POINTE COUPEE PARISH
Parish Offices
160 East Main Street
New Roads 225-638-9556
http://pcparish.org
Chamber of Commerce
2506 False River Drive
New Roads 225-638-3500
https://www.pcchamber.org
Home to thriving agriculture, recreation, and tourism industries, beautiful Pointe Coupee Parish is also the location of major electricity-generation stations. The parish is Louisiana’s top pecan producer, although rapidly expanding crops include sugar cane and cotton. A variety of other crops and beef-cattle livestock add significantly to gross revenues. The parish is one of the state’s most diverse landscapes between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers. Newcomers to the parish will find friendly small rural communities in close proximity to all that the capital region has to offer.
Services
Healthcare services begin at close to home at Pointe Coupee General Hospital, a full-service inpatient and outpatient facility in New Roads. The hospital is part of a 23-acre campus that also houses a home health agency, physician offices, public health services, and the Council on Aging among other services. Services available at the hospital include acute care, surgery, skilled nursing, respiratory, infusion therapy, physical and occupational therapies, speech therapy, radiology and laboratory, patient and family education, and urgent care at the 24-hour Emergency Department. For advanced care, nearby Baton Rouge is home to nationally renowned research and teaching hospitals, including the 800-bed, award-winning Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and its associated Children’s Hospital. Our Lady of the Lake is recognized in a variety of areas including trauma and emergency care, stroke, heart and vascular, cancer care, and minimally-invasive procedures. Another exemplary healthcare institution with a national reputation is Ochsner Medical Center at Baton Rouge, with all-private rooms and a state-of-the-art Family Birthing Center. The two-campus, 527-bed Baton Rouge General Medical Center has been providing quality healthcare to the capital region since 1900, recognized for clinical excellence in a number of specialties.
Education is a lifelong pursuit in Pointe Coupee Parish, where public schools feature favorable teacher/student ratios for more individualized attention. Parents who are interested in seeking out alternative learning environments for their children will find options for private and parochial school education. The public school system includes the Pointe Coupee Parish Adult Education Center, providing a wide range of relevant training and services. New Roads is also home to a campus for the Baton Rouge Community College Technical Education system for those who are interested in acquiring certifications in career fields or training for local business and industry. Baton Rouge adds outstanding options for higher education within a short commute, from Baton Rouge Community College and career institutes to the flagship campus for Louisiana State University. Many of the LSU programs and schools are nationally recognized including America’s leading landscape architecture school. Another public university, Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, covers 512 acres on Scott’s Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River with an agricultural experimental station on an additional 372-acre site north of the main campus. Regardless of the educational goal, the right school or college is never far from a Pointe Coupee address.
Lifestyle
Pointe Coupe Parish offers one postcard image after another, from sparkling waters, moss-draped trees and vast crop fields to quaint cottages, antebellum mansions and historic churches. Charming country stores, farmer’s markets, antique dealers, great restaurants, and progressive services blend the best of the past with modern advantages. Water-rich landscapes surround each community in natural beauty, encouraging outdoor enjoyment, sports, and recreational activities around the four seasons. False River is well known as a trophy bass and water-sport destination in a region bordered on three sides by inland waterways for boating, fishing, canoeing, and kayaking on sparkling lakes and lazy rivers. Within New Roads and other towns, developed facilities provide parks and active leagues for adult and youth sports play. Fairs, farmers markets, patriotic observances, religious holidays, and seasonal celebrations combine with church, school and civic events to keep residents engaged and connected. Tourism is an active industry in this region filled with attractions and fascinations, drawing visitors who are enchanted with the charm of rural towns, the caring and friendly atmosphere, and the richness of Pointe Coupee’s legendary joie de vivre—joy of living! The capital city of Baton Rouge is only 35 miles from the parish seat of New Roads for quick and easy commutes to world-class cultural enrichment, entertainment, family fun centers, college sports excitement, regional teaching hospitals, and the largest public university in Louisiana.
