Portions from From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972." thanks to Robert Vernon
The following is from the Tangipahoa Parish Phone book:
Louisiana became a state in 1812, nine years after the Louisiana Purchase. From this time until 1869, Tangipahoa Parish was a part of four bordering parishes which cornered not far from Amite. The term "parish" unique to Louisiana, corresponds to "county." French, Italian, Scottish, Irish, Spanish and Dutch settled the area, which was mostly primitve forest.
The parish is 53 miles long and 18 miles wide. From the Manchac Swamp in the south, through the tall pines and flat lands in the middle, to the rolling hills in the north, Tangipahoa Parish proves to be a sportsman's paradise. Tangipahoa Parish is located 40 miles from the state capital of Baton Rouge and 55 miles from New Orleans, making it an economically feasible home base for many small manufacturing plants, industries and warehouses.
AMITE:
Amite, incorporated in 1861, is the parish seat. Located in the center of Tangipahoa Parish, it is easily accessible from any location within the area.
Amite is well known for its oyster industry, dating back to 1949, and hosts the annual Oyster Festival each March.
Other items of interest are : excellent hunting, during open season each year; and Camp Moore State Commemorative Area, located just north of Amite, which houses the Confederate Museum and resting place for more than 500 Confederate soldiers. This was one of the South's largest Civil War training camps. The commerative area is located on a beautiful four acre site.
Early History and families of Amite
ARCOLA:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
Arcola, situated between Roseland and Fluker on U.S. Highway 51, appears to have received its name from one of the two towns in Italy, either Arco or Arcole, the latter also spelled Arcola. Arco in Italy "is a health resort, with a generally mild climate." The yellow fever epidemics in New Orleans during 1853 caused many residents fo flee the city. Some came to the present Arcola, La., region. The healthy air of this piney woods area could have inspired some learned person of the group to utter "Arcola," the journey being parallel in effect to making a pilgrimage to famous Arco, a place signifying balm to victims of one disease or another. The "La" (abbreviation for Louisiana) could have been appended to "Arco." On the other hand, Arcola could have been named for Arcole (or Arcola) also in Italy. In the swamps near Arcole, Napoleon defeated the Austrians. Is it too much to say that above the swamps between New Orleans and upper Tangipahoa Parish a victory was won against a dreaded disease?
Arcola was orgininally named Prospect Hill, the first hill north of New Orleans through which the railroad was to pass. Perhaps the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad was responsible for the new name. Because Arcola is more romantically suggestive than Prospect Hill, it might have been used by the railroad as a "sales pitch" for passengers. The railroad name could have remained in common use as in the case of Manchac, which is remembered in preferece to the name of Akers.
In 1960 Arcola had a population of about 150.
BAILEY:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
Shortly before the end of the nineteenth century and during the early years of the twentieth, the village of Bailey, which once had a rural post office, was located about one half mile west of the western boundary line of Washington Parish on La. Highway 1057. It was named for Caldwell H. Bailey, the first postmaster, who once owned a gristmill and cotton gin on Big Creek. He also had three sons -- Champ, Monroe, and Otto -- who attended the small Bailey schoolhouse.
BAPTIST:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
The railroad founded this rural community in 1907, and its name is a shortened form for the New Beulah Baptist Church, the church there then and the only church there now.
BOLIVAR:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
Bolivar Varnado, the first postmaster of the Bolivar community, named the post office after himself when it was established in 1900.
The name Bolivar became very popular with early citizens in the United States who saw in Simon Bolivar, the South American revolutionary, another George Washington. Many persons and places bear this truly American name. Vistors to New Orleans can see the city's Bolivar monument, a gift of Venezuela, at Basin and Canal Streets.
Tangipahoa's Bolivar is at the crossing of La. Highways 440 and 1061, in the corner of T2S-R8E.
CHESBROUGH:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
In 1902 there were three or four one-room schoolhouses in the community known as Chesbrough. "Chesbrough Brothers, a large northern timber syndicate, who owned great tracts of land in this section of the parish," promised to give lumber for a new schoolhouse if these separate schools would consolidate. When the large four-room school was erected its name became Chesbrough, thereby honoring Mr. A. M. Chesbrough of Toledo, Ohio, one of the brothers in the syndicate who helped to further education.
Chesbrough is about four miles southeast of the village of Tangipahoa on La. Highway 1054.
FLUKER:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
The place calle Fluker is located between the village of Tangipahoa and Arcola on U.S. Highway 51 at the junction (on the west side of U.S. 51) with La. Highway 10. In 1960 the population was about 150.
