Bogalusa is a
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on technical definitions distinguishing a city from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status...
in
Washington ParishWashington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Franklinton. In 2000, its population was 43,926....
,
LouisianaThe State of 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 divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
–
MetairieMetairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 146,136 at the 2000 census, making it the largest census-designated place that is not a consolidated city-county government. Adjacent to New Orleans, Metairie is the largest community in...
–Bogalusa
Combined Statistical AreaThe United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
.
Bogalusa was the home of
B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Sr.Benjamin Burras Rayburn, Sr., known as B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn , was a veteran politician from Bogalusa, an incorporated city in Washington Parish in southeastern Louisiana in the United States...
(1916-2008), a 44-year member of the
Louisiana State SenateThe 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...
, a confidant of the
LongHuey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a U.S. senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
dynastyA dynasty is a succession of people belonging to the same family, who, through various means and forms maintain power, influence or authority over the course of generations. Most commonly the term is used specifically in reference to royal houses and imperial dynasties — their authority manifests...
, and favorite of organized labor. Because of his power and
longevityThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, this is not the most popular or accepted definition...
, Rayburn was often called "the Dean" of the Louisiana Senate.
Bogalusa is a
cityA city is a relatively large and permanent settlement, particularly a large urban settlement. Although there is no agreement on technical definitions distinguishing a city from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status...
in
Washington ParishWashington Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Franklinton. In 2000, its population was 43,926....
,
LouisianaThe State of 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 divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger
New OrleansNew Orleans is a major U.S. port and the largest city in the state of Louisiana. New Orleans is the center of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, the largest metro area in the state....
–
MetairieMetairie is a census-designated place in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 146,136 at the 2000 census, making it the largest census-designated place that is not a consolidated city-county government. Adjacent to New Orleans, Metairie is the largest community in...
–Bogalusa
Combined Statistical AreaThe United States Office of Management and Budget defines micropolitan and metropolitan statistical areas. Metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas consist of one or more counties...
.
Bogalusa was the home of
B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Sr.Benjamin Burras Rayburn, Sr., known as B. B. "Sixty" Rayburn , was a veteran politician from Bogalusa, an incorporated city in Washington Parish in southeastern Louisiana in the United States...
(1916-2008), a 44-year member of the
Louisiana State SenateThe 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...
, a confidant of the
LongHuey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the Governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a U.S. senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...
dynastyA dynasty is a succession of people belonging to the same family, who, through various means and forms maintain power, influence or authority over the course of generations. Most commonly the term is used specifically in reference to royal houses and imperial dynasties — their authority manifests...
, and favorite of organized labor. Because of his power and
longevityThe word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography. However, this is not the most popular or accepted definition...
, Rayburn was often called "the Dean" of the Louisiana Senate. His son,
B.B. "Benny" Rayburn, Jr.Benjamin Burras Rayburn, Jr., known as Benny Rayburn , was the Democratic sheriff of Washington Parish, the easternmost of the Florida Parishes of southeastern Louisiana, who served from 1981-1992. He was the only son of legendary Louisiana State Senator B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Sr...
(1944-2006), served as
sheriffA sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
of Washington Parish.
Tom ColtenArthur Thomas "Tom" Colten was a Louisiana politician from the 1960s to the 1990s who rose from a small-town mayoralty position to head his state's Department of Transportation and Development under three governors from both parties...
, later the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, was the business manager of the
Bogalusa Daily News from 1948 until his relocation in 1955 to
MindenMinden is a city in and the parish seat of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The population, which has been stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census...
in Webster Parish, where he served two terms as
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
.
Economy
Bogalusa was founded by the Goodyears of Buffalo, New York, who started the
Great Southern Lumber CompanyIn 1906, the Great Southern Lumber Company was founded in Bogalusa, Washington Parish, Louisiana by Frank Henry Goodyear and Charles Waterhouse Goodyear, and others investors mostly from Buffalo, New York area....
in 1906. The sawmill was, for many years, the largest in the world. Bogalusa is famous for its
reforestationReforestation is the restocking of existing forests and woodlands which have been depleted.Leaves from trees emit oxygen as well as absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants from our atmosphere. The demand of reforestation is increasing both for quality of human life reasons, biosphere support...
program.
In 1938, the Goodyears had ended their lumber operations at the
Great Southern Lumber CompanyIn 1906, the Great Southern Lumber Company was founded in Bogalusa, Washington Parish, Louisiana by Frank Henry Goodyear and Charles Waterhouse Goodyear, and others investors mostly from Buffalo, New York area....
and sold the paper mill operations. The current owner is the
Temple-Inland Corporation, the area's largest employer.
