Zachary is a city located in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area in
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. As of the 2000 United States Census, the city population was 11,275. As the population of East Baton Rouge Parish
grows, Zachary is increasingly transforming itself from a country town to an affluent suburb of Baton Rouge. Land prices in
Zachary have increased dramatically in recent years because of this, and, as of 2006, the
displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina is expected to intensify this even more as
former residents of New Orleans neighborhoods move northward. However, the U.S.
Census Bureau released a population count for East Baton Rouge
Parish, done in July 2006 but released in Mach 2007 which includes Baker,
Louisiana and Zachary and found that only 19,264 displaced citizens remain in East Baton Rouge Parish which dismisses all
claims about Zachary's "intensifying" growth with only a small portion of displaced citizens remaining and many still consider
themselves "temporary" as they wait for federal recovery cash to return to their homes in the New Orleans metropolitan area or other Gulf Coast regions.
History
Zachary was named after a farmer who owned the land that became the present city of Zachary. According to local lore, Darel
Zachary was a very successful farmer until 1883 when the Illinois Central Railroad built a railroad track straight through his
land. The resulting train traffic killed many of his pigs and cows. Zachary sold his 160 acres of land for $1 per acre and left
nothing but his name in Zachary.
Zachary's first post office opened in 1885, and it was incorporated as a city in 1889. The first census in 1914 reported just
419 residents. By 1980, there were 7,525 residents, in 2000 there were 11,275 residents, and by 2006 the population had grown to
14,295.
The Zachary school district became independent from the East Baton Rouge Parish school district in 2005, and immediately
received the highest standardized test scores in the state of Louisiana.
Zachary was the first city in Louisiana to elect a Republican as
mayor. Jack Louis Breaux, Sr., served as a part-time mayor from 1966-1978, and a full-time mayor under a home-rule charter from 1978 until his death
of a brain tumor on January 26, 1980.
Geography
Zachary is located at 30°39′18″N, 91°9′24″W (30.655085,
-91.156781)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area
of 61.5 km² (23.8 mi²). 61.5 km² (23.7 mi²) of it
is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.13%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 11,275 people, 3,836 households, and 3,064 families residing
in the city. The population density was 183.5/km² (475.2/mi²). There were 4,076
housing units at an average density of 66.3/km² (171.8/mi²). 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.
Famous residents
Education
Unlike other residents of East Baton Rouge Parish, Zachary residents are served by the Zachary
Community School Board.
References
External links
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