St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | |||||
 Location of St. Tammany Parish within Louisiana. |
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| Political characteristics | |||||
| Country State |
United States Louisiana |
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| Formed | 1803 | ||||
| Parish seat | Covington | ||||
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| Area Land Water |
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| Population Total ([[{{{population_year}}}]]) Density |
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| Time zone Summer (DST) |
Central (UTC−6) Central (UTC−5) |
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| Official website: http://www.stpgov.org/ | |||||
St. Tammany Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Covington and as of 2000, the population was 191,268. In 2004, the population was estimated to have grown to 212,000, and after Katrina, the population could be as high as 300,000.
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[edit] Geography
The parish has a total area of 2,911 km² (1,124 mi²). 2,212 km² (854 mi²) of it is land and 699 km² (270 mi²) of it (24.01%) is water.
[edit] Major Highways
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[edit] Adjacent parishes
- Washington Parish (north)
- Pearl River County, Mississippi (northeast)
- Hancock County, Mississippi (east)
- Orleans Parish (south and southeast)
- Lake Pontchartrain (south)
- Jefferson Parish (southwest)
- Tangipahoa Parish (west)
[edit] History
In 1699, Pierre LeMoyne Sieur d’Iberville, a French explorer, became the first European to discover the area of present-day St. Tammany Parish, which at that time was inhabited by numerous Indian peoples, including the: Colapissas, Bayou Goulas, Chickasaw, Biloxi, Choctaw, and Pensacola nations, although, Frederick S. Ellis, in his book St. Tammany Parish: L’autre Côté du Lac, claims that French settlers actually predate the regionally prominent Choctaw Indian tribe. Regardless, each group antecedes the arrival of the English, who largely emigrated from other Southern states such as Georgia, South Carolina, and Virginia; there was even a strong contingent of settlers from Connecticut.
It wasn’t until a few years later, however, after the founding and development of New Orleans, that settlers began to develop the region, in search of new industry outside of the hassle of the crowded big city. Although St. Tammany never relied very heavily on agriculture, it wasn’t long before settlers had begun to work the production of pitch, tar, and resin. Turpentine and shipbuilding also became quite popular early in the area’s history. Later developments included a popular wine industry which produced red and white wines from Concord and Herbemont grapes, and a silk fabric enterprise at Lewisburg (west of Mandeville).
Before 1834, there were only two towns in St. Tammany: Covington, a retreat with summer homes and hotels; and Madisonville, a shipbuilding and sawmill town. Mandeville was developed that year as a resort for New Orleanians and became an immediate success, spurning the development of another resort community, Abita Springs. A railroad connected the towns to Mandeville and further to New Orleans, allowing for a burgeoning of growth in Abita Springs, where underground spring waters furnished supposedly healthful baths for public use.
In 1810, Governor William C.C. Claiborne named the parish St. Tammany, probably after Tamanend. [1]
In 1986, the Abita Brewing Company was founded in Abita Springs.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census² of 2000, there were 191,268 people, 69,253 households, and 52,701 families residing in the parish. The population density was 86/km² (224/mi²). There were 75,398 housing units at an average density of 34/km² (88/mi²). The racial makeup of the parish was 87.03% White, 9.90% Black or African American, 0.43% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.61% from other races, and 1.26% from two or more races. 2.48% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 69,253 households out of which 39.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 19.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.15.
In the parish the population was spread out with 28.40% under the age of 18, 7.30% from 18 to 24, 29.90% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.40 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $47,883, and the median income for a family was $55,346. Males had a median income of $41,876 versus $25,996 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $22,514. About 7.60% of families and 9.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.80% of those under age 18 and 10.10% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] Education
St. Tammany Parish Schools operate the public schools in the parish.
[edit] Growth
Until the Civil Rights Movement began heating up across Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans around the late 1950's, St. Tammany Parish had remained mostly rural. Population and Economic growth took off in 1956 when the first span of the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway bridge was completed. The parish became a magnet for the wealthy elite seeking to get out of New Orleans, and, since that time, has remained by far the fastest growing, safest, and wealthiest parish in the metropolitan area. The population soared past the 200,000 mark immediately after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
