Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville claimed all of Louisiana in 1699 for King Louis XIV of France.

By 1838, the town was incorporated,[7] electing Zénon Labauve, for whom a street in New Orleans' Garden District is named, as its first mayor.

Massive plantations were established in nearby regions, including St. Louis, Nottoway, and Belle Grove.

[10] There are ten properties listed for Plaquemine on the National Register of Historic Places in Iberville Parish, Louisiana.

[6] At the 2000 United States census,[17] there were 7,064 people, 2,593 households, and 1,846 families residing in the city.

[22] Plaquemine is noted for a number of antebellum structures that survive within the city limits and along Bayou Road.

It now serves as a parish museum, and the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1974, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers supervised the construction of the levee that runs across the mouth of Bayou Plaquemine at the Mississippi River.

[29] Mathematics, Science, and Arts Academy - West is outside the city limits, in an unincorporated area.

LA 75 accesses east over the Mississippi River via toll ferry to Saint Gabriel and leads southwest from Plaquemine, eventually reaching Bayou Pigeon.

Plaquemine is the home of the 256th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, formerly known as the 1088th Engineer Battalion,[31] a unit made up of combat engineer, military intelligence, signal, military police and other supporting units.

The 256th BSTB is part of the 256th Infantry Brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard that served in Iraq from 2004 to 2005.