| Communities | Economy | History / Markers | Local Government |
| Location / Geography | Media | Parks and Recreation | Schools and Libraries |
| Parish Map | Top of page | ||
The links below will tell you more about each community. | |||
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Tchefuncte River Lake Maurepas Lake Pontchartrain Natalbany River |
| Camp Moore | Church of the Incarnation | City of Hammond |
| Grace Memorial Episcopal Church | Independence | Pass Manchac |
| Peter Hammond | Ponchatoula Depot | Mt. Vernon Walnut |
| Roncal | Tangipahoa | Thirty-First Parallel |
History | |
| 1805 |
When the Territory of Orleans is divided into counties the present-day Tangipahoa Parish is part of Spanish West Florida |
| 1831 |
The town of Independence in Tangipahoa Parish is known as Uncle Sam when settled in the 1830s. |
| 1854 |
The railroad comes through Hammond, which becomes a shoemaking center for the Confederacy during the Civil War. The town was planned in the 1860s, and by the early twentieth century is known as the Strawberry Capital of America. The original Ponchatoula railroad depot is built by the New Orleans, Jackson & Great Northern Railroad (later Illinois Central). The depot is burned when Union forces captured town in March 1863. Rebuilt c. 1865. Present depot built in 1894 & remodeled in the 1920s. |
| 1881 |
Italian families began to arrive in Independence early in the 1880s. Because of its heritage, the town has come to be known as Little Italy. Downtown historic district created by city in 1982. |
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Tangipahoa Parish has recently completed rebuilding and refurbishing all of its public schools. The school system is administered by the Tangipahoa School Board and consists of the following: No. of Schools Enrollment Elementary 20 10,288 Middle/Jr. High 5 2,341 Sr. High 7 4,839 A regional Catholic high school has just begun its fourth year in a new facility and there are a total of eight private or parochial schools available in the area. The needs of special, handicapped students are met at the C.M. Fagan School just north of Hammond. A private foundation, the Tangipahoa Association for Retarded Citizens, offers educational programs for these special citizens. Just west of the city is the Hammond State School, part of LouisianaÀs system of specialized campuses for the training and care of the mentally handicapped. Hammond is also the home of the Louisiana Special Olympics. |
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For those who chose to pursue a career in the trade and industrial sector, Hammond Area Vocational School, part of LouisianaÀs system of vocational training, offers many programs in several exciting fields. Florida Parish Vocational School in nearby Greensburg also serves the northern communities of Tangipahoa Parish. To assure that new and expanding businesses have a continuing pool of workers with the level of education and expertise necessary for their operations, the area’s colleges and universities, vocational/technical schools and high schools graduate trained and entry-level persons year round. Schools at all levels are augmenting their general education missions with programs explicitly connected with employment possibilities for their students. This is seen in secondary schools in career education curricula and programs such as adopt-a-school through which business contributes resources, curriculum guidance and, in some cases, instruction, counseling and the promise of jobs for graduates. Community colleges are increasing their industry-specific training and colleges and universities are developing partnerships with industry that involve human as well as technological development. |
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Education |
Within an hour's drive of Hammond are eleven major colleges or universities. Five of these offer doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences, engineering, medical and legal fields. These universities are nationally and internationally recognized as sponsoring extensive research activities. Louisiana State University (LSU) 40 miles Tulane University 55 miles Southern University 40 miles Southern Univ. @ New Tangipahoa (SUNO) 55 miles University of New Orleans (UNO) 55 miles LSU Medical Center 55 miles Tulane University Medical Center55x miles Loyola University 55 miles Xavier University 55 miles Dillard University 55 miles |
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Hammond is the proud home of Southeastern Louisiana University. About 10,000 students each semester pursue degrees on the beautiful, tree shaded campus marked by the distinctive, dedicated facility. The university, offering associate, bachelorÀs and masterÀs degrees in a wide variety of fields, is divided into the College of Business, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education and the School of Nursing. Degrees are offered in 90 academic disciplines. Southeastern offers many courses at night to accommodate the growing number of non-traditional students who are interested in pursuing a degree. Additionally, the university is the cultural mecca for the entire region. Throughout the year, Southeastern offers concerts, drama, musicals, art exhibits and distinguished lectures for its facility, staff, students and the public. The presence of Southeastern in Hammond lends the city a cosmopolitan flavor that makes community something very special. Other items of note about the university: € Enrollment has increased steadily over the last seven semesters. € Southeastern's College of Business is among the most elite in the nation and has been granted unconditional accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. Only 12% of all college-based schools of business in the nation have received this Accreditation. € Southeastern's Industrial Technology Department is one of the 35 in the nation to be accredited by the National Association of Industrial Technology. The department recently placed first in national competition and second in international competition at the 17th International Symposium on Industrial Robots. € 97% of the students in Southeastern's College of Education passed the 1989 National TeacherÀs Exam. € Southeastern's Honors Program was one of only a dozen or so in the country and the only one in Louisiana to receive national recognition for excellence in nationwide study by the National Endowment for the Humanities. € Students from Southeasten's nursing school has received a $1 million federal grant to head a three-university graduate nursing consortium. € Southeastern's men's tennis team not only has the best Division I winning record over the last three years, but the nationÀs highest overall academic averages‹a 3.5 GPA. € Southeastern's October "Fanfare," a month-long celebration of the arts and humanities, attracted over 13,000 people last year. It promises to be a major cultural event in Louisiana in the coming year. € SLU University Center, a 7,500 seat, 15,000 square-foot arena serves Southeastern and the community in attracting small conventions and providing excellent facilities for athletic and social events. The Center has parking spaces for approximately 2,500 cars. |
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Director - Pat Sledge 200 E. Mulberry St. P. O. Drawer 640 Amite, LA 70422 Email slou3010@selu.edu or sledge@i-55.com 6 Branches - Amite, Hammond, Independence, Kentwood, Loranger, Ponchatoula. The public is also invited to utilize the library at Southeastern Louisiana University. This facility is housed in a magnificent new building that incorporates the latest in library technology including a computerized system that greatly facilitates location of reading materials. Southeastern's library also houses an extensive collection of local historical and genealogical data in the Center for Regional Studies. American Library Directory 1999-2000, R. R. Bowker |