The name Fluker was chosen by Richard Amacker Kent (1871-1926), for the site of his home on the Illinois Central Railroad. R. A. Kent was the fourth child of James Fluker Kent (1843-1886). The latter's middle name honored his mother, Susan Fluker, (1823-1906), the daughter of Col. Robert and Susan Kendrick Fluker, who were St. Helena pioneers from the State of Georgia. Susan Fluker married Amos Kent, who came from New Hampshire to Louisiana in 1828.
HAMMOND:
Hammond, the commercial hub for Tangipahoa Parish, is located near the intersection of I-55 and I-22. Over 20,000 residents of this area enjoy fine restaurants, several modern shopping centers and many beautiful parks for the entire family to enjoy. Hammond is the home of Southeastern Louisiana University.
Hammond's Historic District has one of the most visually attractive, early twentieth century brick commercial structures in the state of Louisiana. The Illinois Central Railroad Depot , a Queen Anne style building, was built in 1912 and continues to serve Tangipahoa Parish as the only Amtrak passenger stop in Louisiana outside of New Orleans.
Since its beginnings, Hammond, which was first settled by the Peter Hammond family, has become a prosperous commercial and residential communtiy. It boasts a healthful climate, natural spring water, parks and recreational facilites.
Hammond Graveyard - where Peter Hammond is Buried
Hammond History - Article by Evelyn Neelis Robinson, 1934
HOLTON:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
Henry A. Holton, Sr., was the first postmaster of the post office established here on June 10, 1892. The post office and rural community surrounding it received the name of Holton from Henry A. Holton, Sr., who also died in 1892. H. A. Holton's ancestors came to America from the British Isles. His family was not related to that of William and Charles Houlton, who were the owners of the Lake Superior Piling Company.
Holton, located several miles east of Amite on La. Highway 16 at the junction with La. Highway 445, has the name of the Friendship community.
HUSSER:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
Husser is located north of Zemurray Park on La. Highway 445 and in the southwest corner of T4S-R9E.
The first Husser in this rural community was Lawrence Husser, a blacksmith, who came with his wife from Alsace-Lorraine. His son, Hypolite L. Husser, was the first postmaster when a post office was established in the community in 1888. Hypolite Husser once had the distinction of being the oldest living postmaster in the United States. Postal Records also show that on July 17, 1888, the Husser Post Office was established with Hypolite L. Husser as its first postmaster. The Husser community took its name for the Husser family, and more specifically from its first postmaster.
INDEPENDENCE:
Independence, located just south of Amite, is the ethnic culture focal point in the parish, with such attractions as the Little Italy Festival, attracting thousands of visitors each year.
KENTWOOD:
Kentwood, incorporated in 1891, and named after settler Amos Kent, is a beautiful area which emcompasses acres of dairy and grain farms. Kentwood is well known for its spring water.
LEE'S LANDING:
LORANGER:
MANCHAC:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
About ten miles south of Ponchatoula on U.S. Highway 51 is a fishing settlement called Manchac.
William Read in Louisiana Place-names of Indian Origin quotes the French explorer Penicaut, who once camped along the borders of a manchac found not very far from Lake Pontchartrain. Penicaut states that in French manchac means "a strait, a pass, or a rivulet, flowing from the Mississippi." His definition of the word Manchac is correct, according to Read, but he does not give the true source of this word. Read believes, along with Dr. Swanton (formerly of the Smithsonian Institute), that Manchac means "rear" or "rear entrance." The word could have derived from the Mobilian or Choctaw Imashaka. The nasalization of the second syllable would make it very close to the French word. The Choctaw perpostion, ashaka, means "in the rear" or "behind."
The settlement of Manchac in Tangipahoa Parish is located on Pass Manchac, the channel connecting Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas. Another use of this word occurs in the name of Bayou Manchac, which connects the Amite River and Mississippi River south of Baton Rouge.
MASON:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
Mason, the first station on the New Orleans, Natalbany & Natchez Railroad, was located one mile west of the Illinois Central Railroad station at Natalbany. It was a regular stop on the railroad, there being a supply house and a hotel at this point.
Jesse O. Stamps, a former employee of the Natalbany Lumber Company who now lives in New Orleans, said that it was named for John Mason (originally from Illinois or Iowa), the sales and credit manager of the Natalbany Lumber Company at that time.
NATALBANY:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
According to William Read, the word Natalbany might derive from the Choctaw nita, signifying "bear," or perhaps from the adjective bano, meaning "mere," or "only." Natlabany could, therefore, be translated "Lone Bear."
On the other hand, the Choctaw noun, abani, means "one who cures meat over a fire." This noun steams from the verb, abani, "to barbecue." The 2nd half of the word Natalbany might be derived from abani. This suppostition seems logical since early explorers often referred to barbecued bear meat.
