History of Lake Charles, Louisiana
History
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18th and 19th centuries
Early historical events, settlement and incorporation
Before European colonisation, the Lake Charles area was home to the Native American Atakapa Ishak tribe.[1] The first European colonizers arrived in the 1760s.
In 1781, Martin LeBleu and his wife, Dela Marion, of
The Rio Hondo, which flowed through
Industrial growth and the Civil War
The city's growth was fairly slow until Captain Daniel Goos, a
Jacob Ryan convinced the state government to move the parish seat to Lake Charles from its former location at Marion, a settlement about eight miles (13 km) upriver. Later that year, Ryan and Samuel Kirby transferred the parish courthouse and jail by barge to the then-named Charleston. Six years after the city was incorporated, dissatisfaction over the name Charleston arose and, on March 16, 1867, Charleston, Louisiana, was renamed and incorporated as the town of Lake Charles.
By the time of the
After the Civil War
In the years following the Civil War, Lake Charles regained its status as a lumbering center. Especially in the 1880s, the city saw an increase in population and economic demand largely due to an innovative advertising campaign by J.B. Watkins. Thanks to that campaign, the city's population grew four-hundred percent during the decade.
Using the pine wood from the city's mills, construction of large Victorian mansions transformed Lake Charles during the 1890s. Carpenters competed enthusiastically to out-build each other, using elaborate fretwork and decoration. The area of present-day Lake Charles just east of downtown is known as the "Charpentier Historic District", from the French word for carpenter, and features unique homes from that era.
Lumber industry
In the early 1880s, Michigan lumber tycoons, including R. H. Nason and N. B. Bradley, as well as William E. Ramsey (originally from Canada), had purchased large tracts of land in the area. In 1887 the "Bradley-Ramsey Lumber Company" was formed by the "Michigan Men", who included Ramsey, Nason, Bradley, Lewis Penoyer and Benton Hatchett, owning over 150,000 acres. The company built two sawmills, Michigan mill and the Mt. Hope mill, in the area. The mill of J. A. Bel, a local businessman, originally from New Orleans but in the area from youth, became the second largest.[3]
1912
By 1912, the American Lumberman Equipment Register listed the J. A. Bel Lumber Company., Ltd, Calcasieu Long Leaf Lumber Company (Hdq. Long-Bell Lumber Co. Kansas City, Mo.), Hodge Fence & Lumber Company (machine shop and 12 miles of railroad), Lyons Lumber Company (also in Thicket, Texas) with four miles of railroad, and Powell Lumber Company with a machine shop.[4]
Twentieth century
On April 23, 1910, a great fire, known as the "Great Fire of 1910", devastated much of the city. The 1890 courthouse, along with most of downtown Lake Charles, was destroyed. Two months afterwards, the Louisiana legislature divided the former Imperial Calcasieu Parish into the current parishes of
After World War II, Lake Charles experienced industrial growth with the onset of the petrochemical refining industries. The Lake Charles Civic Center, built on reclaimed land on the lakefront in the 1970s, hosted many national shows, acts, and pop singers such as Elvis Presley. The population of the city reached some 80,000 people in the early 1980s, but with a local economic recession, it declined. With the advent of the gaming industry, the city began to grow again. As of the 2000 United States census, the city had a population of 71,757.
Present day
Lake Charles suffered extensive damage from
On June 20, 2006, a Citgo petroleum plant located in Sulphur, Louisiana released between 15,000 and 18,000 barrels (2.4 and 2.9 megalitres) of oil into the Calcasieu Ship Channel. The United States Coast Guard was called in to contain the spilled oil, which had by that time flowed down the Calcasieu River. Because of the disaster, the Coast Guard had to close many waterways, including the Calcasieu River Channel and a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Port of Lake Charles remained closed for some time after the accident, due to contamination.[5]
Oil prices surged to over $74 per barrel, in part due to the Citgo spillage. The Calcasieu Refining Co., which normally processes 76,500 barrels (12.16 megalitres) of oil a day, was working at low levels[specify] for weeks after the incident.[6]
As part of the city's recovery from Hurricane Rita, elected officials proposed a plan to renovate the downtown area to make it more attractive and pedestrian-friendly. A primary concern for the revitalization was to include quality and affordable housing. To fund that proposal, officials proposed a city-wide bond issue. To date, about one third of the 90-million dollar bond proposal has been spent. The Lakefront Promenade is currently under construction,[when?] as is the 52-berth marina just south of the Civic Center grounds. The monies issued from the bond will also be used for other capital projects throughout the city.
In 2008, a report showed that overall criminal offenses in the city were down 15%, and major crimes were down 9%.[7]
In 2020, the city was badly damaged again by Category 4 Hurricane Laura. Many homes were damaged or destroyed and the Capitol One Building was heavily damaged, with many of its windows being blown out.
References
- ^ "Atakapa Ishak". Atakapa Ishak Nation. Retrieved 2023-05-24.
- ^ Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. "Lake Charles Historical Marker". Retrieved January 23, 2013.
- ^ Lake Charles Emerges as Early Lumber Center: (pp. 10)- Retrieved 2018-11-28
- ^ List of Louisiana Sawmills and Logging Railroads in 1912 (American Lumberman Equipment Register) retrieved 2022-03-26
- ^ Atkinson, Vince (2006-06-20). "Lake Charles Port All But Shuts Down". KPLC-TV. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ Shevory, Kristina (2006-07-12). "Oil Holds Above $74 a Barrel". TheStreet.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-02-07.
- ^ "City of Lake Charles, Louisiana". cityoflakecharles.com. Retrieved 2013-01-24.