Iberville

Formed March 31, 1807 (4^th parish)

Iberville Parish (30,240), Plaquemine (6,278)

A Modern structure was built in 1982 of tan brick and concrete.  The structure is located on Meriam Street west of Balst Street.  Louisiana State Highway 1 is three blocks to the east of the site.  Point Pleasant was the first parish seat until it moved to Plaquemine in 1835.  Plaquemine has had two courthouses including a 1907 structure that still remains.  The parish was one of the originals (4^th parish) formed on March 31, 1807.  Bradley-Miremont were the architects for the courthouse.  The local bayou gave its name to the parish.  The bayou was named by local Native Americans for the persimmons along its bank, “pikamine.”  The namesake for the parish was Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d’Iberville, French explorer.  Iberville Parish was the birthplace of 1 Louisiana Governor, Paul O. Hebert. 

Iberville Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 13 Council Members (legislative.)  Four District Court Judges serve Iberville, Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes and Six Justice Court Judges serve Iberville Parish (judicial.) The Atchafalaya Bayou forms the western border and the Mississippi River forms part of the eastern border. 

The area of the parish is 653 square miles.  It is 37 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 34 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 46.3 persons per square mile making it 31 out of 64 in the state.  Iberville Parish has 54.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses the parish east to west from West Baton Rouge to Saint Martin parishes.  The parish shape is a lazy capital letter L leaning toward the west.  It is between Baton Rouge, Louisiana to the east and Lafayette, Louisiana to the west.  The parish center is 23.6 miles West of Plaquemine nearer Grosse Tete.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by West Baton Rouge, East Baton Rouge, Ascension, Assumption, Iberia, Saint Martin, and Pointe Coupee parishes.  Plaquemine is north and east of the parish center.  Plaquemine is the parish seat and the largest city.  It is 20.8% of the parish population.  The parish is pronounced IE-BUR-VIL.  The parish seat is pronounced PLA-KWI-MEEN.  This parish is in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.