"Despite the influx of other cultures, many elements of Louisiana's French heritage and some of the Spanish influences lingered well into the twentieth century." ~ Bennett H. Wall, Editor, Louisiana: A History

Louisiana Lagniappe: Facts and Trivia

France was the first European nation to plant a lasting settlement in Louisiana.

Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV of France.

Louisiana has 2,482 islands, covering nearly 1.3 million acres. Nationally, the state ranks third in total islands and second in total island acreage.

Louisiana contains more than 6,084 square miles of water surface. Since the total area of the state is approximately 48,500 square miles, almost one quarter of Louisiana's surface is blanketed by water.

Louisiana contains 41 percent of the coastal marshland in the United States.

Louisiana's subtropical climate makes for one of the longest growing seasons in the nation, officially lasting from 220 days per year in north Louisiana to as many as 350 days in the south.

Rising on the high plains of New Mexico and Texas, the Red River bisects Louisiana and provides some 370 miles of navigable water.

The Mississippi River, which borders all of Louisiana on the east, drains all or parts of 32 states and two Canadian provinces.

The site of the oldest known Louisiana civilization is Poverty Point in West Carroll Parish, where an Indian village existed 2,700 years ago.

Louisiana is the only state in the union that does not have counties. Local governmental units are called parishes. Originally they were church units set up by the Spanish provisional governor of Louisiana in 1669. Louisiana has 64 parishes.

Louisiana's first territorial governor, William C.C. Claiborne had great admiration for the awkward bird that inhabited the Gulf Coast region. The pelican, rather than let its young starve, would tear at its own flesh to feed them. Governor Claiborne's great respect for the pelican led him to first use the pelican symbol on official documents.

The town of Natchitoches (pronounced Nack-a-tish, a Natchitoches Indian word meaning "place of the Paw Paw", or "Chinkapin") is the oldest permanent settlement in Louisiana. Founded in 1714 to promote trade with the local Indians and the Spanish in Mexico, Natchitoches played a major role in the history of Texas and Louisiana. The French first made contact with the Indians in the Natchitoches area in 1700. A friendly trade developed which led Governor Cadillac to extend that trade to the Spanish colonies in Mexico. In 1714 Cadillac sent his lieutenant Juchereau de St. Denis to establish a trading post at the head of the navigation on the Red River. That post grew into the town of Natchitoches. Natchitoches is noted as the site for the filming of the movies Steel Magnolias, The Horse Soldiers, and The Man in the Moon.

In 1718 the French found New Orleans and marked "Cannes Brulee" on maps upriver in the area known today as the city of Kenner. French for "Burnt Canes," Cannes Brulee was a name given by explorers who observed natives burning cane to drive out wild game.

Louisiana is the only state with a large population of Cajuns, descendants of the Acadians who were driven out of Canada in the 1700s because they wouldn't pledge allegiance to the King of England. French speaking Acadians in the mid-1700s settled the Lafayette Parish region of south Louisiana. The Acadians were joined by another group of settlers called Creoles, descendants of African, West Indian, and European pioneers. At the time of the migration, Louisiana was under Spanish rule and authorities welcomed the new settlers.

The City of Ponchatoula is the oldest incorporated city in Tangipahoa Parish. Ponchatoula derives its name from the Choctaw Indian language meaning "hair to hang" because of the abundance of Spanish moss on the trees surrounding the area.

Most of the older buildings in the French Quarter are actually Spanish. Following a devastating fire in 1788, the Spanish government rebuilt much of New Orleans in their native architectural style.

Baton Rouge was the site of the only battle fought outside of the 13 original colonies during the American revolution. On September 21, 1779, forces friendly to the American side captured Baton Rouge from the British.

Louisiana is the only state that still refers to the Napoleonic Code in its state law.

Louisiana's government has operated from five different capital cities throughout its history: New Orleans, Donaldsonville, Opelousas, Shreveport, and Baton Rouge.

In 1803 the United States paid France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory. Over 900,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River - nearly 600 million acres - were purchased for 15 million dollars (an average cost of only four cents an acre). This magnificent domain was aquired by peaceful means and without the shedding of a single drop of blood - in striking contrast to the methods of the large empires of the past, which conquered their territories by force of arms. The lands acquired stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border. Thirteen states or parts of states have been carved from The Louisiana Purchase Territory. Those states are: Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, lowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Wyoming, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Montana. The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the size of the United States and put it in a position to become a world power.

