794 and 1894. By 1899, there were more than fifty family-owned sugar houses (sugar mills) still in existence.
The majority of the town's folk worked in the sugar houses, in the fields, or in support of the sugar industry. Many families leased land from the Caires and Graugnards on Columbia Plantation, cultivating their own produce to sell. In 1899, the river was the scene of some excitement when in the late winter ice could be seen floating downstream. The ice flows jammed up the river, interrupting ship traffic for several days.
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