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Port Sulphur, Louisiana

Port Sulphur is a census-designated place (CDP) on the West Bank of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States; at the 2020 census, it had a population of 1,677.

Etymology
The name for the CDP derives from the Freeport Sulphur Company in the early 1930s, when it set up logistics, refining, storage and shipping operations to support its Frasch Process sulphur mine at Lake Grande Ecaille, located 10 miles west of the town in the nearby marsh. The Grande Ecaille mine was the largest sulphur deposit in the world when it began operation in 1933, and remained in production until 1978. Over time, as other discoveries were made, the Freeport Sulphur Company also used the Port Sulphur facility to support their other Frasch Process sulphur mines located at Garden Island Bay, Lake Pelto, and Caillou Island; a land-based mine at Chacahoula; the first offshore sulphur mines at Grand Isle and Caminada Pass; and a large operation 50 miles offshore from the Mississippi River Delta in 300 feet of water, at Main Pass Block 299 in the Gulf of Mexico. The facility was also used to process and ship recovered sulphur obtained by oil and gas refining. The terminal was able to filter and store liquid hot molten sulphur in large insulated heated tanks, and "vat" liquid sulphur into acres of long term dry storage by forming blocks of bright yellow sulphur by spraying molten sulphur into metal forms on the ground and allowing to cool. The site is valuable because of its proximity to sulphur producing areas near the Gulf of Mexico, its docking sites along the Mississippi River and back bay marsh.

History
Port Sulphur was originally a typical company town, with its residents and civic life closely tied to the Freeport Sulphur Company. As the company divested itself of much of the town property and governance, it became more of a regular town with private individual land ownership. As the number of employees at the site dwindled, the Freeport Company became less important in everyday life and economic activity. At some point, most of the company-owned land not necessary for the sulphur operation was transferred to Plaquemines Parish or sold to private owners. The economic fortunes of the Freeport Sulphur Company declined during the 1980s and 1990s, resulting from the competitive forces of recovered Sulphur processed from sour oil & gas. In the early 2000s Freeport Sulphur shut down operations, as the price of sulphur dropped too low because large amounts of sulphur recovered during petroleum refining and from Canadian natural gas exploration were dumped on the international sulphur market. With inexpensive recovered sulphur in large supply, the large scale and expensive Frasch Process sulphur mining and storage operations proved to be uneconomical and were discontinued. The Freeport-McMoRan Port Sulphur facility was closed and sold. Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of what was left of the sulphur facility in August 2005, with a few buildings remaining. With the closing of Freeport-McMoRan Sulphur, the town has been seeking another economic identity. The large brick Plaquemines Parish Government building located on Louisiana Highway 23 (LA 23) in town next to the former Freeport property was originally the Freeport Sulphur Company administration building. The Port Sulphur school and other buildings located around the Civic Drive area were originally located on company property and are oriented towards the former Freeport Property. Much of the original town buildings were sold or removed, and much of the original town site sits mostly vacant empty land, with a large stand of oak trees on the former Freeport Property next to the Plaquemines Government building. An historical marker about Port Sulphur is located in front of the Government Building. The golf course land located on LA 23, just south of the former Freeport property, was originally a neighborhood of the company townsite. The land was later donated to the Plaquemines Parish Government.

The town began to struggle economically after Freeport Sulphur Mine ended its business in the town.

The town is 8 ft above sea level and had not flooded during Hurricane Betsy nor Hurricane Camille. Before Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita about 3,000 people lived in Port Sulphur. Nevertheless, during Hurricane Katrina, the federal levees failed and around 22 ft of water engulfed the town. Almost all single-family homes in the town were destroyed, many of which were moved off their foundations by as much as 100 feet. In the months following Katrina, some residents moved back to Port Sulphur in trailers and modular homes provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. But many residents relocated to other parts of Louisiana, the Southeast, and Texas.

By November 2006, in the post-Katrina period, the post office and several businesses had reopened, and Highway 23 had some street lights added. By December 2007 there were about 1,500 residents of Port Sulphur and the majority of the small businesses resumed operations. Due to the usage of modular buildings and trailers in the period, Jeré Longman described it as "a feel of impermanence and uncertainty."

