The parish is named for Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, who founded the French colony of Louisiana. A few archeological efforts have been made in the Parish, mainly to excavate the Native American burial mounds that have been identified there. The first expedition, led by Clarence B. Moore, was an attempt at collecting data from a couple of the sites, and it set the groundwork for later projects. Moore was mainly interested in the skeletal remains of the previous inhabitants, rather than excavating for archeological items. Archeologists are especially interested in these sites because of their uniformity and size. Some of the mounds are seven hundred feet long, a hundred feet wide and six feet tall. Most of them contain human remains. Iberville Parish is represented in the Louisiana State Senate by a Republican, attorneyRick Ward III, a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, who has served in the Senate since 2012. The parish is currently represented in the state House by Democrat Major Thibaut of Oscar in Pointe Coupee Parish.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 33,387 people residing in the parish. 49.3% were Black or African American, 48.8% White, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% Native American, 0.6% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races. 2.0% were Hispanic or Latino. As of the census of 2000, there were 33,320 people, 10,674 households, and 8,016 families residing in the parish. The population density was 54 people per square mile. There were 11,953 housing units at an average density of 19 per square mile. The racial makeup of the parish was 49.26% White, 49.70% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.14% from other races, and 0.45% from two or more races. 1.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 10,674 households, 36.20% of which contained children under age 18, 49.60% of which were married couples living together, 20.40% of which had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 21.90% of the households were made up of individuals and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.29. 26.20% of the population was under age 18; 10.50% was 18–20 years of age; 31.10% was 25–34 years of age; 21.50% was 45–64 years of age; and 10.70% was age 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.50 males. The median income for a household in the parish was $29,039, and the median income for a family was $34,100. Males had a median income of $32,074 versus $20,007 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $13,272. About 19% of families and 23% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30% of those under age 18 and 18% of those age 65 or over.
The Gillis W. Long Center, located on the outskirts of Carville, LA, is operated by the Louisiana Army National Guard. This post is home to the 415TH MI Battalion, the 241ST MPAD, and the 61st Troop Command. The 415TH MI is a subunit of the 139TH RSG.
