Cut Off (historically named La Coupe) is a census-designated place (CDP) on the Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,533 in 2020. It is part of the HoumaBayou CaneThibodaux metropolitan statistical area. Cut Off's ZIP code is 70345, the area code is 985 and local telephone prefixes are 325, 632 and 693.

Cut Off, Louisiana
Cut Off is located in Louisiana
Cut Off
Cut Off
Location in Louisiana
Cut Off is located in the United States
Cut Off
Cut Off
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 29°30′55″N 90°20′02″W / 29.51528°N 90.33389°W / 29.51528; -90.33389
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishLafourche
Area
 • Total
14.77 sq mi (38.24 km2)
 • Land14.64 sq mi (37.92 km2)
 • Water0.13 sq mi (0.32 km2)
Elevation
7 ft (2 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
5,533
 • Density377.94/sq mi (145.92/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
70345
Area code985
FIPS code22-18930

History

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Cut Off had its start by the building of a canal cutoff at that point from Bayou Lafourche northeast to Lake Salvador, to shorten the route to New Orleans.[2] The name (La Coupe, or "The Cut") was French in origin.[3]

Geography

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Cut Off is located in south-central Lafourche Parish at 29°30′55″N 90°20′2″W / 29.51528°N 90.33389°W / 29.51528; -90.33389 (29.515201, -90.333839),[4] on both sides of Bayou Lafourche. It is bordered to the northwest by Larose and to the south by Galliano.

Louisiana Highway 1 runs through the center of Cut Off, along the west bank of Bayou Lafourche, while Highway 308 runs along the east bank. Highway 3235, a four-lane highway, runs through the west side of the community. All three highways lead northwest into Larose and south into Galliano. Thibodaux, the parish seat, is 37 miles (60 km) to the northwest (upriver), and Port Fourchon on the Gulf of Mexico is 34 miles (55 km) to the south.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Cut Off CDP has a total area of 14.7 square miles (38.2 km2), of which 14.6 square miles (37.9 km2) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km2), or 0.85%, are water.[5]

Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note
19805,049
19905,3255.5%
20005,6355.8%
20105,9766.1%
20205,533−7.4%
source:[6][7]
Cut Off racial composition as of 2020[8]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 4,423 79.94%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 63 1.14%
Native American 215 3.89%
Asian 70 1.27%
Pacific Islander 1 0.02%
Other/Mixed 240 4.34%
Hispanic or Latino 521 9.42%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,533 people, 2,375 households, and 1,711 families residing in the CDP.

Notable people

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Government and infrastructure

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The United States Postal Service operates the Cut Off Post Office.[9]

Culture

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  • A particular section of the town is known as Côte Blanche, French for "White Coast" because of a statistically abnormal number of white painted homes that lined Bayou Lafourche for much of the early and mid 1900s.[citation needed]
  • In a segment of Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe interviewed a Cut Off alligator farmer.

Education

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Lafourche Parish Public Schools operates public schools.

  • Cut Off Elementary School[10]

Larose-Cut Off Middle School is in nearby Larose,[11] and serves Cut Off CDP.[12][13]

South Lafourche High School is in Galliano, and has a Cut Off postal address. It also serves Cut Off.[12][13]

Cut Off School opened in 1927. In September 1950 the schools of Larose and Cut Off were consolidated into Larose-Cut Off High School. It was then consolidated with Golden Meadow High School to form South Lafourche High School in 1966.[14]

Lafourche Parish Library operates the South Lafourche Library in Galliano, which has a Cut Off postal address.[15][16] Damage from Hurricane Ida meant that the parish had to rebuild the inside of the library.[17]

Fletcher Technical Community College has Lafourche Parish in the college's service area.[18] Additionally, a Delgado Community College document stated that Lafourche Parish was in the college's service area.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ 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. 76. ISBN 978-0-8071-4740-5.
  3. ^ Moyer, Armond; Moyer, Winifred (1958). The origins of unusual place-names. Keystone Pub. Associates. p. 29.
  4. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  5. ^ "U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Louisiana". U.S. Census Bureau Geography Division. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  6. ^ "CENSUS OF POPULATION AND HOUSING (1790-2000)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  7. ^ "Total Population: 2010 Census DEC Summary File 1 (P1), Cut Off CDP, Louisiana". data.census.gov. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  8. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  9. ^ "Cut Off." United States Postal Service. Retrieved on March 11, 2017. "16130 W MAIN ST CUT OFF, LA 70345-9998"
  10. ^ Home. Cut Off Elementary School. Retrieved on November 29, 2016.
  11. ^ Home. Larose-Cut Off Middle School. Retrieved on November 29, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Cut Off CDP, LA." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 7, 2018. Pages: 1, 2.
  13. ^ a b "SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BOUNDARIES Archived 2016-12-02 at the Wayback Machine." Lafourche Parish Public Schools. Retrieved on December 2, 2016. Based on the text description of the school boundaries.
  14. ^ "The Origin of South Lafourche Archived November 29, 2016, at the Wayback Machine." South Lafourche High School. Retrieved on November 29, 2016.
  15. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Galliano CDP, LA Page 1" (See Index). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on November 29, 2016.
  16. ^ "Branch Locations and Contact." Lafourche Parish Library. Retrieved on November 28, 2018. "16241 East Main Street Cut Off, LA 70345"
  17. ^ Campo, Colin (September 15, 2022). "Hurricane Ida destroyed 2 local libraries, damaged others. Here's how rebuilding is going". Houma Courier. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  18. ^ "Our Colleges". Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
  19. ^ "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 [...]Lafourche,[...]
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