Geography
Port Sulphur is located at 29.49444°N, -89.7125°W (29.494496, -89.712383).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.5 sqmi, of which 5.5 sqmi is land and 3.0 sqmi (35.29%) is water.

Demographics
In 2020, the CDP had a population of 1,677.

Government and infrastructure
The United States Postal Service operates a post office.

Education
Plaquemines Parish School Board operates the public schools of the parish. The district formerly had an office in Port Sulphur.

It is served by South Plaquemines Elementary School in Port Sulphur; and South Plaquemines High School in Empire, near Buras.

Prior to 2005 Port Sulphur High School (PK-12) served the community, but Hurricane Katrina damaged the original building.

The Plaquemines Parish Library maintains the Port Sulphur Branch.

title: Port Sulphur, Louisiana


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Fordoche, Louisiana

Fordoche (pronounced four-DOASH) is a town in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 928 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
In 1854, the first post office was established at Fordoche, with Thomas Farrar designated as its first postmaster. There are two conflicting stories about how the town's name was derived. One story is that it received its name from a Caddo Indian word meaning "wild animal lair" (i.e., the bed of a wild beast) and the other suggests that it is named after a Louisiana French term for underbrush found in bayou bottom.

At least two American Civil War battles were fought in and around Fordoche. The Battle of Fordoche Bridge was fought in September 1863. Union troops were sent to prevent the Confederacy from operating in the upper Atchafalaya but the Confederates were successful in driving back the Union forces.

In May 1864, the Confederates were again victorious over the Union troops at the "Skirmish on Bayou Fordoche Road".

The area saw an influx of Italian immigrants after 1890.

Fordoche is the youngest incorporated community in Pointe Coupee Parish. It was incorporated as a village in 1961 and became a town in 1994.

Geography
Fordoche is located at 30.59139°N, -91.60861°W (30.591445, -91.608546).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 sqmi, all land.

Major highways

 * Louisiana Highway 77
 * Louisiana Highway 81

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 933 people, 341 households, and 285 families residing in the town. The population density was 383.8 PD/sqmi. There were 361 housing units at an average density of 148.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 90.68% White, 8.57% African American, 0.11% Asian, and 0.64% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.

There were 341 households, out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.4% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.4% were non-families. 13.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $36,364, and the median income for a family was $40,313. Males had a median income of $32,400 versus $21,146 for females. The per capita income for the town was $15,223. About 12.1% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.6% of those under age 18 and 20.3% of those age 65 or over.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Fordoche, Louisiana


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Livonia, Louisiana

Livonia (pronounced Le Vone ya) is a town in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,442 at the 2010 census, up from 1,339 in 2000. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

According to a 2007 Louisiana Legislative report, Livonia derived 41.18% of its revenue, an average of roughly $349 per capita, from fines and forfeitures in the 2005 fiscal year.

District 17 State Senator Rick Ward, III, was born in Livonia and resides in Maringouin, in neighboring Iberville Parish.

Its main police agency is the Livonia Police Department.

Early history
The area of present-day Livonia has been occupied by several American Indian tribes, including Chitimacha, Houma, Tunica-Biloxi, Attakapas, and Coushatta and the site of the conical Livonia Mound. With a base of 165 feet and nearly 31 (30.7) feet tall, is the tallest of 10 remaining Indian burial mounds in Pointe Coupee Parish. Dated to the Coles Creek archaeological culture (400AD-1100AD) period, the mound sits between La 77 and La 78, 150 feet from Bayou Grosse Tête. A second low-rise unnamed mound (destroyed by the mid-1900s) is located 200 feet southeast and a third was reportedly south of these on the water's edge.

Colonial history
France ruled the Livonia area as part of Louisiana from 1699 to 1763, when the area was ceded to Spain. Spain controlled the area until 1800 when Napoleon took control of Louisiana for France. Some French Canadians migrated to Louisiana earlier, but the majority came between 1755 and 1764 after being expelled from Acadia. Some of the French culture remains in Livonia, as shown by the 2000 census that revealed 5.6% of the parish spoke French, Cajun French, or Louisiana Creole French. The land was sold to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Foundation
The Post office opened 1846 and was named by first postmaster James B. Johnson for his native Livonia, Pennsylvania.

