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It is my pleasure to welcome you to the official website of the Town of Berwick, Louisiana. Our town is located along the west bank of the Atchafalaya River in St. Mary Parish in South Louisiana.
The area was first settled in the late 1700’s by the Thomas Berwick family. As other families joined him, our community grew to become a village. Soon, the area was boasting of sugar cane farms and industries like seafood, sawmill, shipyards and railroad.
Those early settlers quickly saw the advantages of living in an area surrounded by resources like the Atchafalaya waterway, acres of cypress trees and plenty of land for farming. One hundred years later, we not only continue to reap the benefits of most of those early resources, but also work to improve and discover new resources like the oil and gas industry.
Berwick was incorporated as a town by the state in 1907. This year, 2007, marks our town’s 100th birthday! With such a rich heritage comes much celebration, and we have several Centennial events planned to commemorate our history.
Through the years our town has had a prevailing sense of ‘family’. Perhaps that is what has kept us together for 100 years. Indeed, families have found what we believe is a ‘safe haven’ inside the borders of our town. Berwick is a safe community in which to live and learn and let your children play outdoors.
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Our community is characterized by neighbors who actually know all of the names of the families who live around them. I am proud to say that Berwick puts much emphasis on the ‘unity’ part of community. In every aspect of our town, one can see our citizens coming together to support each other. From the crowds of a Friday night football game, to a packed auditorium for a school band concert, to a gym filled with parents and grandparents cheering a Biddy basketball game, to generous support of a door-to-door fundraiser, we see neighbors uniting. But perhaps the best gauge of a community of unity is the ever present hand wave coming from those passing each other in a car or on the walking trail. No doubt that it was that old-fashioned hand wave that welcomed and encouraged families to settle here in the first place. So, the next time someone waves at you around our Town, return that wave with the spirit of our founding families……and keep the unity of Berwick going for another 100 years! God Bless the Town of Berwick and all of our citizens.
If you should require additional information on our Town, please contact us at your earliest convenience.
Louis Ratcliff
Mayor, Town of Berwick, Louisiana
Mayor – Louis Ratcliff; Council – Edgar Thomas, Damon Robison, Duval Arthur, Penny Crappell, Troy Lombardo.
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