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81-596: DeRidder is a city in, and the parish seat of, Beauregard Parish , Louisiana , United States. A small portion of the city extends into Vernon Parish . As of the 2010 census DeRidder had a population of 10,578. It is the smaller principal city of the DeRidder-Fort Johnson South CSA , a Combined Statistical Area that includes the Fort Johnson South ( Vernon Parish ) and DeRidder (Beauregard Parish) micropolitan areas, which had

162-531: A Superior Court and Sheriff (as an officer of the court ), both located in a designated "shire town". Bennington County, Vermont has two shire towns; the court for "North Shire" is in the shire town Manchester , and the Sheriff for the county and court for "South Shire" are in the shire town Bennington. In 2024, Connecticut , which had not defined their counties for anything but statistical, historical and weather warning purposes since 1960, along with ending

243-473: A grid pattern . Interstate 10 passes through Lake Charles, connecting the city with Houston to the west and New Orleans to the east. The Calcasieu River Bridge crosses the Calcasieu River and part of lake . Featuring decorative flintlock pistols on the railing, it is 135 feet (41 m) high. About 50,000 vehicles pass over it daily. Despite its age of over 60 years, it is considered safe by

324-500: A 121-acre (0.49 km ) campus lined with oak trees in the heart of Lake Charles, is a four-year public university in the University of Louisiana System . Contraband Bayou flows through it. McNeese was founded in 1939 and named after educator John McNeese . It offers over 80 majors, and includes the colleges of Business , Education , Engineering and Engineering Technology, Liberal Arts , Nursing , Science , Honors College, and

405-456: A Rous Racket store on the east side of the track." By this time DeRidder had a sawmill, and timber was the prime industry of the area. The longleaf pine was the primary tree used in the industry. In 1903, DeRidder was finally incorporated as a town. In April 1904, a large portion of the business section of DeRidder was destroyed by fire. The cause was apparently arson . A grand jury collected enough evidence for this to indict George Smith,

486-437: A blasted finish. The first floor has quarters for the jailer and his family. In the jail's basement, a long corridor leads to the courthouse next door. In 1928, there was a famous double execution by hanging in the jail for two murderers. These were the only recorded hangings in the jail. The prisoners were hanged by an apparatus at the top of the spiral staircase. After this the jail became known as "the hanging jail". The jail

567-465: A camping place for the workmen - and people wanted to get near the railroad - so 160 acres (0.65 km) of land was bought for the town site." "Immediately following the purchase of the town site, a ramble of rough houses were hurriedly built out of rough lumber... By 1898 the town consisted of nearly 300 people and a number of shack homes and a sawmill. C. Landry and Mr. George Heard had a hotel. There were about 5 small stores, besides. West Brothers had

648-689: A casino, golf course, meeting space, retail corridor and a private beach and marina. While Horseshoe Lake Charles is technically in one of the city's suburbs known as Westlake, Louisiana , it forms part of the city's gambling market along with Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana and Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, Louisiana . Lake Charles has a Creole and Cajun culture because of its location in Southwest Louisiana —an extension of Acadiana . The city has its own symphony orchestra ,

729-491: A combined population of 87,988 at the 2010 census. DeRidder was named for Ella de Ridder, the sister-in-law of a Dutch railroad financier, Jan de Goeijen (cf. De Queen, Arkansas ). Her family originally came from the small town of Geldermalsen in the Netherlands , where she was one of 13 children. She ran away from home at an early age and was presumed dead by her family, who only later discovered that she had traveled to

810-410: A county seat may be an independent city surrounded by, but not part of, the county of which it is the administrative center; for example, Fairfax City is both the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia and completely surrounded by Fairfax County, but the city is politically independent of the county. When the county seat is in the independent city, government offices such as the courthouse may be in

891-558: A dozen small businesses. Lake Charles has Louisiana's biggest casino market. The L'Auberge du Lac Casino Resort is a 242 acres (98 ha), 26-story hotel in Lake Charles. It has nearly 1000 guest rooms, a casino, golf course, spa, and meeting center. A second casino, the Golden Nugget Lake Charles , opened in 2014 next to L'Auberge du Lac. The 18-story casino resort hotel has more than 740 guest rooms,

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972-510: A gambler, with setting the fire. The man reportedly left town. DeRidder's first bank opened in 1906. On October 15, 1912, DeRidder was voted the parish seat of Beauregard Parish. The Beauregard Parish Court House and the Beauregard Parish Jail (see below) were built in 1914. In July 27, 2024, recent DeRidder mayor Misty Clanton Roberts, an independent who was first elected in 2018, resigned after being investigated for rape of