Geography
Livonia is located at 30.56028°N, -91.55028°W (30.560159, -91.550165).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.8 sqmi, all land.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,212 people, 572 households, and 323 families residing in the town.

School

 * Livonia High School

Culture
The town is host to the annual Livonia Lions Club Mardi Gras parade which is held the weekend before Mardi Gras Day.

Probably one of Livonia's most famous international tourists was Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor, who arrived by train following the Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1950.

title: Livonia, Louisiana


text:
Morganza, Louisiana

Morganza is an incorporated village near the Mississippi River in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 610 at the 2010 census, down from 659 in 2000. As of 2020 the population was 525. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. The village's zip code is 70759. The Morganza Spillway, a flood control structure between the Mississippi River and the Atchafalaya Basin, is located nearby.

History
Morganza takes its name from Morganza Plantation, the antebellum holding of Charles Morgan, an early surveyor, political figure and first American sheriff of Pointe Coupee Parish. Morgan, the son of James Morgan from a town of the family's name in Sayreville, New Jersey, and a captain in the Second Regiment of the Middlesex County (N.J.) militia during the Revolutionary War. Evidence indicates he was involved in the transfer of slaves from New Jersey to Louisiana in conflict with New Jersey law. The U.S. Post Office opened in 1847, closed some years later, and reopened in 1899. Members of the Campbell family held the position of postmaster until 1970. The town was not incorporated until 1908.

Morganza was the site of a Union Army encampment during the American Civil War. The largest battle in Pointe Coupee Parish was fought at nearby Stirling Plantation, on September 29, 1863. Sixteen Federal troops were killed, 45 were wounded, and 462 were taken prisoner. The Confederate losses included 26 dead, 85 wounded, and 10 missing. Although the Battle of Sterling Plantation was a Confederate victory, the Union troops burned the town of Morganza to the ground on October 1, 1863.

Historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana (1963) documents the arrival in May 1864 of Federal troops in Morganza under General Nathaniel P. Banks, recently defeated in the Battle of Mansfield in DeSoto Parish and abandoning the Red River Campaign. According to Winters, conditions were miserable, with extreme heat, excessive rainfall, and epidemics of various illnesses.

To commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Village of Morganza, U.S. Congressman Rodney Alexander entered a speech about the village into the Congressional Record on December 10, 2008.

Periodic flooding
Located at the lower end of a sharp bend of the Mississippi River, Morganza has been subjected to flooding by the great river a number of times. Levee breaches or "crevasses" occurred at Morganza and Grand Levee just downriver in 1850, 1865, 1867, and 1890. The Morganza Spillway, a major flood diversion project of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is located immediately north of the town. Construction on this mammoth work began in 1939 and was completed in 1955. High water of the Mississippi is channeled between guide levees north and west of the town of Morganza and down into the Atchafalaya Basin, thence to the Gulf of Mexico. The floodgates of this facility have been used only twice—during the high water of 1973 and 2011. The structure will be used again in the summer of 2019.

Geography
Morganza is located at 30.73556°N, -91.59333°W (30.735681, -91.593390).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.4 sqmi, of which 1.2 sqmi is land and 0.2 sqmi (15.11%) is water.

Climate
Climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The coldest month is usually quite mild, although frosts are not uncommon, and winter precipitation is derived primarily from frontal cyclones along the polar front. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is "Cfa". (Humid Subtropical Climate).

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 659 people, 264 households, and 191 families residing in the village. By 2020, its population was 525.

Government
The Village of Morganza is a municipality led by an elected Mayor along with three Council members. Clarence "Woots" Wells took office as Mayor in January 2019. His Council consists of Paul Wells, Julie Langlois, and Elton Savoy Jr. The Mayor and Council hold a public meeting at the town hall on the first Tuesday of every month. The Morganza Police Department patrols an area of approximately 1.4 sqmi. The head of this agency is an appointed official, with the position currently held by Chief of Police Mark Ramagos. The department's main office is located at 112 LA Highway 3050. Its main area of responsibility is law enforcement and community service within the corporate limits of the Village of Morganza, although its officers are occasionally tasked to assist other area police agencies such as the Pointe Coupee Parish Sheriff's Office, the Louisiana State Police, and Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries. The Morganza Police Department has a strong traffic enforcement presence along Louisiana Highway 1 and Louisiana Highway 10.