Often referred to the place where “river history and French culture collide,” the colorful heritage of Pointe Coupee Parish is honored today in unique and delicious cuisine and traditionally Catholic celebrations. The parish hosts the oldest Mardi Gras festivities outside of New Orleans, drawing tens of thousands of revelers to the streets of New Roads. With records dating back to 1699, the parish is one of the oldest communities in the beautiful Mississippi River Valley—a rich history preserved and interpreted at the Pointe Coupee Parish Museum. Exquisite gardens and lavish plantation homes dot the parish landscape, echoes of the gracious Old South. Many elegant homes are the National Register of Historic Places but are uniquely still in use for family living and not relegated to museums. The False River area of the parish is also one of a very few places in Louisiana where the pure, distinctive Creole dialect can still be found. The richness of historic preservation will become even more treasured with the new wave of business and residential development that is sure to follow the construction of the new John James Audubon Bridge that now links Pointe Coupee and West Feliciana parishes. The star of Pointe Coupee Parish is just beginning to rise.
COMMUNITY PROFILES
New Roads, Morganza
New Roads City Offices
225-638-5360
https://www.newroads.net
Morganza Village Offices
225-694-3655
Chamber of Commerce
225-638-3500
https://www.pcchamber.org
The parish seat of New Roads is also the hub of Pointe Coupee education, healthcare, and commerce. At the same time, the community preserves much of the gracious beauty, tradition, and relaxed attitude of 19th century Creole Louisiana. The city grew up southwest of the Mississippi River along the banks of False River as a convenient place for businesses to serve the surrounding agricultural communities. Today, that historic legacy is reflected in the charm of the downtown district, supported by participation in Louisiana’s Main Street Communities program. New Roads frequently plays host to visitors who arrive for world-class bass fishing and water sports on False River, antique or boutique shopping, historical explorations, delicious Creole and Southern cuisine, or any number of flamboyant and colorful festivals and celebrations. At every turn, the city can point to a vintage treasure that holds a piece of local lore, like the popular restaurant that began as a bait shop. Nearby along Highway 10, the tiny village of Morganza along the Mississippi River depends upon New Roads for expanded amenities. Residents enjoy the finest of small-town living just 35 minutes from the world of cosmopolitan amenities and world-class services in Baton Rouge.
Fordoche
Town Offices
225-637-3112
https://www.fordoche.org
Chamber of Commerce
225-638-3500
https://www.pcchamber.org
The newest of the municipalities in Pointe Coupee Parish, the country town of Fordoche was incorporated in 1961 as a quiet bedroom community off the beaten path. With just a scattering of local business, the town draws newcomers to rural pleasures, friendly neighbors, and an uncommon level of civic pride. Ryan Allen Shoup Park is a common gathering place for events and activities, spanning nearly 12 acres that feature oak, pecan, and cypress trees along with three-acre Lake Elizabeth. Amenities that surround the lake include a walking trail, picnic pavilion, playground, and the Fordoche Community Center. The parish seat of New Roads provides convenient modern services and local shopping, although a world of attractions and amenities are available within a reasonable commute in metropolitan Baton Rouge.
Livonia
Town Offices
225-637-2981
Chamber of Commerce
225-638-3500
https://www.pcchamber.org
Characterized as a rural community, the Town of Livonia along US Highway 190 welcomes newcomers to the intimacy of small-town living and the convenience of limited local services just a short drive from Port Allen along Highway 78. The latter holds great regional economic importance as the home of the Port of Baton Rouge and the Pot Allen Lock, a focal point of business and industrial development. Because of its strategic location, the City of Port Allen has developed quality services and amenities for local residents and those in surrounding rural communities like Livonia. The town’s strategic location also enables residents to follow US Highway 190 into metropolitan Baton Rouge for quick and easy access to fabulous restaurants, great shopping, exciting nightlife, world-class cultural enrichment, public universities, and research hospitals. Those who prefer a home with evening cricket lullabies and morning birdsong serenades will love Livonia.
