Rynella, Louisiana

Rynella is an unincorporated community in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The community is located 5 miles (8.0 kilometres) west of Lydia, 5 miles (8.0 kilometres) southwest of New Iberia and 3 miles (4.8 kilometres) northeast of Avery Island.

Rynella, Louisiana
Unincorporated community
Rynella, Louisiana Rynella, Louisiana
Coordinates: 29°56′48″N 91°52′33″W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Iberia
Elevation [1]	7 ft (2 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	70560
Area code(s)	337
GNIS feature ID	543633 [1]
FIPS code	22-66716

History

The community consists of a few residential dwellings and a volunteer fire department along Highway 329 (also known as the Avery Island Highway). The name Rynella allegedly is a portmanteau deriving from the last two letters of the first names of three local women, RosemaRY, PauliNE, and LeiLA McIlhenny (someone eventually adding an extra L to the resulting word). They were daughters of Edward Avery McIlhenny, a noted Louisiana conservationist who presided over McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco brand pepper sauce at nearby Avery Island. The McIlhenny family operated a general store at Rynella and he owned much of the land that now comprises and surrounds the community.[2]

Footnotes

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Rynella, Louisiana
2. Shane K. Bernard (2007). Tabasco, an Illustrated History: The Story of the McIlhenny Family of Avery Island, 1868-2007. McIlhenny Company. ISBN 978-0-9797808-0-6.