1053-561: A household in the city was $ 36,001. The per capita income for the city was $ 22,855. 20.9% of the population was below the poverty line ; in 2020, the median income for a household in the city was $ 37,894. 26.7% of the population was below the poverty line. The average commute time was 22.4 minutes. The 2010 census determined that the racial and ethnic makeup for the city was 47% African American , 46% White <1% Native American , 2% Asian , 1% from other races , 2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 3% of

1134-485: A juvenile and would then be arrested five days later after turning herself in. The local fire chief was named to be the city's acting mayor. DeRidder is located in northern Beauregard Parish at 30°51′5″N 93°17′25″W  /  30.85139°N 93.29028°W  / 30.85139; -93.29028 (30.851419, -93.290230) and has an elevation of 203 feet (61.9 m). U.S. Route 171 leads south 48 miles (77 km) to Lake Charles and north 15 miles (24 km) to

1215-464: A level plain about 30 miles (48 km) from the Gulf of Mexico , has an elevation of approximately 13 feet (4.0 m) above sea level, and is located on the banks of the Calcasieu River in southwestern Louisiana . It borders both Lake Charles and Prien Lake . Contraband Bayou , Henderson Bayou, and English Bayou flow through the city. Oak trees and pine trees dot the landscape; the lumber industry

1296-647: A major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s. There are 1,355 counties in Mainland China out of a total of 2,851 county-level divisions. In Taiwan , the first counties were first established in 1661 by the Kingdom of Tungning . The later ruler Qing empire inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of Han Chinese population in Taiwan,

1377-491: A manufacturing facility which manufactures and exports parts for nuclear power plants. With small businesses, big box stores, and a regional mall, Lake Charles serves as the shopping and retail hub of the five-parish area . Prien Lake Mall , which serves nearly 300,000 people is anchored by three department stores. The Lake Charles Power Center is a shopping area that has 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m ) of shopping space. The Cottage Shop District supports approximately

1458-413: A population of 276,909. The 2020 population of the five-parish region of Southwest Louisiana was 313,951. For the city proper of Lake Charles at the 2020 census , it had a population of 84,872, with a population density of 1,890 people per square mile among 38,434 housing units. In 2010, the population was 71,993, reflecting a rebound from its 1990 population of 70,580. In 2010, the median income for

1539-568: A state-of-the-art park, was also built by volunteers, and is specifically designed for handicapped children. Hunting and fishing are popular with both residents and visitors to the Lake Area. An All-American Road , the Creole Nature Trail – "Louisiana's Outback" – brings tourists to Lake Charles and throughout Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas . Lake Charles has a mayor-council government. The elected officials include

1620-1163: Is McNeese State University 's student newspaper. Major television network affiliates include KPLC 7, an NBC affiliate also operating the area's CW affiliate on its DT2 subchannel, KSWL-LD 17, a CBS affiliate, KLTL 18, a PBS member station, KWWE-LD 19, a MyNetworkTV / MeTV affiliate, and KVHP 29, a Fox affiliate also operating the area's ABC affiliate on its DT2 subchannel. KBYS 88.3 Oldies , KRVS 88.7 Npr , KRLR 89.1 K-Love , KYLC 90.3, KOJO (FM) 91.1, KBAN 91.5, KTSR 92.1 Classic Rock , KHLA 92.9 Classic Hits , KPPM-LP 93.5 Black Gospel , KSMB 94.5 Top40(Chr) , KYKZ 96.1 Country , KQLK 97.9 Country , W252AQ 98.3, KNGT 99.5 Country , KELB-LP 100.5, KKGB 101.3 Mainstream Rock , KYBG 102.1 Classic Hits , KAJN-FM 102.9 Contemporary Christian , KBIU 103.3 Chr , KLCJ 104.1 Oldies , KKMY 104.5 Rhythmic Top 40 , KZWA 104.9 Urban Adult Contemporary , KIOC 106.1 Active Rock , KJMH 107.5 Urban , KLVI 560 News/Talk , KAOK 1400 Talk , KLCL 1470 Urban Adult Contemporary , KHB42 162.400 NOAA Weather Radio The city's streets are laid out primarily in

