Belle Chasse, Louisiana

Festivities

Belle Chasse is home to the famous "Orange Fest," "Crawfish Fest," and "Gamers Fest." It is also home to the Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival.

Attractions

Shooting Range, Dirt-Bike/Four-Wheeler "The Track", Cypress Parks (Baseball, SoftBall, Soccer, Football).

History

There is little consensus regarding the origin of the name Belle Chasse. In French, belle chasse literally means "beautiful hunting." It is widely believed that it was so named due to the richness of wildlife which the initial French colonists observed when they settled in the region. Others say that Belle Chasse was named after a Colonel Joseph D. Bellechasse, who lived in New Orleans around the late 18th and early 19th century. Alternatively, it was named after the plantation of Deville de Goutin Bellechasse.

The Confederate statesman Judah P. Benjamin was the most famous owner of the Belle Chasse plantation. After falling into decay and abandonment by the 1930s, the landmark plantation house was demolished in 1960. The bell was salvaged and today is in front of the Belle Chasse Public Library.

The Naval Air Station was founded in 1920 on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, but in 1957 it relocated to its current location (Belle Chasse, Louisiana). It has been designated as a Joint Forces Reserve Air Station. It is home to various naval air units as well as an Air Force Reserve fighter squadron and a Marine Corps Reserve helicopter unit. In March 2009, U.S. Navy Reserve Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) relocated its six E-2C aircraft from NAS Atlanta, GA to Belle Chasse. The squadron routinely deploys to the Caribbean on counter-narcotic operations. The squadron aircrew are all U.S. Naval Reservists while the maintenance department for the aircraft is run by Northrop Grumman Field Services.

National Guard

Belle Chasse serves as a headquarters for the Louisiana Air Force National Guard and home of the 159th FW (Fighter Wing). It served as the principal helicopter staging area for rescue operations during Hurricane Katrina.

Geography

Belle Chasse is located at 29°51′48″N 89°59′54″W (29.852243, -89.9983335).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 28.4 square miles (74 km²), of which 24.9 square miles (64 km²) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²) (12.21%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 12,679 people(males:6,319, females:6,360), 3,800 households, and 3,422 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 507.6 people per square mile (152.0/km²). There were 3,561 housing units at an average density of 142.3 per square mile (55.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.12% White, 5.23% African American, 0.61% Native American, 3.85% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.60% of the population.

There were 3,400 households, out of which 41.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.6% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.8% were non-families. Of all households 17.2% were made up of individuals and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.80 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 28.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 33.3% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 98.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $47,271, and the median income for a family was $52,064. Males had a median income of $39,957 versus $22,332 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $19,385. About 6.5% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Press/media

It has the transmitting site of one of the most powerful AM radio stations in New Orleans, 50,000-watt WLNO, the former WNOE-AM. WLNO's seven-tower directional array is located on the west side of Woodland Highway just north of Belle Chasse Highway.

Schools

Plaquemines Parish School Board operates public schools.

Belle Chasse Primary, Belle Chasse Middle, Belle Chasse High School, Belle Chasse Academy, Plaquemines Parrish Alternative School.

At first Belle Chasse High, which opened in 1928, was K-12, but in 1977 Belle Chasse Middle School opened to take the middle grades away. Belle Chasse Primary opened in August 1994. Belle Chasse Middle received the 5th grade in 1999.

Government

Belle Chasse is the current and temporary home of the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse.

Parish president

Amos Cormier, Jr. was once a resident of Port Sulphur and resided in Belle Chasse when he died.

Notable people