Slidell, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Slidell | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Nickname : The Camellia City | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | St. Tammany |
| Area | 12.1 sq mi (31.3 km²) |
| - land | 11.8 sq mi (30.6 km²) |
| - water | 0.3 sq mi (0.8 km²), 2.48% |
| Center | |
| - coordinates | Coordinates: |
| - elevation | 3 ft (0.9 m) |
| Population | 25,695 (2000) |
| Density | 2,175.5 /sq mi (840 /km²) |
| Mayor | Ben Morris |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 70458, 70459, 70460, 70461, 70469 |
| Area code | 985 |
  Location of Slidell in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Website : http://www.slidell.la.us | |
Slidell (pronounced /slˈaɪdɛl/) is a city situated on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.[1][2]
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] Beginning
Slidell was founded on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in 1882 and 1883 during construction of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad (N.O.N.E.).[3] The N.O.N.E. line connected New Orleans to Meridian, Mississippi. The town was named in honor of American politician John Slidell, and officially chartered by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1888.[3]
[edit] Twentieth Century
Around 1910, Slidell began a period of economic and industrial growth. A large creosote plant was built, and Slidell became home to St Joe's, a major producer of bricks. A lumber mill and shipyard were also built. Following the construction of Interstate 10, Interstate 59 and Interstate 12, Slidell became a major crossroads for those traversing the Gulf States.
In 1915 the creosote plant burned to the ground killing 55 workers and 3 firefighters.[citation needed] The plant was rebuilt on Bayou Lane, closer to a water source and closer to a fire station. Eventually, creosote polluted the bayou which was a source of drinking water for many of Slidell's residents. The creosote plant was abandoned in 1986 and then became an EPA Superfund site. The canal was dredged and waste incinerated until completion of the cleanup in 1996. At that time a boat launch was built and Heritage Park was constructed on the former site.
With the advent of the U.S. space program in the 1960s, NASA opened the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the John C. Stennis Space Center in nearby Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and a NASA computer center on Gause Boulevard. This nearly tripled Slidell's population over a period of ten years, and the city became a major suburb of New Orleans. Slidell is also the location of the National Weather Service forecast office for greater New Orleans.
The city hosts several parade krewes each Carnival season. Slidell suffered extensive damage from the effects of Hurricane Katrina which hit the region on August 29, 2005. The city is said to have experienced sustained winds of 176 mph with gusts up to 190+ mph and a 23' - 26' storm surge from Lake Pontchartrain.[citation needed]
[edit] Geography
Slidell is located at (30.279040, -89.777744)[4] and has an elevation of 3 feet (0.9 m)[5]. It is at the southeastern tip of St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana's Ozone Belt and is approximately three miles from the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.1 square miles (31.4 km²), of which, 11.8 square miles (30.5 km²) of it is land and 0.3 square miles (0.8 km²) of it (2.64%) is water.
[edit] Climate
Slidell has a humid subtropical climate, with short, generally mild winters and hot, humid summers. Precipitation in winter usually accompanies the passing of a cold front.[citation needed] Hurricanes also pose a threat to the area, and the city is vulnerable because of its low elevation.[citation needed]
| Weather averages for Slidell, LA | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average high °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 64 (18) | 71 (22) | 77 (25) | 84 (29) | 89 (32) | 91 (33) | 91 (33) | 88 (31) | 80 (27) | 71 (22) | 64 (18) | |
| Average low °F (°C) | 40 (4) | 43 (6) | 50 (10) | 56 (13) | 65 (18) | 71 (22) | 73 (23) | 72 (22) | 68 (20) | 57 (14) | 49 (9) | 42 (6) | |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 6.42 (163.1) | 5.03 (127.8) | 5.94 (150.9) | 4.76 (120.9) | 5.76 (146.3) | 4.27 (108.5) | 6.55 (166.4) | 5.85 (148.6) | 5.16 (131.1) | 3.10 (78.7) | 5.13 (130.3) | 4.69 (119.1) | |
| Source: [6] | |||||||||||||
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[7] of 2000, there were 25,695 people, 9,480 households, and 7,157 families residing in the city.[2] The population density was 2,178.5 people per square mile (841.5/km²). There were 10,133 housing units at an average density of 859.1/sq mi (131.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.13% White, 13.56% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.72% Asian, 2.05% Hungarian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.67% of the population.