1701-721: Is Frazar Memorial Library, on the McNeese State University campus. The first library, Carnegie Memorial Library, was financed by Andrew Carnegie and opened in 1904. It also houses the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Library. It, Central Library and Epps Memorial Library are part of the Calcasieu Parish Public Library , which has 13 locations in Calcasieu Parish . Lake Charles

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1782-406: Is a spiral staircase that leads up to three floors of jail cells. Another history-making fact is that each cell had a toilet, shower, lavatory and window. When the jail was in use, prisoners could often be seen waving from the barred windows. It was built to house 50 or so prisoners, but held 13 in comfort. The walls are 13 to 21 in (0.33 to 0.53 m) thick, made of reinforced concrete with

1863-438: Is also high among U.S. cities, at 57.49 inches (1,460 mm) per year. Hurricane Laura devastated the city in 2020. The National Weather Service called the storm surge "unsurvivable" with one-minute sustained wind speeds of 150 mph (240 km/h). Numerous trees were blown down. The Lake Charles Regional Airport saw a gust of 128 miles per hour (206 km/h) as well as multiple hangars destroyed. Another gust in

1944-644: Is appointed to a six-year term, and the fire chief is also appointed. The Lake Charles Fire Department has eight stations and 15 companies. McNeese State University also has its own police department, the McNeese State University Police Department. The Lake Charles City Court's jurisdiction covers the city and Ward 3 in Calcasieu Parish . The Fourteenth Judicial District Court, in downtown Lake Charles, covers Calcasieu Parish and includes nine judges who preside over family, juvenile, civil, and criminal trials. Lake Charles

2025-412: Is considered a regionally significant center of petrochemical refining, gambling, tourism, and education, being home to McNeese State University and Sowela Technical Community College . Because of the lakes and waterways throughout the city, metropolitan Lake Charles is often called the Lake Area . On March 7, 1861, Lake Charles was incorporated as the town of Charleston, Louisiana. Lake Charles

2106-582: Is home to a United States District Court , also downtown. The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals is headquartered in the city. Lake Charles is represented by Clay Higgins of Louisiana's 3rd congressional district . Most of the city is represented by Senator Jeremy Stine of District 27 in the Louisiana State Senate , though Mark Abraham's District 25 includes some neighborhoods of south Lake Charles. The city has one university and one community college. McNeese State University , on

2187-693: Is home to the McNeese Cowboys , whose football team hosts games at Cowboy Stadium which has a seating capacity of 17,410. Burton Coliseum hosts the McNeese basketball teams. Lake Charles has been home to the Lake Charles Lakers and other minor-league baseball teams, indoor football teams, a minor-league ice hockey team and soccer teams. Golf is popular at the city's Mallard Cove Golf Course. Other golf courses include Gray Plantation Golf Course, Lake Charles Country Club Golf Course,

2268-409: Is known as the seat of its county. Generally, the county legislature, county courthouse, sheriff's department headquarters, hall of records, jail and correctional facility are located in the county seat, though some functions (such as highway maintenance, which usually requires a large garage for vehicles, along with asphalt and salt storage facilities) may also be located or conducted in other parts of

2349-411: Is land and 2.7 square miles (7.1 km ), or 6.12%, is water. Lake Charles is tied with Port Arthur, Texas , and Astoria, Oregon , as the most humid city in the contiguous United States , and the second-most humid measured location behind unincorporated Quillayute, Washington. The average relative humidity in Lake Charles is 90% in the morning, and 72% in the afternoon. Average annual precipitation

2430-513: Is named after him. There are also urban tales he had planned to name the settlement Nouveau Cadix (New Cádiz )", after the city in Spain , but this is uncertain. The town was first incorporated in 1857 as Charleston, after an early settler, Charles Sallier . Ten years later, on March 16, 1867, Charleston was reincorporated as the City of Lake Charles. The Great Fire of April 1910 devastated much of

2511-491: Is one of the United States' few liquified natural gas terminals. It has facilities for LNG receipt, storage, and re-gasification. Other industrial companies include PPG Industries , Phillips 66 , Sasol , and W. R. Grace . Local industry also includes a number of manufacturing companies. Chennault International Airport hosts AAR Corp , which services airplanes, and a Northrop Grumman facility. The Shaw Group has

DeRidder, Louisiana - Misplaced Pages Continue

2592-693: Is owned by the city. Charpentier is French for "carpenter", a reference to the carpenter-architects who built the mixed-style homes in the district. Central School features the Black Heritage Art Gallery, which is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail , as well as the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu, which features extravagant costumes and an interactive float. It has the largest collection of Mardi Gras memorabilia in

