Editing St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana (section)

==History==
[[File:KenilworthLAPlantationHouseFront.JPG|right|thumb|[[Kenilworth Plantation House]] (originally Bienvenu) in St. Bernard's {{lang|fr|Terre aux Boeufs|italic=no}} dates back to the 1750s.]]

St. Bernard Parish contains a large community of [[Spain|Spanish]] descent. Sometimes referred to informally as "Spanish Cajuns", the {{lang|es|[[Isleño Americans|Isleños]]}} are descended from [[Canarian people|Canary Islanders]]. This linguistically isolated group eventually developed its own dialect. The {{lang|es|Isleños|italic=no}} settled along {{lang|fr|Bayou Terre aux Boeufs|italic=no}}, a [[palaeochannel|relict distributary]] bayou of the [[Mississippi River]]. According to {{lang|fr|[[Dumont de Montigny]]|italic=no}}, who was in Louisiana from 1719 to 1738, {{lang|fr|Terre aux Bœufs}}  ({{wikt-lang|fr|bœuf}} is 'steer' or 'ox' in [[French language|French]], thus {{lang|fr|Terre aux Bœufs}} means 'land of oxen') was named in that period, presumably due to the presence of domestic or feral cattle there, and not because of bison ({{wikt-lang|fr|bison}} in French). This settlement was called {{lang|es|La Concepción}} and {{lang|es|Nueva Gálvez}} by Spanish officials, but was also called {{lang|es|Tierra de Bueyes}} ([[Spanish language|Spanish]] for 'land of oxen'). '''Saint Bernard''', the patron saint of colonial governor {{lang|es|[[Bernardo de Gálvez]]|italic=no}}, was used in documents to identify the area.<ref>{{cite book |last=Din |first=Gilbert |title=The Canary Islanders of Louisiana |year=1988 }}</ref>

St. Bernard Parish is also home to the earliest [[Filipino people|Filipino]] community in the United States, [[Saint Malo, Louisiana]].

The chief historical attraction in St. Bernard Parish is the {{lang|fr|Chalmette|italic=no}} Battlefield (part of [[Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve]]), at which the [[Battle of New Orleans]] took place on January 8, 1815, during the [[War of 1812]]. Many street names near the battlefield bear the names of the chief participants, or take a pirate theme, since the pirate [[Jean Lafitte]] was considered to be a hero in the battle. A high school, later elementary and now a middle school, was named in honor of [[Andrew Jackson]], who was the commanding officer in charge of defending [[New Orleans]] against the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|British]] invasion.

In 1863, [[Abraham Lincoln]] mentioned St. Bernard Parish in the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] as an area not in rebellion against the Union during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/ncro/anti/emancipation.html |title=National Capital Regional Office |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=February 16, 2018 }}</ref>

From 1919 to 1969, the parish was effectively ruled as part of the fiefdom of [[Leander Perez]], a local Democratic official in neighboring [[Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana|Plaquemines Parish]].

===1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre===

In 1868, St. Bernard Parish was home to one of the deadliest massacres in Louisiana history. The St. Bernard Parish massacre occurred during the [[Reconstruction era]], days before the [[Presidential election of 1868]]. As black men gained the right to vote, white Democrats of the parish feared losing their majority. Armed groups mobilized to violently silence these recently emancipated voters to win the election in favor of Democrat [[Horatio Seymour]] over Republican [[Ulysses S. Grant]]. A Seymour victory meant the end of Reconstruction over the South and the return of Louisiana to home rule. Many freedmen were dragged from their homes and murdered. Others fled to the cane fields to hide from the perpetrators.

The use of violence to suppress Republican votes was successful. Grant only received one vote from St. Bernard Parish, despite having a Republican majority. The reported number of freedmen killed varies from 35 to 135; the number of whites killed was two (one was killed in an attempt to help the victims).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dier |first1=Chris |title=The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre: Blood in the Cane Fields |date=2017 |publisher=The History Press |isbn=978-1540227010}}</ref>

===Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927===
[[File:1927 flood Caernarvon levee dynamite St. Bernard Parish.png|left|thumb|An [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps]] Photo of the [[levee]] at [[Caernarvon, Louisiana|Caernarvon]] being dynamited during the floods of 1927.]]
During the [[Great Mississippi Flood of 1927]], New Orleans city and state leaders used [[dynamite]] to breach a [[levee]] at [[Caernarvon, Louisiana|Caernarvon]], {{convert|13|mi|km}} below Canal Street, to save the city of [[New Orleans]] from flooding. At the time, it was thought by New Orleans residents that the dynamiting saved the city, but historians now believe that the dynamiting was unnecessary due to major upstream levee breaks that relieved pressure on the New Orleans levees. The levee breach caused flooding and widespread destruction in most of Eastern St. Bernard Parish and parts of Plaquemines Parish. Residents were never adequately compensated for their losses.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America |first=John M. |last=Barry |year=1997 |author-link=John M. Barry |isbn=0-684-84002-2 |location=New York |publisher=Touchstone Books |edition=1998 paperback |pages=[https://archive.org/details/risingtidegreatm00barr/page/253 253–258] |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/risingtidegreatm00barr/page/253 }}</ref>

