LaPlace, Louisiana | |
Census-designated place | |
U.S. Highway 61 (Airline Highway) at U.S. Highway 51 intersection in LaPlace
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Country | United States |
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State | Louisiana |
Parish | St. John the Baptist |
Elevation | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
Coordinates | 30°04′30″N 90°29′06″W / 30.07500°N 90.48500°WCoordinates: 30°04′30″N 90°29′06″W / 30.07500°N 90.48500°W |
Area | 22.7 sq mi (58.8 km2) |
- land | 21.5 sq mi (56 km2) |
- water | 1.2 sq mi (3 km2), 5.29% |
Population | 32,134 (2010) |
Density | 1,287.8/sq mi (497.2/km2) |
Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
- summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
ZIP code | 70068 |
Area code | 985 |
Location of Louisiana in the United States
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Website: http://sjbparish.com/government_index.php | |
LaPlace ( /lə ˈplɑːs/) is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the east bank of the Mississippi River in the New Orleans metropolitan area. The population is 32,134 at the 2010 census.
LaPlace is the southern terminus of Interstate 55, where it joins with Interstate 10, and of US 51, where it terminates at the junction with US 61. LaPlace is located 25 miles (40 km) west of New Orleans.
The Chitimacha lived in the region prior to the arrival of European colonists. The tribe’s lands once encompassed the entire Atchafalaya Basin, westward to Lafayette, Louisiana, southward to the Gulf of Mexico and eastward to the New Orleans area. The Chitimacha Tribe currently resides on a reservation in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana.
Present-day LaPlace was settled by German immigrants in the early 18th century during Louisiana's French colonial period, as part of a larger settlement on the bank of the Mississippi called Karlstein. Karlstein was one of the four settlements collectively known as the "German Coast" (French: "La Côte des Allemands"), having been populated by German-speaking immigrants since 1721. French and Acadians intermarried with the Germans, and the area came to be known as Bonnet Carré (English: "square bonnet"). The name Bonnet Carré was inspired by the right-angle turn of the Mississippi river near the settlement and its resemblance to a square bonnet.