Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Ponchatoula, Louisiana
City
Ponchatoula during the 2007 Strawberry Festival
Nickname: Strawberry Capital of the World
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Tangipahoa
Elevation	26 ft (7.9 m)
Coordinates
Area	4.2 sq mi (10.9 km2)
- land	4.2 sq mi (11 km2)
- water	0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0%
Population	5,180 (2000)
Density	1,226.7 / sq mi (473.6 / km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	70454
Area code	985
Location of Ponchatoula in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Website: City of Ponchatoula, Louisiana

Ponchatoula is a small city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,180 at the 2000 census. Ponchatoula is the "Strawberry Capital of the World". It is part of the Hammond Micropolitan Statistical Area. The current mayor is Bob Zabbia.

History

Ponchatoula was established as a mining camp in 1820, and incorporated as a town on February 12, 1861. William Akers was the city's first mayor, and is credited with founding the town, establishing it on land he purchased from the federal government in 1832. At the turn of the 20th century Ponchatoula changed its main export from lumber to commercial farming. Nearly every family farmed in some form. The main produce was the strawberry of which the town grew so much it earned the nickname "The Strawberry Capital" or "Strawberry Capital of The World". The families that were major farmers during this era that lasted for eighty years have their last names engraved on a large plaque in front of the city hall. During the 1980s the city's economy changed to tourism when farming stopped bringing enough money to sustain the town. The mayor at the time devised a plan to open antique shops where former businesses used to be. There are still about six of these shops open today.This also earned the town a second nickname being "The Antique City".

The Strawberry Festival's roots go back to when farmers joined to sell the spring harvest of strawberries. It wasn't until Ponchatoula changed from farming to tourism, however, when this gathering became a festival. Today the festival is the second largest in the state, only second to Mardi Gras.

Ponchatoula is a name signifying "falling hair" or "hanging hair" or "flowing hair" from the Choctaw Pashi "hair" and itula or itola "to fall" or "to hang" or "flowing". The Indian name Ponchatoula means "flowing hair", arrived at by the Indians as a way of expressing the beauty of the location, with much moss hanging from the trees. "Ponche" is an Indian word meaning location, object, or person. The name is eponymous with the Ponchatoula Creek, which flows from points north of the city and into the Natalbany River southwest of the city. See Ponchatoula Creek, USS Ponchatoula (AOG 38), and USS Ponchatoula (AO 148).

Civil War

Ponchatoula was pillaged in 1863 by the Union Army during the American Civil War. After a light skirmish, Confederate troops withdrew, and the Sixth Michigan occupied the town. Historian John D. Winters describes the fate of Ponchatoula:

"Women and children scampered about, begging for protection. There was no Confederate force to be found, and suddenly all discipline crumbled. The men went wild, and they were joined in the orgy of pillage by their corpulent commander Colonel [Thomas S.] Clark. First the depot was sacked, and the men grabbed up bundles and boxes they found stored within. The next targets were the two small stores in the village. The doors were battered in, and the blue-coated soldiers rushed in. The liquor supply was quickly confiscated. The post office was...

"Colonel Clark was disappointed to find no cotton in Ponchatoula, but he consoled himself by gathering all of the mules and wagons in the vicinity, loading them with valuable turpentine and resin and with the plunder of the village, and sending them . . . to be loaded aboard waiting schooners. The citizens of the town who remained behind were administered the Federal oath of allegiance and promised protection by the officers."

Satanic ritual abuse

In May 2005 local police discovered that "ritualistic child abuse accompanied by sacrifices and group sex" had been carried out at the town's Hosanna Church between 1999–2003. The investigation followed a telephone call made to the sheriff's office in April 2005 in which a local woman said she had fled to Ohio, fearing for the safety of her child. On June 20, 2005, Louis Lamonica, the pastor of Hosanna Church, walked into the Livingston Parish sheriff's office and "matter-of-factly ticked off a list of offenses committed by himself and others in his flock [including] anal, oral and vaginal sex with children." Rituals conducted at the church involved the use of robes, pentagrams on the church floor, sex with a dog and the sacrifice of cats, and the rape of "up to two dozen [children] ranging from infants to young teenagers", including the perpetrators' own children. Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards, a former state prosecutor, said some of the perpetrators had admitted that "devil worship was the reason for their participation." Police reported that Lamonica also claimed that the children were taught how to perform sexual acts with each other and with animals.

In November 2007 the first trial arising from the investigations began. Don Wall, assistant district attorney in Tangipahoa Parish, said there would be "little mention" of devil worship as it was not itself against the law. Speaking in 2009, Wall said: "I kept this devil worshipping stuff to a small portion of the trial. Worshipping the devil is not illegal. Child molestation is. That's what I focused on." On December 5, 2007, Austin "Trey" Bernard III was convicted of three counts of aggravated rape involving children, including his own 2-year-old daughter and a 12-year-old boy. He received 3 life sentences. Another church member pleaded guilty to sexual battery of the same girl and received a 10-year sentence. Lamonica was convicted and sentenced in 2008 to four concurrent life terms for having sex with his own sons.

Geography

Ponchatoula is located at (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.

Ponchatoula 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 get to New Orleans by land, giving it the title of "Gateway to New Orleans."

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1870	320		—
1880	293		−8.4%
1890	459		56.7%
1900	711		54.9%
1910	1,055		48.4%
1920	955		−9.5%
1930	2,898		203.5%
1940	4,001		38.1%
1950	4,090		2.2%
1960	4,727		15.6%
1970	4,545		−3.9%
1980	5,469		20.3%
1990	5,425		−0.8%
2000	5,180		−4.5%
2010	6,559		26.6%
Est. 2014	6,907		5.3%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the 2000 census, there were 5,180 people, 1,984 households, and 1,372 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,226.7 people per square mile (473.9/km²). There were 2,175 housing units at an average density of 515.1 per square mile (199.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.20% White, 36.83% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.12% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.50% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.85% of the population.

There were 1,984 households out of which 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.2% were married couples living together, 23.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 9.9% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 85.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 79.1 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,244, and the median income for a family was $29,583. Males had a median income of $30,285 versus $18,952 for females. The per capita income for the city was $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.

Events

Ponchatoula hosts the annual Strawberry Festival each April and the annual Oktoberfest each October.

Ponchatoula is noted for its many antique shops along Pine Street (LA 22). These shops are open year-round.

Tourism

Ponchatoula is a small town, but it has several visitor attractions including a sign on the outskirts of town with how many miles it lies from the famous Wall Drug store in South Dakota.

The old train depot has been converted into the Country Market, a series of booths for local craftsmen and artisans. Next door is the Art Car, a train car which has been turned into an art gallery for local painters. In the same block lived Ole Hardhide, an alligator credited with "writing" a column in The Ponchatoula Times newspaper. The current Hardhide is the fourth by that name.

Across Highway 22 from Hardhide is the Collinswood School Museum, a former one-room schoolhouse which now 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 car.

The Chamber of Commerce's office is located on Highway 22 at the railroad tracks and has information of these and other sights in Ponchatoula and the surrounding area.

Notable people

• Dennis Paul Hebert, Sr., state representative for Tangipahoa Parish, 1972-1996
• Jimmy Kuhn, judge Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal First Circuit.
• Trevante Rhodes, sprinter.
• Bernie Smith, baseball player.
• Irma Thomas, singer.
• Earl Wilson, baseball player.
• Michael I. Jordan, researcher in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence.
• Jake Laird, music producer.
• Connor Morgan, Actor, Singer Song-writer.
• Brendon Wells, Hip-Hop artist.

External links

• City of Ponchatoula.
• Ponchatoula Times
• Ponchatoula High School