Montegut, Louisiana

Montegut
CDP
Montegut is located in Louisiana
Montegut
Montegut
Location of Montegut in Louisiana
Coordinates: 29°28′25″N 90°33′19″W / 29.47361°N 90.55528°W / 29.47361; -90.55528
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishTerrebonne
Area
[1]
 • Total
4.52 sq mi (11.70 km2)
 • Land4.21 sq mi (10.90 km2)
 • Water0.31 sq mi (0.80 km2)
Elevation
7 ft (2 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
1,465
 • Density348/sq mi (134/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
70377[2]
Area code985
FIPS code22-51550

Montegut is a census-designated place (CDP) in Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,540 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Montegut was the primary filming location for the 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild.

History

Montegut developed around a sugar mill founded in 1883. Named by Congressman Edward James Gay when the post office was opened in 1885, it honored Gabriel Montegut, a prominent resident of parish seat Houma.[3]

The 1941 WPA guide to Louisiana reported an elevation of 8 feet and population of 200.[4]

Geography

Montegut is located at 29°28′25″N 90°33′19″W / 29.47361°N 90.55528°W / 29.47361; -90.55528 (29.473700, -90.555381).[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.8 km2), of which 4.5 square miles (11.6 km2) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.2 km2) (1.54%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
19901,784—
20001,8031.1%
20101,540−14.6%
20201,465−4.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
Montegut racial composition as of 2020[7]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 1,093 74.61%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 27 1.84%
Native American 176 12.01%
Asian 5 0.34%
Pacific Islander 1 0.14%
Other/Mixed 131 8.94%
Hispanic or Latino 31 2.12%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,465 people, 594 households, and 443 families residing in the CDP.

Education

Terrebonne Parish School District operates public schools.[8] Montegut Elementary School and Montegut Middle School are in the community.[9]

École Pointe-au-Chien, a public school (non-district) in Pointe-aux-Chenes,[10] has a Montegut postal address, though it is not in the Montegut CDP.[11] It was the former Pointe-aux-Chenes Elementary School, a Terrebonne Parish public school which closed in 2021.[10]

The parish is in the service area of Fletcher Technical Community College.[12] Additionally, a Delgado Community College document stated that Terrebonne Parish was in the college's service area.[13]

The 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild was filmed in Montegut. Director Benh Zeitlin and his crew worked out of an abandoned gas station in town. They built the film's fictional settlement—the "Bathtub"—by hand with found artifacts and rusted-out equipment from the surrounding area.[14] The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Notable people

Allen J. Ellender, a Senator from Louisiana from 1937 to 1972, and the President pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate from 1971 to 1972, was born here.[15]

References

  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Montegut LA ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  3. ^ Cenac, Christopher Everette. Hard Scrabble to Hallelujah, Volume 1: Bayou Terrebonne: Legacies of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana (2016)
  4. ^ Louisiana; a guide to the state, p. 421 (1941)
  5. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  7. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  8. ^ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Terrebonne Parish, LA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved February 17, 2024. - Text list
  9. ^ "Montegut Elementary Archived 2010-06-26 at the Wayback Machine." Terrebonne Parish School District. Retrieved on July 27, 2010.
  10. ^ a b Olivier, Jonathan (May 30, 2023). "In August, École Pointe-au-Chien to Open Kindergarten, First Grade". KRVS. Télé-Louisiane. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "Home". École Pointe-au-Chien. Retrieved February 15, 2024. 1558 LA 665, Montegut, Louisiana 70377 - Compare to the map of the Montegut CDP from the 2020 US Census. The City of Houston stated: "The U.S. Postal Service establishes ZIP codes and mailing addresses in order to maximize the efficiency of their system, not to recognize jurisdictional boundaries."
  12. ^ "Our Colleges". Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "The Economic Value of Delgado Community College" (PDF). Delgado Community College. Retrieved March 9, 2024. For the purposes of this analysis, the Delgado Service Area is comprised of [...] and Terrebonne[...]
  14. ^ "[1]." Retrieved on February 6, 2013.
  15. ^ Laurence Kestenbaum. https://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/LA/TB-buried.html Retrieved March 23, 2023
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