Formed March 31, 1807 (13th parish)
Saint John the Baptist Parish (42,477), Edgard* (1,948), La Place* (28,841)
A concrete Modern structure was built in 1968 on Louisiana State Highway 18 at Third Street. An 1847 courthouse was also located in Edgard. Lucy was the parish seat before that. Saint John the Baptist Parish is a March 31, 1807 original parish (13th parish.) Thomas B. Burk and Associates were the architects for this structure. The county seat is named for postmaster Edgar Perret. John the Baptist from the Bible is the namesake of the parish.
Saint John the Baptist Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive). It has 9 Council Members (legislative.) Three District Court Judges and Seven Justice Court Judges serve Saint John the Baptist Parish (judicial.) The parish is in the southeast between Baton Rouge, Louisiana and New Orleans, Louisiana. The Mississippi River goes through the parish and Lake Pontchartrain is on the east. The parish center is 7 miles Northeast of Edgard nearer La Place. The parish is surrounded clockwise by Tangipahoa, Saint Charles, Lafourche, Saint James, Ascension, and Livingston parishes.
The area of the parish is 348 square miles. It is 60 out of 64 in the state. It ranks 27 out of 64 in population in the state. It has a density of 122.1 persons per square mile making it 15 out of 64 in the state. Saint John the Baptist Parish has 0.0% of its population in its incorporated areas since there are no incorporated cities. Interstate Highway 10 comes from Saint Charles Parish and goes into Saint James Parish, east to west. Interstate Highway 55 enters from the north, Tangipahoa Parish, and terminates at Interstate Highway 10. United States Highway 51 enters with Interstate Highway 55 from Tangipahoa Parish and terminates at Interstate Highway 10. United States Highway 61 parallels Interstate Highway 10 from Saint Charles to Saint James parishes. The parish appears to be a small letter r. Edgard is slightly south of center in the parish on the Mississippi River. La Place is in the eastern quarter of the parish. Edgard is the parish seat and La Place is the largest populated area. Edgard is 4.6% of the parish population while La Place is 67.9% of the parish population. This parish is in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Edgard (unincorporated)