===Hurricane Katrina, 2005===
{{See also|Murphy Oil USA refinery spill}}
[[File:StBernardInvoluntaryDemolishCloseupJudgePerez.jpg|thumb|right|"Involuntary Demolition" notice, posted on buildings in St. Bernard Parish when there has been no significant effort to gut, secure, or repair the building over a year after Hurricane Katrina.]]

On August 29, 2005, St. Bernard was devastated by [[Hurricane Katrina]]. The storm damaged virtually every structure in the parish. The eye of Katrina passed over the eastern portion of the parish, pushing a {{convert|25|ft|m|adj=on}} [[storm surge]] into the [[Mississippi River Gulf Outlet]] ("MRGO"). This surge destroyed the parish levees. Almost the entire parish was flooded, with most areas left with between 5 and 15 feet ({{convert|5|-|15|ft|m|disp=out}}) of standing water. The water rose suddenly and violently, during a period which witnesses reported as no more than fifteen minutes. In many areas, houses were smashed or washed off their foundations by a storm surge higher than the roofs.

For more than two months after the storm, much of the parish remained without proper services, including electricity, water, and sewage. Parish President [[Junior Rodriguez|Henry "Junior" Rodriguez]] declared all of the parish's homes unlivable. [[Emergency Communities]] offered one reason for hope in the first year after Hurricane Katrina. In the parking lot of a destroyed off-track betting parlor, EC built the Made with Love Cafe and Grill, a free kitchen and community center serving 1500 meals per day. Made with Love, housed in a [[geodesic dome]], also offered food and clothing distribution, and emotionally supportive volunteers. Upon leaving, EC has offered logistical support for the founding of a new long-term [[Community Center of St Bernard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ccstb.org |title=is almost here! |publisher=Ccstb.org |date= |accessdate=November 19, 2021}}</ref>

As of late November 2005, it was estimated that the Parish had some 7,000 full-time residents, with some 20,000 commuting to spend the day working, cleaning up, or salvaging in the parish and spending their nights elsewhere. By mid-December some businesses had returned to the Parish, most notably the [[ExxonMobil]] plant in [[Chalmette, Louisiana|Chalmette]] and the [[Domino Sugar]] plant in [[Arabi, Louisiana|Arabi]], together with a handful of small local stores and businesses.

At the start of January 2006, it was estimated that some 8,000 people were living in the Parish. The H.O.P.E. Project, a collective of volunteer relief workers, founded itself in January 2006 in the empty shell of the Corinne Missionary Baptist Church in Violet, LA, providing the tools for rebuilding and community empowerment. Since June 2006, [[Camp Hope]], located in Arabi, has been housing volunteers' assisting residents of St. Bernard Parish in their recovery from Hurricane Katrina. A grassroots organization, the [[St. Bernard Project]], opened in March 2006. A fully volunteer-run organization funded by the United Way, they help residents get back into their homes by working on the houses, providing tools, support and where possible, funding.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.stbernardproject.org| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060613061330/http://www.stbernardproject.org/| archive-date = June 13, 2006| title = St Bernard Louisiana -Katrina Relief -New Orleans Volunteer}}</ref>

As of October 2006, the population was estimated to be 25,489.<ref>{{cite web |title = New Orleans population still cut by more than half |date=November 29, 2006 |publisher=Reuters |url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N29357330.htm |access-date=December 6, 2006 }}</ref> After population losses due to Hurricane Katrina, the school was reopened for elementary grades for the 2006–2007 school year.

=== Hurricane Ida, 2021 ===
With the [[landfall]] of [[Hurricane Ida]] on August 29, 2021, St. Bernard Parish experienced heavy flooding.<ref>{{cite web|title=Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish Braces for Severe Flooding From Hurricane Ida|url=https://news.yahoo.com/louisianas-st-bernard-parish-braces-165743740.html|access-date=August 29, 2021|website=news.yahoo.com|language=en-US}}</ref> Two days before, local officials and weather experts advised citizens to prepare for the storm, warning that storm surge could reach as much as 11 feet. St. Bernard Parish President, Guy McInnis, stated he did not plan to issue a formal evacuation order.<ref>{{cite web|last=writer|first=HALLE PARKER {{!}} Staff|title=For St. Bernard residents, 'the time to act is now' as parish prepares for Ida|url=https://www.nola.com/news/article_ddc3ffd6-0747-11ec-86b8-3bf244354853.html|access-date=August 29, 2021|website=NOLA.com|language=en}}</ref>