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New Roads, Louisiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of New Roads | |
|---|---|
| City | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Pointe Coupee |
| Area | 4.6 sq mi (11.9 km²) |
| - land | 4.6 sq mi (11.9 km²) |
| - water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km²), 0% |
| Center | |
| - coordinates | Coordinates: |
| - elevation | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Population | 4,997 (2000) |
| Density | 1,091.8 /sq mi (421.5 /km²) |
| Mayor | Thomas "Tommy" Nelson |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 70760 |
| Area code | 225 |
  Location of New Roads in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Website : http://www.newroads.net | |
The city of New Roads is the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. [1] [2] The center of population of Louisiana is located in New Roads [1]. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 4,996 (pre-Katrina). Post-Katrina the city had an estimated population of 5,589, perhaps because its above average real estate market attracted many evacuees, or because many families that reside there have strong roots in the New Orleans Area. The city's zip code is 70760.
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Pointe Coupee Parish, of which New Roads is the governmental seat, was settled by the French in the 1720s and is one of the oldest communities in the Mississippi Valley. Around 1776 a "Chemin Neuf," French for "New Road", was built connecting the Mississippi River with False River, a 22-mile long oxbow lake and formerly the main channel of the Mississippi. In 1822, streets were opened and lots created at the False River terminus of the New Road, for which the town was named. New Roads became the parish seat in 1847, after the original courthouse on the Mississippi River was destroyed by fire. The town was settled by Creole French and African-Americans and, later, by Anglo-Saxons, Italians and other groups.
Since its founding, New Roads has been the hub of an agricultural community focused on the production of sugar cane, cotton, pecans and other crops. Today, the economy is enhanced by industries, retail establishments, restaurants and lodging enterprises, five banks and modern health care and nursing facilities.
Pointe Coupee was home to Julien de Lallande Poydras, a merchant, planter, poet, statesman, banker and philanthropist who helped establish the state's first public schools in Pointe Coupee in the early 1800s. He likewise endowed a trust fund to provide impoverished brides with dowries in Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge Parishes. Visitors will find his grave on the grounds of the old Poydras School on Main Street in New Roads, now a museum and cultural center established by the Pointe Coupee Historical Society.
The poem "Maryland, My Maryland" was written in April 1861, at nearby Poydras College on False River by James Randall, an English professor. The poem was later put to music. The site is still known as Randall Oak, though the school was destroyed by fire in 1881. The poem is now Maryland's official state song.
Other famous residents of the New Roads area have included Maj. Gen. John Archer LeJeune of U.S. Marines fame; author Ernest Gaines; U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Corinne Claiborne "Lindy" Boggs; and New Orleans Mayor deLesseps "Chep" Morrison.
New Roads hosts the oldest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans each Shrove Tuesday. As many as 80,000 people converge on the hospitable Creole town for family-friendly parades. The Community Center Carnival Club parade, founded in 1922 and the state's oldest outside New Orleans, rolls at 11 a.m. The New Roads Lions Carnival parade, founded in 1941 and which is staged as a charitable fundraiser, rolls at 1:30 p.m. Each consists of 25-30 floats built and manned by local schools, churches, clubs, businesses and families, as well as eight-ten marching bands and drill units.
New Roads' narrow, tree-lined streets include outstanding examples of 19th century Creole and Victorian architecture. Tourist attractions include Satterfield's Riverwalk and Restaurant, the Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse and Gen. John Archer LeJeune Monument, St. Mary's Catholic Church and Cemetery, the Julien Poydras Monument and Museum (old Poydras High School, numerous fine dining and shopping opportunities as well as beautiful views and boating on False River.
Many historical Creole plantation homes dating from the late 18th and early 19th centuries line False River, including Parlange, River Lake, North Bend, Mon Couer, Austerlitz, Pleasant View, among others.
Over the last decade, new upscale subdivisions and retail establishments have been built along False River Drive between the area known as "Millionaire Row" near Oscar, Louisiana and New Roads.
The city is home to Catholic High School of Pointe Coupee and False River Academy. There are also two former high schools located in New Roads: Poydras High School and Rosenwald High School (formerly New Roads High School).
New Roads is located at (30.696305, -91.438980)GR1 and has an elevation of 30 feet (9.1 m)GR3.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.6 square miles (11.8 km²), all of it land.
Gradually sloping from a high of 36 feet above sea level on Main Street immediately adjacent to False River to a low of 25 feet along Portage Canal in the north, the city lies on a Mississippi River flood-plain but has never flooded to any great extent since 1912. Levee breaks or "crevasses" on the Mississippi River to the north and east overbanked False River and submerged all of New Roads in 1867, 1882 and 1884. The 1882 flood was the most severe, with four feet on water standing in Main Street during the height of the crises. During the floods of 1912 and 1927, however, the southern portion of the town, including the main business district, remained dry, as the flood waters to the north and east were held back by the Texas & Pacific Railroad embankment.
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 4,966 people, 1,818 households, and 1,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,091.8 people per square mile (421.4/km²). There were 2,044 housing units at an average density of 449.4/sq mi (173.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 38.99% White, 59.32% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.16% from other races, and 0.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.
There were 1,818 households out of which 33.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 23.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.6% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 82.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,583, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $32,679 versus $20,547 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,840. About 23.6% of families and 30.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 40.3% of those under age 18 and 22.7% of those age 65 or over.
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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (October 2007) |
In 1978 Trina Olinde Scott becomes New Roads' first female mayor.
- ^ "New Roads, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), City Data, 2007, webpage: C-NRoads.
- ^ "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage: C2000-LA.
- City of New Roads
- New Roads Interactive Map
- Pointe Coupee Tourism
- Pointe Coupee at the Millennium Documentary Photography Project
- Pointe Coupee Chamber of Commerce
- New Roads Mardi Gras
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Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana |
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| Parish seat: New Roads | ||
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