| Belle Chasse | |
| Census-designated place | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Plaquemines |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2.1 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| Area | 28.4 sq mi (73.6 km2) |
| - land | 25.0 sq mi (65 km2) |
| - water | 3.4 sq mi (9 km2), 11.97% |
| Population | 9,848 (2000) |
| Density | 393.6 / sq mi (152 / km2) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 504 |
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Location of Belle Chasse in Louisiana
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
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Belle Chasse is a census-designated place (CDP) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. The population was 9,848 at the 2000 census.
There is little consensus regarding the origin of the name Belle Chasse. In French, belle chasse literally means "beautiful hunting." It is widely believed that it was so named the richness of wildlife which the initial French colonists observed when they settled in the region. Others say that Belle Chasse was named after a Colonel Joseph D. Bellechasse, who lived in New Orleans around the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The Confederate statesman Judah P. Benjamin had a plantation in Belle Chasse after moving to Louisiana. Belle Chasse is the largest town in Plaquemines Parish.
Belle Chasse is home to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, a Naval Air Station for the U.S. Navy Reserve.[1]
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The Naval Air Station was founded in 1941 on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, but in 1957 it relocated to its current location. It has been designated as a Joint Forces Reserve Air Station. It is home to various naval air units as well as an Air Force Reserve fighter squadron and a Marine Corps Reserve helicopter unit. In March 2009, U.S. Navy Reserve Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) relocated its six E-2C aircraft from NAS Atlanta, GA to Belle Chasse. The squadron routinely deploys to the Caribbean on counter-narcotic operations. The squadron aircrew are all U.S. Naval Reservists while the maintenance department for the aircraft is run by Northrop Grumman Field Services.
Belle Chasse serves as a headquarters for the Louisiana Air Force National Guard. It served as the principal helicopter staging area for rescue operations during Hurricane Katrina.
Belle Chasse is located at (29.852243, -89.998335)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 28.4 square miles (74 km2), of which 25.0 square miles (65 km2) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2) (11.99%) is water.
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 9,848 people, 3,400 households, and 2,692 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 393.6 people per square mile (152.0/km²). There were 3,561 housing units at an average density of 142.3 per square mile (55.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.12% White, 4.23% African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.85% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.36% of the population.
There were 3,400 households, out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $47,271, and the median income for a family was $52,064. Males had a median income of $39,957 versus $22,332 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,385. About 6.5% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
It has the transmitting site of one of the most powerful AM radio stations in New Orleans, 50,000-watt WLNO, the former WNOE-AM. WLNO's seven-tower directional array is located on the west side of Woodland Highway just north of Belle Chasse Highway.
Belle Chasse is the current and temporary home of the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse.
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