2673-487: Is regularly attended by more than 200,000 people, making it one of the largest celebrations in Louisiana. In a reference to the legends of piracy on the lake and Contraband Bayou, the festival begins when the pirate Jean Lafitte and his crew capture the city and force the mayor to walk the plank. Mardi Gras in Lake Charles has a long history dating back to 1882, when Momus, King of Mardi Gras, landed his royal yacht at

2754-532: Is water. The northern section of the Green Acres subdivision, west of highway 171 on the extreme northwest side of DeRidder, extends into Vernon Parish. Another section of the city, running north along the east side highway 171, up to a parallel with Golden Lantern road, also extends into Vernon Parish. Water and sewage for Green Acres and Country Estates Subdivisions is provided by the independent Green Acres Water & Sewer District #1 The building known as

2835-519: The Calcasieu Parish Public School System . There are two charter schools and several private schools. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles operates and/or is affiliated with private Roman Catholic schools. The most widely distributed, daily newspaper is The American Press . Other popular periodicals include Lagniappe Magazine , The Jambalaya News , Gumbeaux Magazine , and Thrive Magazine . The Contraband

2916-564: The Republic of China took over. There are 13 county seats in Taiwan, which function as county-administered cities , urban townships , or rural townships . In most of the United States , a county is an administrative or political subdivision of a state that consists of a geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The city, town, or populated place that houses county government

2997-466: The U.S. state of Louisiana , and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish , located on Lake Charles , Prien Lake , and the Calcasieu River . Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu Parish, it is a major industrial, cultural, and educational center in the southwest region of the state. As of the 2020 U.S. census , Lake Charles's population was 84,872. The city and metropolitan area of Lake Charles

3078-592: The United Methodist Church , National Baptist Convention, USA , Churches of Christ , Church of God in Christ , and the Assemblies of God USA . Additionally, outside of Christianity, there were an estimated 354 adherents of Islam in the city and metropolitan area. According to Dwellics and Sperling's BestPlaces , there is also a small Jewish population. In 2018, the violent crime rate in

3159-659: The United States . The town was named for her by her brother-in-law, who brought the first railroad to that area of Louisiana. Prior to that, the little town was known as Schovall. The first train line to serve DeRidder came in 1897. It was the Pittsburgh & Gulf Railroad, later called the Kansas City Southern . The July 26, 1924, the DeRidder Enterprise stated: "The first house in DeRidder

3240-490: The "Old Beauregard Parish Jail " is a structure built in 1914 that is considered one of the most distinctive of its type in the US. The structure has the characteristics of the collegiate Gothic Revival architectural style, with shallow arches, dormer windows, and a central tower. This style was popular with colleges, universities, and churches. The iron bars in most of the windows give the structure an eerie appearance. Inside, there

3321-736: The Artists Civic Theatre and Studio (ACTS), and the Children's Theatre. Many festivals are held at the Civic Center. The most popular, the Louisiana Pirate Festival (formerly Contraband Days), is hosted on the Civic Center grounds and lakefront. The festival is a twelve-day annual festival held during the first two weeks of May. The celebrations are filled with savory Cajun food, family fun, and live entertainment, including several national acts. The festival

DeRidder, Louisiana - Misplaced Pages Continue

3402-588: The Calcasieu Parish School System, employs approximately 5,000 workers. The second-largest employer is L'Auberge Casino Resort, which has 2,400 workers. Several petrochemical plants and an oil refinery are located nearby along the Calcasieu Ship Channel . Turner Industries, Westlake Chemical Corporation , and Citgo each employ over a thousand people. The Trunkline LNG terminal, immediately southwest of Lake Charles,

3483-595: The Contraband Bayou Golf Club, and the Country Club at Golden Nugget. Gray Plantation Golf Course is featured on Louisiana's Audubon Golf Trail. South Lake Charles Little League has had nationally winning teams televised on ESPN. The city has 31 parks, many of which include playground equipment, athletic facilities, and walking paths. Shiver-Me-Timbers Millennium Park, located downtown, was built entirely by volunteers in 2000. Adventure Cove,

3564-1078: The Doré School of Graduate Studies. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools . Other properties include a 65-acre (260,000 m ) athletic plant and student apartment complex, the Louisiana Environmental Research Center, Burton Coliseum , the 503-acre (2.04 km ) MSU Farm, and nearly 1,600 acres (6.5 km ) of donated farm property used for research, farming, and ranching. Over 8,500 students attend McNeese. SOWELA Technical Community College offers associate degrees, technical diplomas, certificate programs, and general education courses that can transfer to four-year universities. Delta School of Business and Technology specializes in vocational courses. Lake Charles's public schools are operated by

