Saint Mary

Formed January 1, 1811 (23^rd parish)

Saint Mary Parish (49,405), Franklin (6,715), Morgan City (11,481)

The large Modern facility in the middle of Franklin was built in 1967.  Marble walls give an upgrade appearance to the inside.  The concrete structure is located on Wilson Street at Main Street.  Louisiana State Highway 182 is Main Street through the city.  Lloyd J. Guillory is the building architect.  There was a 1905 courthouse in Morgan City and a 1908 courthouse in Franklin.  The parish was formed on January 1, 1811 from Attakapas County as the 23^rd parish.  The parish was named for the Bible personality, Mary, mother of Jesus.  The parish seat’s namesake was American Patriot Benjamin Franklin.  He is also the namesake for Franklin Parish and the seat of Washington Parish.  Saint Mary Parish was the birthplace of 3 Louisiana Governors, Murphy J. Foster, Jared Y. Sanders, Sr, and Murphy J. Foster, Jr. 

The area of the parish is 612 square miles.  It is 44 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 22 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 80.7 persons per square mile making it 20 out of 64 in the state.  Saint Mary Parish has 62.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 90 enters from the southeast, Terrebonne Parish, and exits to the northwest, Iberia Parish. 

Saint Mary Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 11 Council Members (legislative.)  Eight District Court Judges serve Saint Mary, Iberia, and Saint Martin parishes and Eight Justice Court Judges serve Saint Mary Parish (judicial.) Saint Mary Parish is located in the south on the Gulf of Mexico.  Bayou Atchafalaya is the northeast border.  Lafayette, Louisiana is northwest and New Orleans, Louisiana is northeast of the parish.  The parish center is 10.2 miles East-Southeast of Franklin nearer Patterson.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by Iberia, Saint Martin, Assumption, and Terrebonne parishes and the Gulf of Mexico.  A hair comb bests describes the shape of the parish.  Franklin is located north of the parish center.  Morgan City is in the southeast quarter of the parish and extends into Saint Martin Parish.  Franklin is the parish seat and Morgan City is the largest city.  Franklin is 13.6% of the parish population while Morgan City is 23.2% of the parish population.  This parish is in the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.