For 15 years, Beauregard Parish was in the heart of the neutral strip of land known as "No Man's Land" and was not included in the original area known as Louisiana at the time of its purchase in 1803.

The parishes (counties) east of the Mississippi River along the Louisiana Bayou Scenic Byway are known as the Florida Parishes, because in 1810 they declared themselves the Republic of West Florida and free from Spanish rule. Later that same year, they asked to be admitted to the United States.

The Battle of New Orleans, which made Andrew Jackson a national hero, was fought two weeks after the War of 1812 had ended and more than a month before the news of the war's end had reached Louisiana.

The site of the DeLaRonde House was a French colonial plantation used as a British hospital during the Battle of New Orleans. The site contains the last above ground structural remnants existing on the battlefield.

Incorporated in 1813 under the Lawrason Act, Saint Francisville is the second oldest town in Louisiana.

Since 1835 the New Orleans & Carrolliton Line is the oldest street railway line still in operation.

The Harvey Canal Locks near Westwego connect the Mississippi River to the Harvey Canal. Back in the 1800s the locks served as ferries to transport railroad cars from one side of the canal to the other. Workers would then reunite the railroad cars on land. This service may have sparked the name of the town. According to one local folk tale, trainmen would shout "West We Go" as the railroad cars were reconnected and pulled out of the station.

Jim Bowie, the legendary adventurer and hero of the Battle of the Alamo, lived in Opelousas after moving there from Kentucky. Opelousas is the third oldest city in Louisiana.

A classic example of Greek Revivial style, the Claiborne Parish Courthouse in Homer was completed in 1861. It served as a departure point for soliders going off to fight for the Confederate cause.

Avery Islands's salt mine was discovered in 1862, making it the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.

Free people of color had legal rights in Louisiana unique among other southern states. They could and did sue whites in court (often successfully), they could and did testify against white persons, they could legally marry, and Louisiana law recognized their offspring as legitimate heirs. When accused of a crime, free blacks (unlike the slaves of Louisiana) had all the common law rights enjoyed by whites. However, they could not serve on juries and always stood trial with juries composed of white men, free blacks could commit crimes special to their status (such as "insulting a white person"), and the law required that they carry identification papers proving their status. The law assumed that light-skinned persons of color possessed their freedom until proved otherwise.

Approximately 25,000 Louisianaians signed up for the Confederate service by November 1861, and thousands more joined home defense units or the state militia. Before the Civil War ended, between 50,000 and 60,000 would enter the Confederacy, although after 1861 conscription forced the hand of many.

The first American army to have African American officers was the confederate Louisiana Native Guards. The Corps d'Afrique at Port Hudson was sworn into service on September 27, 1862.

Between April 17, 1862 and May 18, 1864 20 major Civil War battles and engagements were fought on Louisiana soil.

Louisiana suffered the greatest loss in the Civil War from the tens of thousands of casualties it suffered. No statistics exist on the number of Louisianaians who died serving in the war, but the number includes not only white men fought for the South, but African Americans who ran away to join the Union forces. Many of the deaths among the blacks occurred in Union camps, where they contracted diseases to which they had no immunity.

The Civil War cost Louisiana agriculture three years of commercial production.

For the entire Confederacy, the capital loss may have exceeded $3 billion; Louisiana's loss was approximately $500 million.

Louisiana has had 11 constitutions since joining the Union.

The Union Cottonseed Oil Mill of West Monroe was in the planning stages as early as 1883. By 1887, it provided the area with many jobs for the laborers of the area. The Union Oil Mill is the oldest industry in Ouachita Parish.

The golden spike, commemorating the completion of the east-west Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railroad, was driven at Bossier City on July 12, 1884, by Julia "Pansy" Rule. It was the first such spike driven by a woman.

The city of Sulphur is the 13th largest city in Louisiana and is named for the chemical and mining industry that helped to establish Calcasieu Parish in the late 1800s.

The town of Walker became a municipality under the State's Lawrason Act (136 of 1898) on July 9, 1909 as a village.

Governor Richard Webster Leche who held office 1936-1939, is remembered as the only Louisiana governor to serve a prison sentence.

The Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival, held in Morgan City, is the oldest state-chartered harvest festival, established on Labor Day 1936.

Fort Polk was established in 1941 and named in honor of the Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Louisiana. On March 12, 1993, Fort Polk officially became the home of the Joint Readiness Training Center.

General Patton crossed the Sabine River during the big Louisiana 1941 maneuvers.

