Galliano is located in southern Lafourche Parish at , on both sides of Bayou Lafourche. The community is bordered to the northwest by Cut Off and to the south by Golden Meadow. Louisiana Highway 1 runs through the community along the west bank of Bayou Lafourche, while Highway 308 runs along the east side. There are two bridges across Bayou Lafourche within the CDP. Four-lane Highway 3235 runs through the west side of the community. All three highway lead northwest to Larose and south to Golden Meadow. Thibodaux, the parish seat, is to the northwest up Highway 1, while Port Fourchon on the Gulf of Mexico is to the south. South Lafourche Leonard Miller Jr. Airport is east of Galliano. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Galliano CDP has a total area of, of which, or 0.04%, are water. The Pointe-aux-Chenes Wildlife Management Area borders Galliano to the west. Access to the area can be had through a marina and boat launch in southwest Galliano.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 7,356 people, 2,599 households, and 2,032 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 669.7 people per square mile. There were 2,753 housing units at an average density of 250.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.33% White, 0.69% African American, 4.49% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 1.07% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.74% of the population. There were 2,599 households out of which 38.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.6% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.8% were non-families. 17.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.18. In the CDP, the population was spread out with 27.5% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,419, and the median income for a family was $36,136. Males had a median income of $35,283 versus $16,576 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $13,910. About 12.8% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.0% of those under age 18 and 21.1% of those age 65 or over.
History
The area was named by the late postmaster Alzec Autin, who chose the name "Galliano" in honor of an original settler in the area formerly known as Côte Cheramie. Signor Antoine Galliano settled in the vicinity in the late 1700s and had a large farm and a citrus tree orchard. He came from the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the vicinity of Naples, Italy, where he was in the service of the King of Spain. A popular local legend is that his wife, Julia, had no last name and was related closely to the King of Spain. Antoine Galliano or Galiano had fallen in love with a lady of noble birth - probably a princess, since he was in the King's Guard. He and his wife were sent to Louisiana and settled in the area known now as Galliano. His descendants still live in the area, and the name Galliano is spelled in the Italian style, but some descendants spell it Galiano in the Spanish tradition. The area was also the home of a large Acadian French or Cajun population, and Cajun French is a predominant language along with English.
operates public schools. Galliano Elementary School is in the community. Residents south of 17982 West Main and East 120 are instead zoned to Golden Meadow Lower Elementary and Golden Meadow Upper Elementary. Residents south of West 106 and East 74 are zoned to Golden Meadow Middle School while those north are zoned to Larose-Cut Off Middle School. South Lafourche High School is also in Galliano CDP and serves all of the territory. Lafourche Parish Library operates the South Lafourche Library in Galliano, which has a Cut Off postal address.
