Belle Chasse, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
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
.
, 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.
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 28.4 square miles (73.6 km²), of which 25 square miles (64.7 km²) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) (11.99%) is water.
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.
, 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.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, on the West Bank of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
. Belle Chasse is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area
Metropolitan area
The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...
. The population was 9,848 at the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
.
There is little consensus regarding the origin of the name Belle Chasse. In French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, 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
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Joseph D. Bellechasse, who lived in New Orleans around the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. The Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah P. Benjamin
Judah Philip Benjamin was an American politician and lawyer. Born a British subject in the West Indies, he moved to the United States with his parents and became a citizen. He later became a citizen of the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, Benjamin moved to...
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
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans
Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to the 159th Fighter Wing as well as other naval activities...
, a Naval Air Station
Naval Air Station
A Naval Air Station is a military airbase, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of their Navy...
for the U.S. Navy Reserve
United States Navy Reserve
The United States Navy Reserve, until 2005 known as the United States Naval Reserve, is the Reserve Component of the United States Navy...
.
History
The Naval Air Station was founded in 1941 on the south shore of Lake PontchartrainLake Pontchartrain
Lake Pontchartrain is a brackish estuary located in southeastern Louisiana. It is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States, after the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the largest lake in Louisiana. As an estuary, Pontchartrain is not a true lake.It covers an area of with...
, 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.
National Guard
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 KatrinaHurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
.
Geography
Belle Chasse is located at 29°51′8"N 89°59′54"W (29.852243, -89.998335).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 28.4 square miles (73.6 km²), of which 25 square miles (64.7 km²) is land and 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²) (11.99%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 9,848 people, 3,400 households, and 2,692 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
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
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Press/Media
It has the transmitting site of one of the most powerful AM radio stations in New Orleans, 50,000-watt WLNOWLNO
WLNO is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, the station serves the New Orleans area. The station is currently owned by Communicom Co. of Louisiana, L.P...
, 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.
Notable people
- Chris Henry, former Wide ReceiverWide receiverA wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
for the Cincinnati BengalsCincinnati BengalsThe Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL... - Benny RousselleBenny RousselleBenedict G. Rousselle, known as Benny Rousselle , is a Realtor and a Democratic politician from Plaquemines Parish in Greater New Orleans, Louisiana....
, former member of the Louisiana House of RepresentativesLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
(1996-1999) and the former president of Plaquemines Parish government (1999-2007) - Ernest WootonErnest WootonErnest Durham Wooton is a former sheriff of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, who is a departing Independent member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the numerically last of the state House districts, No. 105. He resides in Belle Chasse east of New Orleans. He was an unsuccessful...
, state representative from District 105 (1999-2012), Plaquemines Parish sheriff (1984-1992)