Media
The town features in the 1969 film Easy Rider, where the main characters are subjected to ridicule from townsfolk in a local restaurant. Several scenes in the movie were filmed on location in Morganza. The old restaurant building was demolished in 2016, but is commemorated with a plaque in the sidewalk.

Notable person

 * John B. Fournet, Louisiana politician and judge

title: Morganza, Louisiana


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New Roads, Louisiana

New Roads (historically Poste-de-Pointe-Coupée ) is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana was located in New Roads in 2000. The population was 4,831 at the 2010 census, down from 4,966 in 2000. In the 2020 census the population was 4,549, while at the beginning year of 2023 the census showed a population of 4,205 and expects to be under 4,000 by the years end. The city's ZIP code is 70760. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History
Le Poste de Pointe Coupée ("the Pointe Coupée Post" or Cut Point Post) is one of the oldest communities in the Mississippi River Valley established by European colonists. The trading post was founded in the 1720s by settlers from France. It was located upstream from the point crossed by explorers, immediately above but not circled by False River. The name referred to the area along the Mississippi River northeast of what is now New Roads.

The post was initially settled by native French, as well as French-speaking Creoles born in the colony. Additional ethnically French settlers migrated down the Mississippi River from Fort de Chartres, Upper Louisiana. The colonists imported numerous African slaves from the French West Indies (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Domingue), and many directly from Africa, as workers for the plantations.

Historian Gwendolyn Midlo Hall discovered extensive French and Spanish documentation of the early slave trade, which provided more information than is usually available as to the ethnicity and names of individual slaves, all in the court house at New Roads. Using this and other research, she has produced "The Louisiana Slave Database and the Louisiana Free Database: 1719–1820," which is searchable on line.

Commandants of Pointe Coupee (1729–1762)

 * 1729: Chevalier Henri du Loubois
 * 1731: Jean Baptiste François Tisserand de Moncharvaux
 * 1734–38: Claude Joseph de Favrot
 * 1738–1742: Jean Louis Richard de la Houssaye
 * 1742–1744: Claude Joseph de Favrot
 * 1744–1753: Jean Joseph Delfau de Pontalba, a relative by marriage of Micaela Almonester, Baroness de Pontalba, the New Orleans native who in the mid-19th century built the Pontalba Buildings and redesigned Jackson Square.
 * 1753: Chevalier Morlière
 * 1753–1756: Francois Artaud
 * 1756–1759: Pierre Benoist, Sieur Payen de Noyan de Chavoy
 * 1759–1762: Jean Louis Richard de la Houssaye

Spanish rule
After several floods, Governor Luis de Unzaga in 1772 moved the European settlement from Pointe Coupee to a new post, the so-called Post Unzaga. Recently, historians Frank Cazorla and J. David Polo, from the Louis de Unzaga Historical Society research team, using satellite remote sensing techniques and comparative plans from the General Archive of the Indies, have managed to locate the position of the Unzaga post, which included, along with it, a parish. Unfortunately after the slave rebellion of 1795 this settlement was left uninhabited.

After Great Britain defeated France in the Seven Years' War (also known as the French and Indian War in North America), France ceded this territory to Spain. About 1776, the Spanish built a Chemin Neuf, French for "New Road," connecting the Mississippi River with False River, a 22 mi long oxbow lake and formerly the main channel of the Mississippi.

In 1791, the Mina (an African people) slave uprising, the Mina Conspiracy, started on the estate of Widow Robillard at New Roads. Three years later, there was another area slave revolt near Point Coupee, the Pointe Coupée Conspiracy.

Louisiana Purchase
In 1803 the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, and the territory became part of the United States. In-migration of American settlers increased, changing Louisiana culture.

In 1822, Catherine Dispau (a free woman of color called "La Fille Gougis") made a four or six block subdivision out of her False River plantation. This was located at the terminus of a "new road" linking False River with the older Mississippi River settlement to the north. This is the area now bounded by West Main, New Roads, West Second and St. Mary Streets. The latter was named for St. Mary's Catholic Church, founded in 1823. The community was referred to variously as the "village of St. Mary" or Chemin Neuf.

The founding of the church helped the community develop. In 1847, New Roads was named as the seat of Pointe Coupée Parish, and a courthouse was built. Between these "strong celestial poles," the Main Street business district developed. After the abandonment of the competing parish port of Waterloo during 1882–84 due to flooding, New Roads became the major commercial port and city of Pointe Coupée Parish. The railroad reached the city in 1898–99, bringing much industrial development.

The official name of the community changed frequently during the years after Louisiana became part of the United States. The first post office was established in 1858 as "False River," but it was discontinued in 1861. When the town was incorporated by the state legislature in 1875, it was named "New Roads." But, in 1878, when the post office reopened, it was named "St. Mary's." In 1879, the city and post office name was changed to New Roads. The old incorporation fell into disuse. The city was reincorporated in 1892, and received its charter two years later. Several names were proposed, among them "St. Mary" and "Rose Lake." But "New Roads" was finally chosen, although it was often misspelled "New Rhodes."

Since its founding, New Roads has been the hub of an agricultural community that cultivated commodity crops of sugar cane, cotton, and pecans, among others. Today, the economy has grown to support large industries such as healthcare and social assistance, construction, and retail facilities.

Geography
New Roads is located at 30.69639°N, -91.43889°W (30.696305, -91.438980) and has an elevation of 30 ft.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 sqmi, all land.

Gradually sloping from a high of 36 ft above sea level on Main Street immediately adjacent to False River to a low of 25 ft along Portage Canal in the north, the city lies on a Mississippi River flood-plain but has never flooded to any great extent since 1912. Levee breaks or "crevasses" on the Mississippi River to the north and east overbanked False River and submerged all of New Roads in 1867, 1882 and 1884. The 1882 flood was the most severe, with four feet of water standing in Main Street during the height of the crisis. During the floods of 1912 and 1927, however, the southern portion of the town, including the main business district, remained dry, as the flood waters to the north and east were held back by the Texas & Pacific Railroad embankment. Mid-city flooding had periodically occurred during hurricanes and other heavy rainfall events due to the overbanking of the Portage Canal, the lowest part of the city.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,549 people, 1,692 households, and 1,034 families residing in the city. As of the census of 2000, there were 4,966 people, 1,818 households, and 1,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,091.8 PD/sqmi. There were 2,044 housing units at an average density of 449.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 38.99% White, 59.32% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 1,818 households, out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 23.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,583, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $32,679 versus $20,547 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,840. About 23.6% of families and 30.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.3% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government
From 1960 to 1978, the mayor of New Roads was William Haile "Booty" Scott, Sr. During his administration, New Roads and the Pointe Coupee Parish Police Jury acquired property on which to construct facilities. Scott died in office in 1978.

Scott's wife, Trina Olinde Scott (1920-2016), was appointed to fill out his term, becoming New Roads' first female mayor. She was thereafter elected to two full terms of her own. A former educator who attended H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College in New Orleans and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Trina Scott helped revitalize Main Street, increase the size and effectiveness of the police force, and expand the municipal boundaries. Under her administration, New Roads was elevated from town to city status and the city and parish erected the Scott Civic Center, False River Regional Airport, playgrounds, and sports parks.

Scott was succeeded by Sylvester Muckelroy, the first African American to hold the office.

In 2010, Robert Myer, also an African American, was elected mayor. On August 3, 2016, Myer was indicted by a Pointe Coupee Parish grand jury on nine counts of malfeasance in office and abuse of power. From 2011 to 2014, Myer allegedly used a city-issued credit card for personal reasons. He also allegedly permitted the former municipal finance director to use the card in exchange for sexual favors.

