Gonzales, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Gonzales is a city in Ascension Parish
Ascension Parish, Louisiana
Ascension Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the fastest growing parish in the state. Its population is 107,215 which is 39.9% greater than the 2000 census...

, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The population was 8,156 at the 2000 census. It has been called the "jambalaya
Jambalaya
Jambalaya is a Louisiana Creole dish of Spanish and French influence. -Jambalaya varieties:Jambalaya is traditionally made in three parts, with meats and vegetables, and is completed by adding stock and rice. It is also a close cousin to the saffron colored paella found in Spanish culture...

 capital of the world" and is famous for its annual Jambalaya Festival. Gonzales is part of the Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

 Metropolitan Statistical Area
Baton Rouge metropolitan area
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is a sprawling area consisting of nine parishes in Louisiana, anchored by the city of Baton Rouge...

.

State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...

 Eddie J. Lambert
Eddie J. Lambert
Eddie Joseph Lambert is an attorney from Prairieville, Louisiana, who is a second-term member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 59 in Ascension Parish.-Background:...

 from Ascension Parish practices law in Gonzales.So does State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...

 Jody Amedee
Jody Amedee
Joseph P. Amedee, known as Jody Amedee , is an attorney from Gonzales, Louisiana, who is a Republican member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 18, which encompasses portions of Ascension, Livingston, St. James, and St...

, who represents Ascenion, Livingston
Livingston Parish, Louisiana
Livingston Parish Is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its parish seat is Livingston. As of 2010, its population was 128,026....

, St. James, and St. John the Baptist
St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana
St. John the Baptist Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana.The parish seat is Edgard, an unincorporated area and the unofficial parish captial is LaPlace, an unincorporated area. St. John the Baptist is one of the original 19 parishes in Louisiana. In 2010, its population was...

 parishes.

Geography

Gonzales is located at 30°13′38"N 90°55′11"W (30.227128, -90.919771).

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 8.4 square miles (21.8 km²), of which, 8.4 square miles (21.8 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.71%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 8,156 people, 2,966 households, and 2,156 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 974.2 people per square mile (376.2/km²). There were 3,332 housing units at an average density of 398.0 per square mile (153.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.40% White, 31.25% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.61% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.64% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.62% of the population.

There were 2,966 households out of which 36.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 17.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.3% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.4% under the age of 18, 10.1% from 18 to 24, 30.0% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 10.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,173, and the median income for a family was $43,117. Males had a median income of $38,731 versus $22,168 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $17,690. About 14.9% of families and 16.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.6% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government

The city is governed by a mayor-council form of government. The current mayor of Gonzales is
Barney Arceneaux.

Climate

Gonzales has hot summers, mild winters, and warm springs and falls. The area experiences rain and severe weather all year long. Snowfall is rare for the city but it has snowed December 2004, December 2008, December 2009, and February 2010. Hurricanes also pose a huge threat to the area due to its close location to the coastline of southeast Louisiana. The last hurricane to strike the area was Hurricane Gustav of September 2008. Gustav brought 80+ winds to the area with gusts over 100 mph.

History

Early settlers of the area which would eventually become Gonzales were, for the most part, of Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

 and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...

 ancestry, settling amidst the Houma Indians
Houma Tribe
The Houma people are a Native America tribe. They belong to the United Houma Nation, a state recognized tribe in Louisiana. They primarily live in East and West Feliciana, and Pointe Coupee Parishes, about 100 miles north of the town of Houma named for them, west of the mouth of the Mississippi...

 who lived in the area. By 1851, the small settlement had only ten residents. A school was established in 1855 by Adlard Gautreaux for the children in the area. By 1886, the settlement had grown to where the citizens of the community elected "Big" Joseph Gonzales as their sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

. Joseph's son, "Tee-Joe" Gonzales, opened a general store and post office in 1887. Because the post office was known as the Gonzales Post Office, a few years later the Railroad Commission ordered the local railroad to change the name of the community from Edenborn
Edenborn
Edenborn is a 2004 novel by Nick Sagan. It is the sequel to Idlewild, and takes place 18 years after that book. The sequel to this book and the final installment of the trilogy is Everfree.-Plot summary:...

 to Gonzales to match the post office name.

The epicenter of Gonzales, known as Chips Grocery, came into being in the late 70s. Previous epicenter was known as the "Fish N Pic". Made famous by its clientlle of infamous hooligans. The lead Hooligan, who is now a "respected" retired teacher is best known for his acrobatic miscalculations in left field.

The railroad assisted in the growth of Gonzales. It was officially incorporated as a village in 1922 by then Louisiana Governor John Parker
John Parker
John Parker may refer to:*John Parker , English-born merchant, politician and judge*John Parker , senior member of the judiciary during the interregnum, father of the Bishop of Oxford Samuel Parker...

 with Joseph Gonzales becoming the first mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

. The village continued to grow with the construction of Airline Highway, and Earl K. Long proclaimed Gonzales a town in 1952 during his term as governor. The first Jambalaya Festival was held in 1968, and Governor John J. McKeithen marked the occasion by proclaiming Gonzales the "jambalaya capital of the world." Following the growth of industrial corporations in the area, the town finally became a city in 1977 following a proclamation by Governor Edwin Edwards
Edwin Edwards
Edwin Washington Edwards served as the Governor of Louisiana for four terms , twice as many terms as any other Louisiana chief executive has served. Edwards was also Louisiana's first Roman Catholic governor in the 20th century...

. Gonzales became better known in 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck. The HSUS and other animal rescue groups along with the National Guard made a fairground in Gonzales their main search and rescue headquarters, as well as the location of storing pets picked up from New Orleans and many other locations. Some people were reunited with their lost pets at this same location.

National Guard

Gonzales is home to the 922nd Horizontal Engineer Company which is part of the 769th Engineer Battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

 headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

. This company does "horizontal" construction missions which in military parlance means it is tasked with building and/ or fixing roads. Both these units belong to the 225th Engineer Brigade which is located at Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville, Louisiana
Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is adjacent to the city of Alexandria, and is part of that city's Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,829 at the 2000 census....

 on Camp Beauregard
Camp Beauregard
For the American Civil War site, see Camp Beauregard Memorial in Water Valley.Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is currently operated by the Louisiana National Guard...

.

Sister cities

Gonzales has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...

: Meylan
Meylan
Meylan is a commune in the Isère department in south-eastern France.-Twin towns: Didcot, United Kingdom, since 1985 Gonzales, USA, since 1985 Planegg, Germany, since 1985...

, France

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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