City of Ponchatoula
- State:LouisianaCounty:Tangipahoa ParishCity:PonchatoulaCounty FIPS:22105Coordinates:30°26′21″N 90°26′33″WArea total:4.74 sq mi (12.27 km²)Area land:4.73 sq mi (12.26 km²)Area water:0.00 sq mi (0.01 km²)Elevation:26 ft (8 m)
- Latitude:30,4428Longitude:-90,4106Dman name cbsa:Hammond, LATimezone:Eastern Standard Time (EST) UTC-5:00; Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) UTC-4:00ZIP codes:70454GMAP:
Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States
- Population:7,822Population density:1,653.00 residents per square mile of area (638.20/km²)Household income:$27,118Households:2,325Unemployment rate:7.80%
- Sales taxes:9.00%Income taxes:6.00%
Ponchatoula is the second-largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana. The population was 6,559 at the 2010 census and 7,545 at the time of the 2020 population estimates program. The name is derived from the Choctaw words Pashi meaning "hair" and perhaps itula or itola meaning "to fall" or "to hang" in theChoctaw language. The city is located along Interstate 55 and Louisiana Highway 22, equidistant from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. In the early 1900s, PonchatoulA was one of only two ways to reach New Orleans by land, thus earning the moniker "Gateway to New Orleans." The city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km²) According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an population of 7,822 people, 2,863 households, and 1,726 families residing in the city. It is located at 30°2621N 90°2633W (30.439162, -90.442507) and has an elevation of 26 feet (7.9 m) The city was established as a small fishing village around 1820. William Akers was appointed as the first mayor and is credited with founding the town. The train depot which was destroyed during the Civil War was rebuilt in 1895. The main crop grown by the local farmers was the strawberry. Many families who were major farmers during this era, which lasted about eighty years, have their last names engraved on a large plaque in front of city hall.
Etymology
It is speculated that the name is derived from the Choctaw words Pashi meaning "hair" and perhaps itula or itola meaning "to fall" or "to hang" or 'flowing' in theChoctaw language. It is also speculated that itula means 'to fall' or 'to hang' or "flowing" in the ChoCTaw language and may be related to the word 'itula' which means 'fall' and 'itola' which is 'falling' or 'flowing', which means to hang or 'hang' or to hang in the language. The name means 'hair' in Choctaws and means 'hair' in English. It was adopted by the tribe in the 1800s as a nickname for their leader, Pashi, who was a member of the Pashi tribe. It means'hair' in Pashaw, which means hair or 'hair-like hair' and is used as a derogatory term for a woman in Pashi's culture. It also means 'flesh' in Chippewa, which is a Native American word for 'hairy' or a 'tongue-in-cheek' The name is also used to refer to the tribe's chief, Pasha, who is from Pashi and is believed to be of Pashi descent. The Pashi people are known as the "Pashaw" or the "Chippewaw" tribe. The word "Pashi" means'shoulder' in their language.
History
Ponchatoula was originally established as a small fishing village around 1820. Then in the year 1839 a man named William Akers moved into town and purchased over 1000 acres from the United States Federal Government. William began farming and harvesting the local virgin pine timber and pulling the logs to a nearby sawmill with teams of oxen. According to some sources William Aker had several Native Americans working in his timber crew and they provided the name PonchatoulA. It was the Native American way of expressing the beauty of the location, with beautiful Spanish moss hanging from the large oak trees. On February 12, 1861 Ponchatoulla incorporated as a town. WilliamAkers was appointed as the first mayor and is credited with founding the town. In the 1880s Akers reported that he had sold nearly 700 acres of land and only had about 300 acres of lands remaining. He was a leader in the Temperance movement and fought hard to keep alcoholic beverages out of Ponchatroulla. The main crop grown by the local farmers was the strawberry. Many of the families who were major farmers during this era, which lasted about eighty years, have their last names engraved on a large plaque in front of city hall. The train depot which was destroyed during the Civil War was rebuilt in 1895 as the area began to recover from the civil War. At the turn of the 20th century the main street began filling up with beautiful brick buildings as shops, banks and restaurants were built to accommodate the growing population.
Geography
Ponchatoula is located at 30°2621N 90°2633W (30.439162, -90.442507) and has an elevation of 26 feet (7.9 m) According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.2 square miles (11 km²), all land. It is located along Interstate 55 and Louisiana Highway 22, equidistant from New Orleans and Baton Rouge. It was one of only two ways to reach New Orleans by land in the early 1900s, thus earning the moniker "Gateway to New Orleans." The city is located on the Mississippi River, which runs through the center of the city. It has a population of about 2,000. The city was once known as the "City of the Saints" because of its large population of Saints Saints Saints football fans. It also has a large Jewish population. The town has a reputation for being a hotbed of illegal activity, especially among African-Americans. It had a large black population in the 1950s and 1960s, and a large Hispanic population in that period as well. In the 1970s and 1980s, the town had a high percentage of African-American residents, with more than 50% of the population living in the black community. The majority of the black population was from the city of New Orleans, which was once the largest city in the state. It now has a low percentage of black residents, at about 20%. The city's population is about 1,200.