3645-517: The Eastern Han dynasty , the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the Sui dynasty abolished the commandery level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure; in other words, it

3726-537: The Lake Area. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, the Roman Catholic Church is the area's largest individual Christian denomination, with 51,161 adherents in Calcasieu Parish alone. The Southern Baptist Convention was the city and area's second largest denomination, followed by non-denominational Protestant churches. Other prominent Christian denominations have included

3807-673: The Lake Charles Symphony. It was founded in 1938 and hosts concerts at the Rosa Hart Theatre, which has a capacity of over 2,000. The Lake Charles Little Theatre was founded in 1927 and is the second oldest community theater in Louisiana. Lake Charles is home to a number of museums and art galleries. The largest, the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, features a permanent historical exhibit with artifacts and an art gallery. Its grounds are home to

3888-488: The Lake Charles area was of the highest in the United States, across communities of all sizes (both large and small). Violent offenses tracked include rape, murder and non-negligent manslaughter, armed robbery, and aggravated assault, including assault with a deadly weapon. Lake Charles is safer than 13% of cities in the United States. For every 100,000 people, 13.11 daily crimes occur in Lake Charles. Year over year, crime in Lake Charles has decreased by 25%. The top employer,

3969-545: The Sallier oak tree, which is around 400 years old. The Historic City Hall Arts and Cultural Center is used as exhibition space; moving art exhibits are displayed at this public art gallery each month. It also hosts the Charlestown Farmers' Market, which provides a venue for local farmers and merchants to sell goods. The Central School Arts and Humanities Center, located in the historical Charpentier District,

4050-708: The South. Other studios and cultural activities include the Art Associates Gallery, Studio 347 Gallery, the Lake Charles Symphony, and the Lake Charles Community Band. McNeese State University produces the annual Banners Series of various musical and theatrical performances. Banners also hosts lectures and presentations from notable persons and academics. Local theaters include the Lake Charles Little Theatre,

4131-884: The United States, followed by Towson , the county seat of Baltimore County, Maryland . Likewise, some county seats may not be incorporated in their own right, but are located within incorporated municipalities. For example, Cape May Court House, New Jersey , though unincorporated, is a section of Middle Township , an incorporated municipality. In some states, often those that were among the original Thirteen Colonies , county seats include or formerly included "Court House" as part of their name, such as Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia . Most counties have only one county seat. However, some counties in Alabama , Arkansas , Georgia , Iowa , Kentucky , Massachusetts , Mississippi , Missouri , New Hampshire , New York , and Vermont have two or more county seats, usually located on opposite sides of

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4212-406: The average family size was 3.03. In the city of DeRidder, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.3 males. The median income for a household in

4293-433: The city of DeRidder these schools are: The Beauregard Daily News , a daily newspaper , is based in DeRidder. Parish seat In Canada , the provinces of Ontario , Quebec , New Brunswick , Prince Edward Island , and Nova Scotia have counties as an administrative division of government below the provincial level, and thus county seats. In the provinces of Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia

4374-593: The city reached 137 miles per hour (220 km/h). Many windows were blown out of Capital One Tower downtown. A communications tower collapsed onto the KPLC studio building (which had been evacuated) and part of a sky bridge was blown out. The radar at the NWS Lake Charles forecast office (whose staff evacuated, with the office's operations transferred to the Brownsville, Texas office) was destroyed around

4455-412: The city was $ 31,952, and the median income for a family was $ 39,384. Males had a median income of $ 36,388 versus $ 21,302 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 16,996. About 15.0% of families and 18.0% of the population were below the poverty line , including 22.1% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over. Beauregard Parish School Board operates local public schools. For

4536-406: The city. Lake Charles soon rebuilt, grew and expanded in the twentieth century. The Charleston Hotel was completed in 1929, during the administration of Mayor Henry J. Geary. During and after World War II , Lake Charles experienced industrial growth with the arrival of petrochemical refineries. The city grew to a high of some 75,000 people in the early 1980s, but with local economic recession,