Romans, in A Concise Natural History of East and West Florida, 204 (1775), writes of a "... Nita Albany, or Bean-Camp, at Lake Maurepas." His intention, says Read, was to record Bear-Camp; and he definitely failed to write the second element in its literal form by using the word camp, the Choctaw for Camp being abina. All of the early maps consistenly show bani to be the second element. Romans' interpretation, therefore, is probably near the truth; for Read contends that someone almost assuredly dealt in the curing of bear meat along the Natalbany River.
The Natalbany River heads both in the parishes of Tangipahoa and St. Helena, flows through the weastern part of Tangipahoa and a section of Livingston Parish, and unites with the Tickfaw River about two miles north of Lake Maurepas.
The village of Natalbany is located between Tickfaw and the city of Hammond on U.S. Highway 51. In 1960 the population was about 350.
PONCHATOULA:
Ponchatoula, the oldest incorporated city in the parish, is host to the popular Strawberry Festival every spring. The city derives its name from the Choctaw Indian language meaning "hair to hang" because of the abundance of Spanish moss on the trees surrounding the area.
Stocked with numerous art, antique and hand crafted items, as well as home-grown produce, Ponchaotula has at is center the "Country Market." The Collinswood School Museum, located across the way from the "Country Market," contains numerous artifacts from the rich historical past of Ponchatoula.
More about Ponchatoula
Ponchatoula Link
PUMPKIN CENTER:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
About seven miles west of Ponchatoula on Highway 22, there is a sign labeled "Pumpkin Center," designating the Pumpkin Center Road, which connects La Highway 22 and La Highway 1040 (the old Baton Rouge Highway).
In all probability, the name of this rural community originates from a fictitious place which once existed in the entertainment world. A few years prior to World War I and a good many more years before the advent of radio, many Americans were delighted by the records of the comedy team of Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy, who lived at a place called Pumpkin Center. The Thomas Morris ("Uncle Mott") Coates family, one of the then unnamed Pumpkin Center community of Tangipahoa Parish, enjoyed these records as a part of home recreation.
Some time later, residents of the still unnamed community formed a baseball team just as had been done in nearby Wadesboro, Springfield and Albany. Because the settlement was beginning to grow and the ball team had no name, a member of the community suggested that is was time to name the team. Various names were offered, among them "Pea Ridge" and "Pumpkin Center." According to John A Hollis, the man who suggested that the team be named was also the man who suggested the name of Pumpkin Center; namely, Albert ("Uncle Ab") Coates, the eldest son in the Coates family mentioned earlier. The name must have derived from the place called Pumpkin Center on the Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy records. There were no great abundance of pumpkins in the locality; A. W. Coates, however, is known to have raised some.
Mr. Coates, an outstanding member of the community, was known for his humorous terminology. For example, he called his first estate Bunker's Hill; his second one, Big A-Plenty; The Jerusalem Baptist Church, Needmore Church. Of such designations, Pumpkin Center, of course, remains as a memorial to his wit.
ROBERT:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
About six or seven miles east of Hammond on U.S. Highway 190 is Robert, a community with a post office, once a regular stop on the Baton Rouge, Hammond & Eastern Railroad.
Robert is an abbreviated form of the family name Robertson. Before the days of the railroad, William Holden Robertson and his family settled in the region. The closest neighbor to the Robertsons was about a mile away. When the railroad reached this point about 1906, going east, someone suggested that the station be called Riverdale; but since the depot was to be located on William H. Robertson's land, the owner of the property said it should be named Robert. The name was shortened because of the railroad's preference for uniformity and simplicity in naming. The stops east of Hammond in Tangipahoa Parish became Coburn, Bankston, Breckwoldt, Robert, and Lorraine, all names containing two syllables.
The population of Robert in 1960 was about 150.
ROSARYVILLE:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
Slightly over four miles west of Ponchatoula on La. Highway 22 is a sign designating the road to Rosaryville. Turning south off the highway, one goes about one mile to find it at the point where the little road veers east.
In 1902 the Benedictine priests left this place, which they had originally settled and called Gessen; in 1911 the Dominican priests of Spain possessed the place under the name of Rosaryville. The Spanish Dominicans had been searching for a place in America at which to establish a school of philosophy for their aspirants to Far Eastern missionary work. Father Thomas Lorente, O.P., Vice Provincial of the Spanish Dominican Fathers in Louisiana, negotiated with the Benedictines and acquired Gessen.
At the request of Father Lorente, Mother Mary de Ricci (Mother Prioress of the Dominican Sisters in New Orleans) suggested Rosaryville for two reasons as an appropriate name for the Dominican house of studies. Since tradition says that St. Dominic, the founder of the order, inititated the special devotion called the rosary at the behest of the Virgin Mary and since the Spanish priests were coming to Louisiana from the Holy Rosary Province of Spain, Rosaryville would be an apt name to replace Gessen.
