Krotz Springs, Louisiana

Town of Krotz Springs
Town
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	St. Landry
Elevation	30 ft (9.1 m)
Coordinates	30°32′15″N 91°45′18″W / 30.53750°N 91.75500°W / 30.53750; -91.75500
Area	1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
- land	1.7 sq mi (4 km2)
- water	0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0%
Population	1,219 (2000)
Density	705.0 / sq mi (272.2 / km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP	70750
Area code	337
Location of Krotz Springs in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Krotz Springs is a town in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana on the Atchafalaya River. The population was 1,219 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Opelousas–Eunice Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Around the turn of the 20th century, an Ohio native, C W Krotz, bought 20,000 acres (81 km²) of woodland around the Atchafalaya Basin and set up a sawmill to trim the trees hauled out of the basin. The tiny settlement that grew up around the mill was called Latania (fan palm), after the bayou of the same name and the types of palm plants found in the area.

Thinking he was sitting on an untapped pool of oil Krotz put down the first oil well in St. Landry Parish, but he struck water instead of oil, the result becoming known as Krotz’s spring. The spring was used to supply water for the developing sawmill town and Krotz even bottled the water, selling it throughout the country.

In 1909, a post office was established in the town, and the obvious choice was Krotz Springs.^[1]

During the tenure of Sheriff Cat Doucet from 1936–1940 and 1952–1968, Krotz Springs was a center of gambling and prostitution which operated in the "cathouses" along U.S. Highway 190. Doucet even obtained his nickname from protecting the operation of the brothels.."^[2]

Mayors

Robert A. Moran served as Mayor from 1986-87. He died in office, May 1987. Saturday, November 21, 1987, Rasie Nall (D) defeated Ina Moran (D) in a runoff for Mayor.^[3] Four years later, on S7aturday, October 6, 1990, Gary Soileau (D) would defeat Larry Martinez Sr. (D) in a landslide victory, carrying 86% of the votes.^[4] Gary Soileau would remain mayor until he retired in 2010. Despite Carrol Snyder having a criminal history and pleading guilty to felony charges of Filing False Public Records on February 14, 2002, the citizens of Krotz Springs elected Carrol Snyder as their mayor on Saturday, October 2, 2010.^[5] Carrol Snyder and Larry Martinez, Jr., the son former mayoral candidate Larry Martinez Sr., are both convicted felons, business partners and own Atchafalaya Basin Seafood. Mayor Carrol Snyder and Larry Martinez Jr., were both arrested by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Law Enforcement Division, on September 27, 2000. Carrol Snyder and Larry Martinez Jr. were both charged with Forgery, Filing False Public Records, Failture to maintain public records.^[6][7][8] To avoid a trial and have the forgery charges dropped, Carrol Snyder and Larry Martinez Jr. would plead guilty on February 14, 2002, in the Nineteenth Judicial District, Parish of East Baton Rouge, State of Louisiana, to a felony charge of Filing False Public Records and a misdemeanor charge of Failure to Maintain Public Records.^[9][10][11]

Geography

Krotz Springs is located at 30°32′15″N 91°45′18″W / 30.53750°N 91.75500°W / 30.53750; -91.75500 (30.537565, -91.754926)^[12].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²), all land.

Demographics

Krotz Springs Bridge spanning the Atchafalaya River.

As of the census^[13] of 2000, there were 1,219 people, 490 households, and 339 families residing in the town. The population density was 705.0 people per square mile (272.1/km²). There were 562 housing units at an average density of 325.0 per square mile (125.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 99.10% White, 0.25% African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.08% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.74% of the population.

There were 490 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 11.4% from 18 to 24, 28.0% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,823, and the median income for a family was $31,842. Males had a median income of $29,167 versus $21,875 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,914. About 17.5% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.6% of those under age 18 and 18.3% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2010, 77.39% of the population identified themselves as belonging to a faith community; of these 86.5% were Catholic, 9.4% were Southern Baptist and 2.4% were Churches of Christ.^[14]

Film history

• 1966: The prison camp scenes in Nevada Smith, starring Steve McQueen, were filmed just west of Krotz Springs in the 2 O'Clock Bayou area.^{[citation needed]}
• 1969: The final scene of Easy Rider, starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper, was filmed a few miles north of there,^[15] in which the two main characters are shot by two local residents, David C. Billodeau and Johnny David, on Louisiana Highway 105.^{[citation needed]}
• 1998: In the film Out of Sight, starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, two of the main characters lose control of their vehicle coming down the Atchafalaya River Bridge on U.S. Route 190 Westbound.^{[citation needed]}
• In the show The Venture Bros. they animated the scene from Easy Rider.^{[citation needed]}

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Krotz Springs.

v t e Municipalities and communities of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States Parish seat: Opelousas Cities Eunice‡ Opelousas Towns Arnaudville‡ Grand Coteau Krotz Springs Leonville Melville Port Barre Sunset Washington Villages Cankton Palmetto CDP Lawtell Other unincorporated communities Augusta Barbreck Bat Bayou Current Bayou Jack Beggs Big Cane Boretta Boscoville Bristol Chiasson Courtableau Danks Darbonne Dubuisson Elba Faubourg Frozard Gibbs Goodwood Gordon Grand Prairie Hallf Moon Hazelwood Immaculata Lebeau Ledoux Le Moyen Lewisburg Macland McClure Morrow Notelyville Pecaniere Petetin Plaisance Poplar Grove Pointe Claire Powell Ridge Prairie Ronde Rideau Settlement Robin Rosa Sambo Savoy Shuteston Soileau St. Louis Suna Swayze Lake Swords Veazie Veltin Waxia Whiteville Woodside Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes