Pearl River, Louisiana

Town in Louisiana, United States

Pearl River, Louisiana

Town

Town of Pearl River

Pearl River Municipal Complex

Motto:

Home of the Honey Island Swamp

Location of Pearl River in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana.

Location of Louisiana in the United States

Coordinates: 30°22′16″N 89°45′04″W﻿ / ﻿30.37111°N 89.75111°W﻿ / 30.37111; -89.75111
Country| United States
State| Louisiana
Parish| St. Tammany
Incorporation (Village)| May 24, 1906
Town| 1964
Government

• Mayor| David McQueen (R) (Reelected 2018) (R)
• Chief of Police| Jack Sessions (R) (Elected 2018)
• Alderwoman| Bridgett Yates Bennett (2014–present) (R)
• Alderwoman| Angel Galloway (I)
• Alderman| Joe D. Lee (R)
Area

[1]

• Total

| 3.81 sq mi (9.86 km2)
• Land| 3.73 sq mi (9.67 km2)
• Water| 0.07 sq mi (0.19 km2)
Elevation

| 26 ft (8 m)
Population

(2020)

• Total

| 2,565
• Density| 686.93/sq mi (265.20/km2)
Time zone| UTC−06:00 (CST)
• Summer (DST)| UTC−05:00 (CDT)
ZIP code|

70452[2]

Area code| 985
FIPS code| 22-59445
Website| pearlriverla.com

Pearl River is a town in St. Tammany Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,506 at the 2010 U.S. census,[3] and 2,618 at the 2020 population estimates program.[4] It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area.

## History

[edit]

The community that is today Pearl River was originally known as Halloo, a moniker it reputedly garnered from loggers yelling to one another as they labored along the nearby Pearl River. The town was founded in 1859. Early Halloo was a small railroad town, located at the junction of the Northeastern and Poitevent and Favre's East Louisiana Railroads. In 1886 a train station was constructed at the site, and two years later Samuel Russ Poitevent (June 4, 1852– June 3, 1904), established the first store in the village. The community's name was first changed from Halloo (1859) to Pearl (1878), later to Pearlville (1881), and eventually Pearl River, in 1888, after the train station built in the town.

On July 13, 1898, the 200 citizens of Pearl River voted to petition the state of Louisiana for incorporation as the "Village of Pearl River", a request which was granted nearly a decade later, on May 24, 1906, by governor Newton Crain Blanchard, with G.W. Fuller as the first mayor. The village slowly modernized over the course of the next half century, acquiring the land for a courthouse in 1935 and a town hall ten years later. Pearl River Junior High was opened in 1963, but the building was made into a police training academy in 2005. In 1964, the village insignia was replaced, as the newly minted "town" laid claim to 1,500 residents, a designation that lives on today, in the town of about 2,500.

## Geography

[edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2), of which 3.5 square miles (9.0 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km2), or 2.27%, is water.[5]

## Demographics

[edit]

Historical population Census| Pop.| Note| %±

|
|
|

1910| 277| | —
1920| 364| | 31.4%
1930| 264| | −27.5%
1940| 612| | 131.8%
1950| 637| | 4.1%
1960| 964| | 51.3%
1970| 1,361| | 41.2%
1980| 1,693| | 24.4%
1990| 1,507| | −11.0%
2000| 1,839| | 22.0%
2010| 2,506| | 36.3%
2020| 2,565| | 2.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
Pearl River racial composition as of 2020[7] Race  | Number  | Percentage

|
|

White (non-Hispanic)  | 2,131  | 83.08%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)  | 76  | 2.96%
Native American | 12  | 0.47%
Asian | 14  | 0.55%
Pacific Islander | 3  | 0.12%
Other/Mixed | 155  | 6.04%
Hispanic or Latino | 174  | 6.78%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,565 people, 902 households, and 639 families residing in the town. At the 2019 American Community Survey,[8] 92.5% of the population was White, 3.8% Black and African American, 3.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, and 0.5% from two or more races. There was a median household income of $56,061 and families lived in 902 housing units. An estimated 13.5% of the population lived at or below the poverty line in 2019.[8]

## Education

[edit]

Residents are zoned to St. Tammany Parish Public Schools schools.

* 1-5: Riverside Elementary School (unincorporated St. Tammany Parish)[9]
* 6-8: Creekside Junior High School (unincorporated St. Tammany Parish)[10]
* 9-12: Pearl River High School (Pearl River)[11]

## Notable people

[edit]

* A. G. Crowe, a native of New Orleans, served 8 years in the Louisiana House of Representatives and 8 years in the Louisiana Senate (2000–2016) as well as a Member of the St. Tammany Parish School Board.
* Owen Hale, former Drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd[12]

## See also

[edit]

* WOTB: a contemporary Christian radio station in Pearl River

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
2. ^ "Pearl River LA ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
3. ^ "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Pearl River town, Louisiana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
4. ^ "City and Town Population Totals: 2010-2020". The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
5. ^ "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Pearl River town, Louisiana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
6. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
7. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
8. ^ a b "Geography Profile: Pearl River town, Louisiana". data.census.gov. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
9. ^ Riverside Elementary Boundary. St. Tammany Parish Public Schools.
10. ^ Creekside Junior High Boundary. St. Tammany Parish Public Schools.
11. ^ Pearl River High School Boundary. St. Tammany Parish Public Schools.
12. ^ "Delta Mudcats drummer Owen Hale - Photo Gallery - NOLA.com". Archived from the original on August 6, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.

* Ellis, Dan (1999). Slidell: "Camellia City". Pass Christian, Mississippi.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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