Demographics
As of the 2000 census, there were 5,180 people, 1,984 households, and 1,372 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 62.20% White, 36.83% African American, 0.19% Native American, and 0.12% Asian. The city's population was spread out, with 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9%, 21.0% from 25 to 44, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.16. The median income for a household was $22,244, and the median family income was $29,583. The per capita income for the city is $12,157. About 27.9%. of families and 31.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.9. of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city will have a population of 7,822 as of the 2020 census, with a population growth rate of 0.7%. The city is located on the U.N. World Heritage Site, which was declared a World Heritage site in 1998. It is the site of the World War II Memorial, which is a World War I memorial, and a National Park Service site.
Education
Tangipahoa Parish School System operates public schools. School system operates high school, junior high, elementary, and early learning centers. Schools are located in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, and Pearl River Parish, Louisiana. The school system is part of the Louisiana School and Training Board, which also operates the Louisiana State School for the Deaf and Blind, and Louisiana State University for the deaf and hearing impaired, and the Louisiana Center for the Arts and Sciences, which offers classes in English and Spanish. The system also operates a pre-school, a middle school, and an early learning center. It is the largest school system in the state, with more than 2,000 students. It also has a high school and a junior high school. The parish is home to the Louisiana High School and Junior High, both of which are located near the town of PonChatoula. The high school also has an elementary school, which is located near Pearl River. The district's high school is located in Pearl River, Louisiana and the junior high is in the community of Pearl River and the middle school is near the city of Ponchatoulla. It has an early education center, which provides classes for children as young as three years old. The elementary school has an after-school program, which runs through the eighth grade. The public school system also runs an after school program for the sixth and seventh graders. It operates a daycare center for the seventh and eighth graders, as well as a day care.
Visitor attractions
Ponchatoula hosts Louisiana's Strawberry Festival each April and an Oktoberfest each autumn. The town is noted for its many antique shops along Pine Street (LA 22), open year-round. The Collinswood School Museum is a former one-room schoolhouse which exhibits local artifacts and quilts. Between the school museum and the tracks stands the Strawberry Train, which is a steam engine and single passenger car roped off in such a way that children can safely climb into the engine and the car. The Chamber of Commerce office is located on Highway 22 at the railroad tracks and has information about these and other sights in PonchatoulA and the surrounding area. The first Strawberry Festival was held in April 1972 on the first block of North 6th Street. Today it is the second largest event in the state, after Mardi Gras. There are still about six of these shops in operation. This gave the town a second nickname, "America's Antique City" There is a sign on the outskirts of town with how many miles it lies from South Dakota's Wall Drug store. During the 1980s the local economy changed to tourism, when farming no longer earned enough to sustain the town. It was a two-day event beginning with a baseball game between Southeastern Louisiana University and Wisconsin State. The mayor at the time devised a plan to open antique shops where former businesses had been located. There were only 11 booths and the first festival was small and only had 11 booths.
Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index
The Air Quality index is in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana = 54.1. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 28. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 10. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Ponchatoula = 5.7 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.
Employed
The most recent city population of 7,822 individuals with a median age of 32 age the population grows by 16.79% in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 1,653.00 residents per square mile of area (638.20/km²). There are average 2.6 people per household in the 2,325 households with an average household income of $27,118 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.80% of the available work force and has dropped -6.45% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 19.30%. The number of physicians in Ponchatoula per 100,000 population = 101.3.
Weather
The annual rainfall in Ponchatoula = 64.8 inches and the annual snowfall = 0 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 100. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 221. 92 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 38.1 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 23, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.
Median Home Cost
The percentage of housing units in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana which are owned by the occupant = 57.88%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 34 years with median home cost = $104,250 and home appreciation of -6.37%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $2.33 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.
Study
The local school district spends $4,280 per student. There are 17.4 students for each teacher in the school, 672 students for each Librarian and 274 students for each Counselor. 1.91% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 9.37% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 4.83% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).
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Ponchatoula's population in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana of 6,213 residents in 1900 has increased 1,26-fold to 7,822 residents after 120 years, according to the official 2020 census.
Approximately 53.13% female residents and 46.87% male residents live in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.
As of 2020 in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana are married and the remaining 52.02% are single population.
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27.7 minutes is the average time that residents in Ponchatoula require for a one-way commute to work. A long commute can have different effects on health. A Gallup poll in the US found that in terms of mental health, long haul commuters are up to 12 percent more likely to experience worry, and ten percent less likely to feel well rested. The Gallup poll also found that of people who commute 61–90 minutes each day, a whopping one third complained of neck and back pain, compared to less than a quarter of people who only spend ten minutes getting to work.
86.65% of the working population which commute to work alone in their car, 9.36% of the working population which commutes to work in a carpool, 0.44% of the population that commutes using mass transit, including bus, light rail, subway, and ferry. 2.04% of the population that has their home as their principal place of work.
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Of the total residential buildings in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, 57.88% are owner-occupied homes, another 30.97% are rented apartments, and the remaining 11.15% are vacant.
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The 45.25% of the population in Ponchatoula, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana who identify themselves as belonging to a religion are distributed among the following most diverse religions.