Zachary, Louisiana

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Zachary, Louisiana
City
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parish East Baton Rouge
Elevation 102 ft (31.1 m)
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Area 23.8 sq mi (61.6 km2)
 - land 0.04 sq mi (0 km2)
Population 11,275 (2000)
Density 475.2 / sq mi (183.5 / km2)
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code 70791
Area code 225 Exchanges: 654,658

Zachary is a city in the East Baton Rouge parish of Louisiana in the United States. It lies fourteen miles north of the city of Baton Rouge, and had a population of 14,960 at the 2010 census.

History

File:Zachary Railroad Depot.jpg
Zachary Railroad Depot

Much of the land which the city now occupies was part of an 160-acre farm owned by Darel Zachary (1827-1907).[1] In the 1880s, Zachary sold his land to the Illinois Central Railroad, who built a track and a depot on it.[2] A village quickly grew up around the depot, which came to be called "Zachary" after the original farmer. Zachary's first post office was opened in 1885, and it was incorporated as a city on August 2, 1889,[3] with Thomas Edward McHugh as its first mayor.[4] A fire devastated the city in 1903, supposedly caused by a greengrocer trying to flame-ripen his bananas. The "historic village" at the center of the city is composed of buildings which either survived the fire, or were built shortly after it, the oldest (excluding the depot) being the 1898 Allison House. The first census was carried out in 1914 and reported just 419 residents. Zachary was the first city in Louisiana since the Reconstruction to elect a Republican as mayor, Jack Louis Breaux.[4]

Geography

Zachary is located at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (30.655085, −91.156781).[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.8 square miles (62 km2), of which 23.7 square miles (61 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.13%) is water.

Climate

Climate data for Zachary
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 54.7
(12.6)
61.8
(16.6)
70
(21)
77.1
(25.1)
83.7
(28.7)
90.5
(32.5)
91.6
(33.1)
90.4
(32.4)
85.1
(29.5)
78.1
(25.6)
69.1
(20.6)
60.7
(15.9)
76.1
(24.5)
Average low °F (°C) 34.1
(1.2)
39.9
(4.4)
49.1
(9.5)
56.4
(13.6)
63
(17)
71.5
(21.9)
72.8
(22.7)
71.6
(22)
67.5
(19.7)
54.6
(12.6)
48.1
(8.9)
38.1
(3.4)
55.6
(13.1)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 5.8
(147)
5.3
(135)
4.9
(124)
5.1
(130)
5.5
(140)
6
(150)
5.2
(132)
5.7
(145)
4.8
(122)
4.9
(124)
4.2
(107)
5.3
(135)
62.6
(1,590)
Source: Weatherbase[6]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1900 465
1910 419 −9.9%
1920 524 25.1%
1930 626 19.5%
1940 730 16.6%
1950 1,542 111.2%
1960 3,268 111.9%
1970 4,964 51.9%
1980 7,297 47.0%
1990 9,036 23.8%
2000 11,275 24.8%
2010 14,960 32.7%
Est. 2014 16,219 [7] 8.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]

As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 11,275 people, 3,836 households, and 3,064 families residing in the city. The population density was 475.2 people per square mile (183.5/km²). There were 4,076 housing units at an average density of 171.8 per square mile (66.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.76% White, 28.72% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.

There were 3,836 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.26.

The population was spread out across age groups with 30.0% under 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males in the same age range.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,669, and the median income for a family was $57,389. Males had a median income of $45,092 versus $25,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,554. About 6.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Education

Zachary residents are served by the Zachary Community School Board.

The Zachary Community School System separated from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in 2003.[10]

References

  1. "History of Zachary" Town Square Publications, 2005.
  2. "Archivist Retraces Zachary’s History from Original Train Depot, Revolution, Resurrection from Fire" C. J. Futch for the Advocate, March 25, 2015.
  3. "A Look Back at Our History" Margaret Harmon, historian and archivist for the Zachary United Methodist Church, September 2011.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "History of Zachary" City of Zachary.
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Retrieved on November 24, 2011.
  7. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. "Zachary tax vote test of independence ideal." The Advocate, November 13, 2003.

External links