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Albany, Louisiana

Coordinates: 30°30′16″N 90°34′56″W / 30.50444°N 90.58222°W / 30.50444; -90.58222
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Albany, Louisiana
Town
Hungarian Settlement School in Albany
Hungarian Settlement School in Albany
Location of Albany in Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Albany in Livingston Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 30°30′16″N 90°34′56″W / 30.50444°N 90.58222°W / 30.50444; -90.58222[1]
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishLivingston
IncorporatedOctober 7, 1953
Government
 • MayorEileen Bates-McCarroll (R) (elected 2018)[2]
Area
 • Total1.34 sq mi (3.47 km2)
 • Land1.34 sq mi (3.47 km2)
 • Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation39 ft (12 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total1,235
 • Density921.64/sq mi (355.88/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
70711[4]
Area code225
GNIS feature ID2407407 [5]
FIPS code22-00835
Websitetownofalbanyla.com

Albany is a town in eastern Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,088 at the 2010 census and 1,235 in 2020. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

District 95 State Representative Sherman Q. Mack, an attorney, resides in Albany.

Etymology

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It is speculated that the name of the community is derived from the Choctaw word abani which means "to cook over a fire" in the Choctaw language.[6] After interviewing many of the older residents and comparing their answers it was determined that the community was named after the nearby Natalbany River. During an interview Mrs. George (Mary Addison) Cunningham who was born on November 11, 1884, stated that when the Illinois Central Railroad built a line through the town they tried to name the community Natalbany but the railroad and post office refused the name because there was already a community with the same name.[7]

Hungarian Settlement

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Historic Hungarian Settlement is in Albany. Between 1896 and 1920 hundreds of Hungarian immigrants settled here and named the community Árpádhon. In 1900, there were eleven families living in the Hungarian Settlement and by 1908 there were about forty Hungarian families on new farms in the area. By 1910, there were sixty-five families. In 1920, there were about two hundred families on farms in the area. The Hungarian name is derived from Árpád, the leader of the Hungarian tribes and -hon meaning home. Árpádhon was the largest rural Hungarian settlement in the United States at that time with an estimated 350 Hungarian families living within the community.[8] During the 1930s many of the Hungarian families became strawberry farmers.[9]

Geography

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Albany is located at the intersection of U.S. Route 190 and Louisiana Highway 43 and I-12 passes south of the city. The Little Natalbany River flows past the east side of the city and joins the Natalbany River approximately two miles to the southeast.[10]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.8 km2), all land.

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1960557
197070025.7%
198085722.4%
1990645−24.7%
200086534.1%
20101,08825.8%
20201,23513.5%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 865 people, 371 households, and 234 families residing in the town. By the 2010 census, its population grew to 1,088; in 2020, its population was 1,235.

Cultural and historic sites

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Education

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Albany is within the Livingston Parish Public Schools system.

Schools that serve Albany include:

  • Albany Lower Elementary School (Louisiana)
  • Albany Upper Elementary School (Louisiana)
  • Albany Middle School (Louisiana)
  • Albany High School

References

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  1. ^ a b U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Albany, Louisiana
  2. ^ "Election Returns: Livingston Parish". Louisiana Secretary of State. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  3. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  4. ^ "Albany LA ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
  5. ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Albany, Louisiana
  6. ^ Leeper, Clare D'Artois (October 19, 2012). Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries. LSU Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-8071-4740-5.
  7. ^ D.N. Pardue. "Albany, Livingston Parish, Louisiana". LAGenWeb Archives. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  8. ^ Fanni Kaszás. "Árpádhon, a Hungarian Settlement in Rural Louisiana". HungaryToday. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  9. ^ Community-hist Archived July 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ Albany, LA and Springfield, LA, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangles, USGS, 1974 and 1963 (1978 and 1984 revisions resp.)
  11. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
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