Editing Plaquemine, Louisiana (section)

== History ==
[[File:Plaquemine, Louisiana.jpg|thumb|left|Abandoned house in Plaquemine]]Early inhabitants of the area were the [[Chitimacha]] people. [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]] claimed all of Louisiana in 1699 for King [[Louis XIV of France]].<ref name="Things to Do" /> Plaquemine was settled by 1775, and its name comes from the French word ''plaquemine'' meaning [[persimmon]].

Due to its location at the juncture of Bayou Plaquemine and the [[Mississippi River]], the village soon began to prosper and grow, beginning a long history of prosperity. By 1838, the town was incorporated,<ref>{{cite web|url= http://ibervilleparish.com/about_us/city_of_plaquemine/|title= CITY OF PLAQUEMINE|publisher= Iberville Parish|access-date= December 2, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131022084403/http://ibervilleparish.com/about_us/city_of_plaquemine/|archive-date= October 22, 2013|url-status= dead}}</ref> electing [[Zenon Labauve Jr.|Zénon Labauve]], for whom a street in New Orleans' [[Garden District, New Orleans|Garden District]] is named, as its first mayor.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.lasc.org/Bicentennial/justices/Labauve_Zenon.aspx|title=The Bicentennial of the Louisiana Supreme Court|publisher= Louisiana Supreme Court |access-date= December 2, 2013}}</ref>

Plaquemine continued to grow in the [[Antebellum era]]. Massive [[Plantations in the American South|plantations]] were established in nearby regions, including [[St. Louis Plantation|St. Louis]], [[Nottoway Plantation|Nottoway]], and [[Belle Grove Plantation (Iberville Parish, Louisiana)|Belle Grove]]. The town has been the seat of Iberville Parish government since its incorporation. The second parish courthouse (c. 1906) on Railroad Avenue has been serving as City Hall since 1985. Plaquemine did not have a hospital until 1923.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fama|first=Anthony|title=Plaquemine: A Long, Long Time Ago|year=2004|pages=25|chapter=Part Five: The Plaquemine Sanitarium}}</ref>

Plaquemine has been a Louisiana-designated Main Street City since 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.usgulfcoaststatesgeotourism.com/content/a-bayou-runs-through-it-plaquemine-la/gulC342F128ED911209C|title=A bayou runs through it - Plaquemine, LA|publisher= National Geographic |access-date= December 2, 2013}}</ref> There are ten properties listed for Plaquemine on the [[National Register of Historic Places in Iberville Parish, Louisiana]].