Des Allemands was settled in 1721 by immigrants to the colony of Louisiana from Alsace and Lorraine under the control of John Law and the Company of the Indies. Des Allemands means "of the Germans" in French. The German Louisiana colony was originally up the Mississippi River at the Arkansas Post. But they experienced hostility from the Native Americans in that area, and moved to a location much closer to the colonial capital of New Orleans.
Geography
Des Allemands is located in southern St. Charles Parish and northeastern Lafourche Parish at . It is bordered to the north by the Paradis CDP and to the southeast by the Bayou Gauche CDP. U.S. Route 90 crosses Bayou des Allemands at this point; the four-lane highway leads northeast to New Orleans and west to Morgan City. Bayou Des Allemands runs northwest to Lac des Allemands and southeast to Lake Salvador. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Des Allemands CDP has a total area of, of which are land and, or 18.68%, are water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,500 people, 943 households, and 714 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 287.6 people per square mile. There were 1,020 housing units at an average density of 117.3 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.88% White, 10.44% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races, and 1.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.48% of the population. There were 943 households out of which 32.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couplesliving together, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.2% were non-families. 20.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.03. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $27,908, and the median income for a family was $32,946. Males had a median income of $33,125 versus $21,433 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,306. About 16.2% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 21.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
serves parts of Des Allemands east of Bayou Des Allemands. Allemands Elementary School in Des Allemands serves grades PK-2, while R.J. Vial Elementary School in Paradis serves grades 3-5; Vial opened in 1975. J. B. Martin Middle School in Paradis serves grades 6-8, and Hahnville High School in Boutte serves 9-12. Residents of Des Allemands west of Bayou Des Allemands attend Lafourche Parish Public Schools. People in the Bayou Des Allemands area of Lafourche Parish are zoned to Raceland Lower Elementary School, Raceland Upper Elementary School, Raceland Middle School, and Central Lafourche High School in Mathews.
Festivals
Hosts the Louisiana Catfish Festival on the third weekend in June.
Hosts a small parade in conjunction with Mardi Gras season.