The name was accepted, of course, and the Spanish priests continued at Rosaryville until 1938. At this time the war in Spain demanded that most of the religious groups be recalled, but their work extended in southeast Louisiana under the American Dominican priests of St. Albert's Province.
In 1989 the Dominican Sisters of the Congregation of St. Mary moved their novitiate out of New Orleans to Rosaryville, it becoming their first permanent one.
The name of the novitiate has remained Rosaryville, since the sisters were also followers of St. Dominic.
ROSELAND:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
Between Amite and Arcola on U.S. Highway 51 is the town of Roseland.
The following remarks relating to the origin of Roseland are taken from an original brochure entitled "Map and Plan of Roseland Colony":
"It was suggested by a number of the readers of the Farm, Field, and Stockman who desired to escape the rigors of the northern winters, that its publishers should devise some plan and take the lead in organizing a colony in Louisiana. In accordance with this wish we sent an expert down to select a suitable tract of land for this purpose, who, after spending two months traveling over the country, decided upon the present site of Roseland, in Tangipahoa Parish, as the best."
Shortly after 1886, a purchasing committee was formed which soon bought the present Roseland area from E. F. Herwig and a Mr. Woods.
The first settlers, the J. H. Siples family, arrived on September 3, 1888. Before the end of the year, others came. Some of these family names were the following: Pierce, Bond, Richardson, Lane, Chapin, Brooks, Rownd, Benson, and Strong. By the end of 1888, about thirty- five persons enjoyed Christmas dinner under the oak tree at the J. M. Chapin residence. Fittingly , the first child born in the colony was named Nellie Roseland Hunt.
The name of the Roseland Colony stemmed from the many wild Cherokee roses which the promoters of the colony found growing in the region in the latter part of the nineteenth century. Although the old rose hedges have long since been destroyed, today these thorny and prolific roses can still be seen blooming in the spring just south of Roseland across from the Dibert, Bancroft and Ross steel foundry and in front of Neola farm.
Roseland was first incorporated in 1892, and in 1960 the population was 1,254.
SHILOH:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
Shiloh was a flag station located a little over two miles south of Amite on the Illinois Central Railroad.
Miss Margaret McMichael, a lifelong resident of Amite, relates the following story which she heard from her parents: Around 1890 Dr. Le Monnier, a retired coroner from New Orleans, purchased from J. Cunningham some land on the east side of the railroad track at the point to become known as Shiloh. Proud to have served in the Confederate army, he named his home Shiloh in honor of the famous battle of the Civil War. At the entrance of the pecan tree-shaded lane leading to the house was a sign with one word, SHILOH.
The conveyance records in Amite show that on January 9, 1890, a Dr. Yves Rene Le Monnier bought this land from a John Dupree Cunningham.
Today the house is gone, long since consumed in flames; but the site is marked by pecan trees growing amidst a Negro tenement section. A very short distance south of here on the west side of the railroad track and on U. S. Highway 51, there is a sign with two words, CLUB SHILOH.
TANGIPAHOA:
TICKFAW:
From Tangipahoa Centenial Book, 1869-1969:
"Pine rest" is the meaning of Tickfaw according to William Read's first analysis. It derives from a contraction of the Choctaw words tiak, "pine," and foha, "rest" or "ease."
On the other hand, the revised edtion of Read's Louisiana-French, published posthumously in 1968 and containing a section on Indian placenames, reveals a correction. The short entry reads: "TICKFAW, >From Choctaw poa, "wild beasts," a, "there," and tikafa, "shed their hair." His final translation of Tickfaw is, therefore, "wild beasts there shed their hair."
The Tickfaw River heads in Mississippi, flows south through the parishes of St. Helena and Livingston, and empties into Lake Maurepas.
The village of Tickfaw is located between Independence and Natalbany on U.S. Highway 51.
UNEEDUS:
VELMA:
WILMER:
From "Individual Studies of Place Names in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, James Valsin Coumes, Tangipahoa Parish Resource Unit, Tangipahoa Parish School Board, 1972."
The rural community of Wilmer is at the intersection of La. Highways 10 and 1061 in the northeast corner of T3S-R8E.
The first name of the Wilmer area was Kingsbury's Crossing: J. W. Kingsbury, for whom it was named owned a grocery store there.
Then on December 2, 1905, the Wilmer Post Office was established with William D. Cox as its
first postmaster. Cox had carried a petition for its establishment in the community: and when
the Post Office Department sent him a list of names from which to select a title, he
considered naming it for himself in order to avoid confusion and delay in mail distribution,
the Post Office Department stipulated that no two post offices in one state could have the
same name. Since William and Willie had already been established in Louisiana, Cox
presumably spent a sleepless night scrutinizing the formidable list. At five o'clock the next
morning he decided upon Wilmer, thereby getting the first syllable of his given name in the
official title of the post office.