Notable people

 * Hewitt Leonidas Bouanchaud, politician, served as Lieutenant Governor and state House Speaker
 * Brian J. Costello, humanitarian and author of more than two dozen books on Louisiana and European history, culture and religion, is a native and lifelong resident of New Roads
 * Shelton Fabre, 4th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Houma–Thibodaux
 * Ernest J. Gaines, African-American fiction writer, writer-in-residence at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
 * Jonas Gaines, baseball pitcher in the Negro leagues
 * J. Thomas Jewell, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1936–1968; House Speaker, 1960–1964; resided in New Roads
 * John Archer LeJeune, Lieutenant General of the United States Marines, was born in 1867 at Raccourci-Old River, approximately 25 miles north of New Roads. Marine Camp LeJeune in North Carolina is named in his honor, and statues representing him are located there and on the grounds of the Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse in New Roads.
 * Catherine D. Kimball, former chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, former New Roads resident, retired in Ventress
 * Clyde Kimball, former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes; husband of Catherine Kimball
 * DeLesseps Story Morrison, former New Orleans Mayor, was born in New Roads.
 * Julien Poydras, a merchant, planter, poet, statesman, banker, and philanthropist, helped to establish the state's first public schools in Pointe Coupee Parish in the early 19th century. He endowed a trust fund to provide impoverished brides with dowries in Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes.
 * Albin Provosty, district attorney and from 1912 to 1920 a member of the Louisiana State Senate, publisher of The Pointe Coupee Banner
 * Patrick Queen, Middle linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens
 * Major General D. Keith Waddell, 50th Adjutant General of the Louisiana National Guard.

title: New Roads, Louisiana


text:
Ball, Louisiana

Ball is a town in Rapides Parish, just north of Pineville, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1972, it is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,000 at the 2010 census, an increase of 8.7 percent over the 2000 tabulation of 3,681.

History
Ball had its start as a logging town with a sawmill.

The earliest record of settlers in Ball dates to between 1840 and 1863. In 1893 Captain Chittenden Edwin Ball, a native of Union County, Kentucky, who captained steamboats up the Red River to Alexandria, named a sawmill town after himself. The captain settled in Rapides Parish in the late 1880s, where he established the Sweet Home Mill. In 1940 Camp Livingston was constructed, bringing with it job opportunities and a population boom. The number of military personnel stationed at Camp Livingston reached a peak of 42,500 in 1942. The end of World War II in 1945 brought about the closing of the base but many families decided to stay in the community. Discussion of incorporation began in the 1960's and in May 1972 incorporation was completed with the finalization of the town charter under "The Lawrason Act".

In 2011, former mayor Roy Hebron, a Democrat, was sentenced to four years imprisonment for corruption. Hebron intended to return to the office after his election on November 6, 2018, when he handily unseated the Republican incumbent, Neil S. Kavanagh, 817 (56 percent) to 380 (26 percent). Another 254 votes (18 percent) went to a second Republican candidate, Gene Decker. However, Hebron was unable to be sworn in because of a constitutional amendment passed in the November 2018 election which prevents felons from holding office for five years after the conclusion of their sentences.

Geography
Ball is located at 31.40806°N, -92.40222°W (31.407930, -92.402316).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.0 sqmi, all land.

Climate
This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. The heat has a heavy feel and can be dangerous due to the heat index which is caused by humid air. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ball has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,961 people, 1,332 households, and 877 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,681 people, 1,435 households, and 1,057 families residing in the town. The population density was 458.1 PD/sqmi. There were 1,524 housing units at an average density of 189.7 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 1.58% African American, 0.65% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.41% of the population.

There were 1,435 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.0% were married couples living together, 16.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.9% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,500, and the median income for a family was $38,588. Males had a median income of $31,667 versus $20,323 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,178. About 10.1% of families and 13.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 7.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Ball residents are zoned to Rapides Parish School Board schools. Ball is home to two elementary schools within the city limits that residents may go to, Ball Elementary School and Paradise Elementary School. Some residents may also go to three nearby schools in Tioga: Tioga Elementary School, Tioga Junior High School, and Tioga High School.

Highway

 * US 165.svg U.S. Route 165

Notable people

 * W. H. Johnson Jr., state legislator in Mississippi

title: Ball, Louisiana