Melrose Plantation, south of Natchitoches, was founded by Marie-Therese Coin-Coin, a freed slave. In the 1940s, primitive artist Clementine Hunter worked there as well.

The oldest recording studio in Louisiana, Master-Trak Enterprising, was opened in 1946 by J.D. Miller and is located in Crowley.

Baton Rouge hosted the 1983 Special Olympics International Summer Games at LSU.

The Kisatchie National Forest encompasses over 600,000 acres spread over seven parishes.

Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the United States; the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors. Twenty-five hundred rail cars were needed to bring in the limestone used on the exterior and the interior marbles which came from distant places, including Vermont and Italy. The cost to complete the building was a modest $5 million. The architects used symbolism throughout the design of the building. As the square tower rises, it is cut away to an octagon at the 22nd floor. At this point four allegorical winged figures guard the corners and they represent Law, Science, Philosophy and Art. The entrance is approached by a grand staircase with one step for each of the 48 states, listed in the order of their admittance to the Union. Alaska and Hawaii were added to the top step when they were made states. The top step is carved with E Pluribus Unum from the Great Seal of the United States; it means "One From Many." Because of the Depression, the cost of the Capitol was ten percent less than projected. The savings were spent on the unique Art Deco ornamentation that embellish the building. The grounds of the Capitol were once the home of the Louisiana State University.

Winnfield is famous for providing Louisiana with three governors: Huey and Earl Long as well as O.K. Allen.

The Saint Charles streetcar line in New Orleans and the San Francisco, California cable cars are the nation's only mobile national monuments.

The world famous Mardi Gras is celebrated in New Orleans. Mardi Gras is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the 40 days of Lent, a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice.

The Superdome in New Orleans is the world's largest steel-constructed room unobstructed by posts.
Height: 273 feet (82.3 meters)
Diameter of Dome: 680 feet (210 meters)
Area of Roof: 9.7 acres
Interior Space: 125,000,000 cubic feet
Total floor footage: 269,000 sq. ft. (82,342 sq. meters)
Electrical Wiring: 400 miles (640 kilometers)
After innumerable delays in construction and constantly escalating costs, the original $35 million bond measure approved by voters will amount to more than $400 million by the time the bonds are paid off.

Passion Fish (1993), starring Mary McDonnell and Alfre Woodard and directed by John Sayles, was filmed in Lake Arthur, Opelousas and Lafayette, along the Jean Lafitte Scenic Byway.

When oil was discovered in Caddo Parish, land prices jumped from 50¢ per acre to $500 per acre. The impact of oil on this region is highlighted at the Caddo-Pine Island Oil and Historical Society Museum in Oil City.

Metairie is home to the longest bridge over water in the world, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. The Causeway, with a length of 23.87 miles, is the world's longest bridge built entirely over water. Each weekday 30,000 motor vehicles cross Lake Pontchartrain. The five-member GNOEC is the controlling body of the Causeway which includes the bridge system and the Causeway Approach road system on the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain. The most familiar part of the system is the 24-mile long bridge which consists of two, 2-lane spans running parallel across Lake Pontchartrain connecting Jefferson Parish on the South Shore and St. Tammany Parish on the North Shore.

In 1999, The Farm was filmed on the grounds of Angola and received an Academy Award nomination for "Best Documentary."

Ten miles south of Lake Providence lies a small farming town named Transylvania.

On Highway 2 between Oak Grove and Bastrop is a cedar tree with a cherry tree growing right out from the middle of it. This unusual tree is located in Redwing Cemetery.

At 4,700 acres, Hodges Gardens in Many is the largest privately owned garden in the country.

Each April, the Rebel State Historic Site hosts the Louisiana Fiddling Championship. Rebel SHS is home to the Louisiana Country Music Museum.

The Creole House in French Settlement was built of cypress wood. It is typical of the dwellings built in the late 1800s because cypress was so plentiful in the surrounding swamps.

"Swamp Pop," a phrase coined by a British music critic, for South Louisiana Music, still thrives today in Ville Platte.

Frances Parkinson Keyes, one of America's best selling authors, lived in Crowley for more than ten years.

The staircase at Chretien Point Plantation was copied for Tara in Gone With The Wind.

Shadows-on-the-Teche in New Iberia is the only property on the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the Gulf South.

The Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville is the most photographed tree in the world.

St. Martinville is known as the "Birthplace of Acadiana."