There were 9,480 households out of which 36.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 20.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 7.6% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 23.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 92.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $42,856, and the median income for a family was $48,298. Males had a median income of $40,211 versus $26,050 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,947. About 9.5% of families and 11.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Public schools in Slidell are operated by the St. Tammany Parish Public Schools. There are three public high schools in Slidell: Northshore High School, Salmen High School, and Slidell High School, and one private high school: Pope John Paul II High School (affiliated with the Catholic church).
[edit] Transportation
Amtrak's daily Crescent connects Slidell with New York City; Philadelphia, PA; Baltimore, MD; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, NC; Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL and New Orleans, LA. The Amtrak station is situated on Front Street.
Slidell is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of I-10, I-12 and I-59 and U.S. Highway 11. The I-10 Twin Span Bridge runs from Slidell over Lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans East.
Rather than using the airport codes of ASD and KASD for the existing Slidell Airport, or NEW and KNEW for the original New Orleans Lakefront Airport, or even MSY and KMSY for the Louis Armstrong International Airport, NWSFO Slidell uses IATA airport code "LIX" and ICAO airport code "KLIX" despite not corresponding to any actual airport.
[edit] Famous Slidellians
- Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown: world-famous multi-instrumentalist and Grammy Award winner (1924-2005)
- Tony Canzoneri: world boxing champion
- Chris Duhon: former Duke University point guard and current New York Knicks reserve point guard; helped Duke to the 2001 NCAA men's basketball championship.
- The Residents: secretive avant-garde music group (who originally claimed to be from Shreveport).
- Mike Fontenot: 2nd baseman for Chicago Cubs. Played college baseball at Louisiana State University.
- John Besh: Chef and owner of LaProvence Restaurant, Restaurant August and Luke. Recently was a finalist on the Food Network show Iron Chef America.
- Juvenile: famous southern rapper, whose home was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
- Rich Clementi: Mixed martial arts fighter and UFC veteran who trains and resides in Slidell.
- Matt Forte: Running back for Chicago Bears. Played at Tulane University and Slidell High School.
- P.J. Brown: NBA basketball player.[8]
[edit] Slidell in the media
- Bayou Liberty is featured in a boat chase scene in the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die when James Bond is chased in a motor boat by Dr. Kananga's henchmen in motor launches.[9]
- Chacko George, who was a student at Northshore High School at the time, won the 2000 Jeopardy! Teen Tournament championship.[10]
- Slidell is named in the Lucinda Williams song "Joy," from the 1998 Album, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road.
- It is also the title of a song in the 2005 Grayson Capps album If you knew my mind.
- Slidell is mentioned in the song Lake Pontchartrain by Ludo
[edit] References
- ^ "Slidell, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), City Data, 2007, webpage: C-Slidell.
- ^ a b "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage: C2000-LA.
- ^ a b Slidell museum brochure
- ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey (2007-10-25). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ "Average Weather for Slidell, LA - Temperature and Precipitation". The Weather Channel. Retrieved on July 11, 2008.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ Spears, Marc (March 22, 2008). "Full-court press by Celtics convinced Brown", The Boston Globe. Retrieved on 2008-06-29.
- ^ Live and Let Die (1973) - Filming locations
- ^ This is JEOPARDY!
[edit] External links
- City of Slidell
- St. Petersburg Times Travel article
- Photographs of Hurricane Katrina's destruction in Slidell
- Information About the City of Slidell
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