Baker is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, and a part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 13,793 at the 2000 census.
The City of Baker is known as a Great American Hometown.
Ossie Brown, who served as East Baton Rouge Parish district attorney from 1972—1984, grew up in Baker and graduated from Baker High School. While a student there, he composed the Baker High alma mater [1]
Former Louisiana State Senator Mike Cross was the mayor of Baker from 1976-1981, having been preceded and succeeded in the latter position by Norman E. "Pete" Heine. Heine's successor, Bobby Simpson, a Republican, became the East Baton Rouge mayor-president in 2001.
Former Louisiana State Representative Tony Perkins resided in Baker until he relocated to Washington, D.C., to head the Family Research Council.
W.W. Dumas, the East Baton Rouge Parish mayor-president from 1965-1980, was from Baker, where he relocated after World War II to play semi-professional baseball.
Geography
Baker is located at 30°35′8″N 91°9′26″W / 30.58556°N 91.15722°W / 30.58556; -91.15722 (30.585637, -91.157096)[2].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 7.9 square miles (20.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 13,793 people, 4,971 households, and 3,782 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,747.3 people per square mile (675.0/km²). There were 5,389 housing units at an average density of 682.7/sq mi (263.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.97% White, 52.36% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.17% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.86% of the population.
There were 4,971 households out of which 39.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% were married couples living together, 21.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.9% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.8% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 10.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 84.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $35,151, and the median income for a family was $38,621. Males had a median income of $31,791 versus $22,177 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,920. About 13.4% of families and 15.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.5% of those under age 18 and 10.5% of those age 65 or over.
Baker did see an influx of New Orleans residents during the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but as of January 2007 only about 1,000 to 2,000 displaced families remain in Baker and most reside in temporary housing in the form of Federal Emergency Management Agency provided trailers, as stated above most displaced residents plan on returning to New Orleans or at least leaving Baton Rouge so the long term impact of Hurricane Katrina on Baton Rouge and surrounding areas is expected to be minimal.
Baker Buffalo Festival
The Baker Buffalo Festival is held every year in Baker on the last full weekend in September. The Festival was started in 1993 as a fundraiser for the schools in the Town of Baker. The schools and their organizations are able to use the Festival to raise money for their activities. Besides what they raise on their own, the Festival Committee also makes donations in the form of lump sums to all the schools that participate. It is a wonderful family affair that includes a festival, parade, Queen's pageant, and a car show.
Miss Baker Buffalo Festival Rose Queens
1993 - Kayla Bowman
1994 - Stephanie Garner
1995 - Shannon Granata
1996 - Hollye Whittle
1997 - Ginny Gautreaux
1998 - Christy Watkins
1999 - Courtney Lanier
2000 - Carrie Gagliano
2002 - Ari Ellerbe
2003 - Meredeth Johnson
2004 - Marliese Thomas
2005 – Jennifer Soileau
2006 – Eboni Williams
2007 – Whitney Breaux
2008 – Alisia Sons
2009 - Jessica Johnson
Sister cities
Baker has one sister city:
Education
Residents of the City of Baker are zoned to the City of Baker School System.
Unincorporated areas with Baker addresses are within the East Baton Rouge Parish Public Schools.
National Guard
Baker is home to the 926th MAC (mobility augmentation company) which is part of the 769th Engineer Battalion (combat) headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. These units belong to the 225th Engineer Brigade which is headquartered at Pineville, Louisiana on Camp Beauregard.
References
External links