Today, Bogalusa's economy revolves around the
lumberLumber or timber is wood that is used in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
mill and
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, as well as agriculture.
History
The Great Southern Lumber Company (1906-1938) mill was opened here in 1906, and the Goodyear (Frank Henry Goodyear and Charles Waterhouse Goodyear) interests of New York built a city around it that same year, to house workers for their sawmill. William H. Sullivan, the sawmill manager for the Goodyears, was town boss when the city was built (1906-1907) and then mayor until he died shortly after the mill closing in 1938. The city, built from nothing in less than a year, with several hotels, a YMCA and YWCA, churches of all faiths, and houses for the workers and supervisors, was called the Magic City due to its rapid construction. Bogalusa was incorporated as a city on July 4, 1914. At its peak, the city had over 20,000 residents, and the Great Southern Lumber Company's sprawling sawmill produced over 1,000,000 board feet (2400 m³) of lumber a year. The sawmill closed in 1938, but was replaced as the city's main industry by a paper mill and a chemical plant run by Crown-Zellerbach. An attempt to keep the sawmill open with California redwood proved too costly and the mill was closed.
Bogalusa was the birthplace of
Pulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by Hungarian-American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City....
-winning poet
Yusef KomunyakaaYusef Komunyakaa is an American poet who currently teaches at New York University and is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers...
and of New Orleans piano legend
Professor LonghairProfessor Longhair was a New Orleans, Louisiana blues singer and pianist...
.
In the mid-1960s, Bogalusa was a center of activity for the
Deacons for Defense and JusticeThe Deacons for Defense and Justice were an armed self defense African American civil rights organization in the U.S. Southern states during the 1960s.The organization practiced self-defense methods in the face of racist oppression that was carried out by Jim Crow Laws; local and state agencies;...
.
In 1995 a railroad
tank carA tank car is a type of railroad rolling stock designed to transport liquid and gaseous commodities.-Timeline:...
imploded at Gaylord Chemical Corporation releasing nitrogen tetroxide and forced the evacuation of about 3,000 people within a one mile (1.6 km) radius. Residents say "the sky turned orange" as a result. Emergency rooms filled with about 4,000 people who complained of burning eyes, skin, and lungs. Dozens of
lawsuitA lawsuit is a civil action brought before a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have received damages from a defendant's actions, seeks a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
s were filed against Gaylord Chemical and were finally settled in May of 2005, with compensation checks issued to around 20,000 people involved in the accident.
On August 29, 2005,
Hurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States...
hit this city with winds of about downing numerous trees and power lines. Many buildings in Bogalusa received
damageDamage may refer to:In gaming:* Damage Incorporated, a computer game for Mac and Windows made by Paranoid Productions in 1998* Quad damage, a powerup in the first-person shooter computer game series Quake...
from falling trees, and several were destroyed. Most of the houses, businesses, and other buildings suffered roof damage from the storm's ferocious winds.
Geography
Bogalusa is located at (30.780436, -89.863761) and has an elevation of .
According to the
United States Census BureauThe 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. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the city has a total area of 9.5 square miles (24.7 km²), of which, 9.5 square miles (24.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "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.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 13,365 people, 5,431 households, and 3,497 families residing in the city. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 1,407.6 people per square mile (543.8/km²). There were 6,300 housing units at an average density of 663.5/sq mi (256.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 57.18% White, 41.21% African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.16% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , 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 0.73% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.75% of the population.
There were 5,431 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 23.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 23.9% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $19,261, and the median income for a family was $24,947. Males had a median income of $26,716 versus $17,992 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the city was $11,476. About 26.1% of families and 32.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.1% of those under age 18 and 22.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Bogalusa operates its own public school system, Bogalusa City Schools.
Louisiana Technical College - Sullivan Campus is located in Bogalusa. It is one of forty-two campuses of the
Louisiana Technical College.
National Guard
Bogalusa is home to the 205th
EngineerEngineers are concerned with developing economical and safe solutions to practical problems, by applying mathematics and scientific knowledge while considering technical constraints. The term is derived from the Latin root "ingenium," meaning "cleverness"...
BattalionA battalion is a military unit of around 1000-1500 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
of the
LouisianaThe State of 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 divided into parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
Army National GuardEstablished under Title 10 and Title 32 of the U.S. Code, the Army National Guard is part of the National Guard and is divided up into subordinate units stationed in each of the 50 states and territories operating under their respective governors...
. This unit is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade which is headquartered in
Pineville, LouisianaPineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area...
at
Camp BeauregardFor the American Civil War site, see Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley.Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana in Rapides Parish. It is currently operated by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main training areas...
.
External links