Editing Houma, Louisiana (section)

==History==
Settled by the [[Chitimacha]] and then the [[Houma people|Houma Indians]] prior to [[European colonization of the Americas|European colonization]], Houma was soon named for the Houma Indians who were at Ouiski Point. Land claimed for the Houma Indians by the Spanish was not recognized by the United States after the [[Louisiana Purchase]].

Present-day Houma was formed in 1832; the city was incorporated in 1848.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parish History|url=https://www.tpcg.org/index.php?f=parish|access-date=2021-08-15|website=www.tpcg.org|language=en}}</ref> The area was developed for sugar cane [[Plantations in the American South|plantations]] in the [[Antebellum era|antebellum years]]. Plantations were sited along the rivers and bayous in order to have access to water transportation.

===Reconstruction to present===
Sugar cane continued to be important after the war and into the 20th century.

On January 24, 1970, an accidental gas explosion killed three people and caused extensive damage downtown. Latour's Jewelry Store was destroyed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Three men killed in gas explosion |url=http://www.gendisasters.com/louisiana/22944/houma-la-gas-explosion-jan-1970 |access-date=21 November 2020 |publisher=Oshkosh Daily Northwestern Wisconsin |date=26 January 1970}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Survivors recall 1970 blast that rocked Houma |url=https://www.houmatoday.com/article/DA/20100124/News/608074617/HC |publisher=Houma Daily Courier |date=24 January 2010}}</ref>

In 1984, the city and parish consolidated their governments.<ref name=":0" /> In 2008, Bill Ellzey, a columnist at ''[[Houma Today]]'', wrote that area residents were often unaware of the Houma city boundaries as the city and parish governments had consolidated.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.houmatoday.com/news/20080622/where-do-city-limits-start-stop|title=Where do city limits start, stop?|newspaper=[[Houma Today]]|date=2008-06-22|access-date=2019-05-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190514031535/https://www.houmatoday.com/news/20080622/where-do-city-limits-start-stop|archive-date=2019-05-14|url-status=live}}</ref>

In late August 2021, Houma was struck by the intense eye wall of category 4 [[Hurricane Ida]], causing widespread damage.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-08-29|title=WATCH: Houma littered with damage after Ida|url=https://www.klfy.com/louisiana/watch-idas-impact-arrives-in-houma/|access-date=2021-10-07|website=KLFY|language=en-US}}</ref>