Louisiana Info
- Capital: Baton Rouge.
- State abbreviation/Postal code: LA.
- Nickname: Pelican State.
- Organized as territory: It was bought as part of the Louisiana Purchase,
so its history is a bit different in this respect from the territory to
state progression of most other states. The Louisiana Territory was an
incorporated territory of the USA and existed from 04 July, 1805 until 04
June 4, 1812.
- Entered Union: 30 April, 1812 (18th state in the Union).
- Present constitution adopted: Louisiana is now on its 11th Constitution.
Given the age of the state, you may be surprised at how recent this is. The
present Constitution was adopted by Constitutional Convention in 1974.
Voters ratified it on 20 April, 1974. It became effective on 01 January,
1975.
- Motto: Union, justice, and confidence.
- Land area: 51843 sq.mi.;
31st Land 43566 sq.mi., 33rd Water 8277 sq.mi., 5th Coastline 397 mi., 5th
Shoreline 7,721 mi., 3rd - Highest point: Driskill Mountain; 535 feet.
- Lowest point: As everyone knows since Hurricane Katrina, sea level is
not the lowest point in Louisiana. That distinction belongs to a an area of
New Orleans that's eight feet below sea level.
- Geographic center: Avoyelles, 3 miles southeast of Marksville.
- Number of parishes: 64.
- Major lakes: Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, Toledo Bend Reservoir.
- Major rivers: Mississippi River, Red River, Ouachita River, Atchafalaya
River.
State Symbols:
- Bird: Eastern Brown Pelican.
- Fish: White Perch.
- Flower: Magnolia Grandiflora.
- Tree: Bald Cypress.
Largest Cities:
- New Orleans.
- Baton Rouge.
- Shreveport.
- LaFayette.
- Lake Charles.
- Kenner.
- Bossier City.
- Monroe.
- Alexandria.
- New Iberia.
Some Famous Natives of Louisiana:
- Louis Armstrong. Musician.
- James Lee Burke. Author.
- George Washington Cable. Author.
- Truman Capote. Author.
- Kitty Carlisle. Musician, Actress.
- Patricia Clarkson. Actress.
- Ellen DeGeneres. Actress.
- Ernest Gaines. Author.
- Mahalia Jackson. Musician.
- John Larroquette. Actor.
- Elmore Leonard. Author.
- Jerry Lee Lewis. Musician.
- Huey Long. Politician, Criminal (ah, but I repeat myself....).
- Manning Football Dynasty: Archie, and his two sons: Eli and Peyton.
- Paul Prudhomme. Chef.
- Anne Rice. Author.
- Britney Spears. Musician. Drug connoisseur.
- Reese Witherspoon. Actress.
Interesting facts about the State
of Louisiana:
-
Louisiana has the tallest
state capitol building in the nation at 450 feet.
-
The Louisiana Superdome in
New Orleans is the largest enclosed stadium in the world.
The Lake Pontchartrain
Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87
miles.
Louisiana's 6.5 million
acres of wetlands are the greatest wetland area in America.
The oldest city in the
Louisiana Purchase Territory - Natchitoches, Louisiana , founded in
1714.
-
The first bottler of
Coca-Cola, Joseph Biedenharn, lived in Monroe, Louisiana and was one
of the founders of Delta Air Lines, initially called Delta Air
Service.
-
Delta Airlines got its start
in Monroe, Louisiana , when Parish Agent, C.E. Woolman, decided to
try dusting the Boll Weevil that was destroying the cotton crops in
the Mississippi River Delta from an airplane. It was the first crop
dusting service in the world.
-
Southern University in Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, is the largest predominantly black university in
America.
-
Baton Rouge was the site of
the only American Revolution battle outside the original 13
colonies.
-
The formal transfer of the
Louisiana Purchase was made at the Cabildo building in New Orleans
on December 20, 1803.
-
The staircase at Cretain
Point, in Sunset, Louisiana, was copied for Tara in "Gone with the
Wind."
-
Louisiana is the No. 1
producer of crawfish, alligators, and shallots in America.
-
Louisiana produces 24
percent of the nation's salt, the most in America.
-
Much of the world's food,
coffee and oil pass through the Port of New Orleans.
-
Tabasco, a Louisiana
product, holds the second oldest food trademark in the U.S. Patent
Office.
-
Steen's Syrup Mill in
Abbeville, Louisiana, is the world's largest syrup plant producing
sugar cane syrup.
-
America's oldest rice mill
is in New Iberia, Louisiana, at KONRIKO Co.
The International Joke
Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana.
-
LSU (The Ole War Skule) in
Baton Rouge has the distinction of contributing the most officers to
WW II after the U.S. Military academies.
-
The Louisiana Hayride radio
show helped Hank Williams, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash achieve
stardom. It was broadcast from KWKH Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana,
from 1948 to 1960.
-
Opelousas, Louisiana is the
birth place of Jim Bowie, the inventor of the Bowie knife and one of
the heroic defenders at the Alamo.
-
The term "Uncle Sam" was
coined on the wharfs of New Orleans before Louisiana was a U.S.
Territory. Goods labeled U.S. were from "Uncle Sam."
-
The game of craps was
invented in New Orleans in 1813 as betting was a common activity on
the wharves.
-
When states had their own
currencies, the Louisiana Dix (French for ten) was a favored
currency for trade. English speakers called them Dixies and coined
the term Dixieland.
-
New Orleans is the home of
the oldest pharmacy in America at 514 Chartres Street in the French
Quarter. These early medical mixtures became known as cocktails,
adding yet another term to the American lexicon.
-
New Orleans is the
birthplace of Jazz, the only true American art form.
Jazz gave birth to the Blues
and Rock and Roll music.
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