Louisiana leads the nation in the production of crawfish with approximately 100 million pounds of crawfish per year. About half of the production comes from the Atchafalaya Basin and half from an extensive aquaculture system which involves some 135,000 acres of ponds throughout the state.

Louisiana is America's second largest producer of natural gas. It supplies one third of the total U.S. production.

Louisiana produces more furs (1.3 million pelts last year) than any other state. The catch includes muskrat, mink, otter and beaver.

Louisiana is the largest producer of oysters in the United States. The total impact of this fishery to Louisiana's economy is estimated to be $170 million.

The seven principle freshwater sport fish of Louisiana are the largemouth bass, spotted bass, crappie, bream, white bass, catfish and striped bass.

Louisiana is the nation's largest handler of grain for export to world markets. More than 40 percent of the U.S. grain exports move through Louisiana ports.

Breaux Bridge is known as the "Crawfish Capital of the World."

Conrad Rice Mill in New Iberia is the oldest operating rice mill in the US.

Saint Martin Parish is home to the world's largest freshwater river basin, the Atchafalaya Basin; the basin provides nearly every type of outdoor recreational activity imaginable.

The Creole Nature Trail National Scenic Byway passes through Louisiana's largest parish, Cameron.

Almost everything known about alligators comes from research done at the Rockefeller State Wildlife Refuge.

Cheniers, sandy beach ridges topped with trees, are the first resting and eating stop for birds and butterflies as they migrate north from the Gulf of Mexico.

Baton Rouge's flag is a field of crimson representing the great Indian nations that once inhabited the area.

Teche is an Indian word meaning "snake."

Jennings is called the "Garden Spot of Louisiana" for its rich and productive farmland. Jennings' sobriquet (nickname) became a "Northern Town on Southern Soil."

Saint Joseph's Cemetery, the only known United States cemetery facing north-south, is in Rayne.

Rayne is known as the "The Frog Capital of the World."

The Catahoula Leopard Dog, often called the Catahoula Hound or Cur, is the official state dog. It is a cross of the domestic dog the Indians of the Catahoula Lake region raised and the Spanish "war dog" that came through the area in the early 1500s. The Catahoula has unusual glassy eyes, webbed feet, a spotted coat, is gentle with children, and makes an excellent pet, guard dog and hunting dog.

The city of Kaplan is referred to as "The most Cajun place on earth."

The town of Jean Lafitte was once a hideaway for pirates.

Winnsboro, the "Stars and Stripes Capital of Louisiana," is one of the most patriotic cities in America. On Memorial Day, July 4th, Veteran's Day, Labor Day, and other special occasions, approximately 350 American flags fly proudly along Highway 15.

Laurel Valley Village is the oldest surviving 18th and 19th-century sugar plantation in America.

Bayou Lafourche is known as the "longest street in the world."

The name "Bogalusa" is derived from the Indian named creek "Bogue Lusa," which flows through the city.

Le Musee de la Ville de Kaplan (The Kaplan Museum) is located in the center of downtown Kaplan. Le Musee at appropriate times has exhibits centered on the seasonal festivals: Mardi Gras, Easter, July 4, Bastille Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas.

Because Covington is in a region referred to as the Ozone Belt, it has long been known for its clean air and water.

Gueydan is known as the "Duck Capital of America" in recognition of its abundance of waterfowl.

Mamou bills itself as "The Cajun Music Capital of the World." Mamou musicians, in particular the musicians who have perform at Fred's Lounge, have been a major force in expanding the audience for Cajun music far beyond Southwest Louisiana.

Church Point boasts the designation "The Buggy Capital of the World." A festival celebrates this designation annually on the first weekend in June.

Pineville is home to a one of a kind museum called the Old Town Hall Museum. It is the only museum in the entire state of Louisiana dedicated to municipal government.

Money Magazine has rated Terrebonne Parish, in the heart of Cajun Country the best place to live in Louisiana for 3 years in a row.

Notations on the original plats of survey for the area that is now Ville Platte stated that surveyors had to use pirogues and flat boats to properly do their work.

In Louisiana, biting someone with your natural teeth is considered a simple assault, but biting someone with your false teeth is considered an aggravated assault.

Resource References:
1. Wall, Bennett H., Louisiana: A History
2. Simon, Anne L., Inequality Under the Law: The Louisiana Story


Additional Louisiana Information:
A Selective Chronology of Louisiana History
A Tour of Louisiana's Scenic Byways
Louisiana: How to Speak the Language
Louisiana: The Pelican State

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