4617-557: The city. As of the census of 2000, there were 9,808 people, 3,819 households, and 2,616 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,155.4 inhabitants per square mile (446.1/km). There were 4,454 housing units at an average density of 524.7 units per square mile (202.6 units/km). The racial makeup of the city was 60.81% White , 34.73% African American , 0.57% Native American , 1.42% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.57% from other races , and 1.88% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.40% of

4698-418: The county, especially if it is geographically large. A county seat is usually an incorporated municipality . The exceptions include the county seats of counties that have no incorporated municipalities within their borders, such as Arlington County, Virginia , where the county seat is the entire county. Ellicott City , the county seat of Howard County, Maryland , is the largest unincorporated county seat in

4779-420: The county. Examples include Harrison County, Mississippi , which has both Biloxi and Gulfport as county seats, and Hinds County, Mississippi , which has both Raymond and the state capital of Jackson . The practice of multiple county seat towns dates from the days when travel was difficult. There have been few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement, since a county seat is a source of civic pride for

4860-484: The entrance to Fort Johnson and 21 miles (34 km) to Leesville . U.S. Route 190 leads south and east 49 miles (79 km) to Kinder and west 52 miles (84 km) to Jasper, Texas . According to the United States Census Bureau , DeRidder has a total area of 9.2 square miles (23.9 km), of which 9.2 square miles (23.7 km) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km), or 0.96%,

4941-414: The foot of Pujo Street downtown. Throughout the two World Wars, Mardi Gras was downsized which led to a lack of participation by the area's youth. However, an interest in redeveloping the festivities arose, and the first Mardi Gras Ball in Lake Charles was staged in 1964. The full revival of Mardi Gras in Lake Charles was not realized until 1979, when several Krewe captains formed the "Krewe of Krewes", with

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5022-625: The independent city under an agreement, such as in Albemarle , or may in be enclaves of the county surrounded by the independent city, such as in Fairfax . Others, such as Prince William , have the courthouse in an enclave surrounded by the independent city and have the county government, the Board of Supervisors, in a different part of the county, far from the county seat. The following counties have their county seat in an independent city: Bedford

5103-413: The mayor, the clerk of court, and seven city council members. Each council member represents a district within the city limits. One is elected president and presides over each meeting. The mayor serves a four-year term. The current mayor is Nic Hunter . The mayor appoints the city attorney . The Lake Charles Police Department (LCPD) provides law enforcement and protection for the city. The police chief

5184-551: The number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan. Protestant missionaries in China first romanized the term as hien . When Taiwan became a Japanese colony in 1895, the hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the Japanese system in the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8 prefectures ( 州 and 廳 ), which remained after

5265-460: The population declined and stagnated. In 1985, the city was identified as a potential Strategic Homeport to support Navy Secretary John Lehman 's desire for a 600-ship Navy . Support ships were to be operated from the new Naval Station Lake Charles; but with the tailing-off of the Cold War , the 1988 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommended it be closed. By 1991, the incomplete base

5346-409: The population. There were 3,819 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.6% were married couples living together, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and

5427-473: The population. In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that the racial and ethnic makeup for Lake Charles was 46.2% Black or African American, 42.5% non-Hispanic white, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 2.6% Asian, 2.6% some other race, 5.6% two or more races, and 5.6% Hispanic or Latino American of any race. In common with most of the American South , Christianity is the predominant religion in

5508-910: The primary purpose of parading and promoting Mardi Gras for local residents. In 1985, Mardi Gras of Imperial Calcasieu, Inc. was formed by a group of civic-minded volunteers to further aid in the preservation of this festival. Mardi Gras in Lake Charles regularly draws in crowds of 150,000. Some of the city's cultural events include Chuck Fest, Martin Luther King Festival, Livestock Show & Rodeo, Black Heritage Festival, Garden Festival, Palm Sunday Tour of Homes, Downtown at Sundown, Memorial Day Avenue of Flags, Crawfish Festival, Asian/American Culturefest, Cajun French, Creole, Zydeco Music & Zydeco Trail Rides, Food Festivals, Marshland Festival, Gatorman Triathlon, Music & Food Festival, Arts Fest, and Riverside Fall Festival. Lake Charles has four libraries. The largest, with over 400,000 volumes,

5589-777: The state's area, has no borough government or borough seat. One borough, the Lake and Peninsula Borough , has its borough seat located in another borough, namely King Salmon in Bristol Bay Borough . In Louisiana , which is divided into parishes rather than counties, county seats are referred to as "parish seats". In New England , counties have served mainly as dividing lines for the states' judicial systems. Rhode Island has no county level of government and thus no county seats, and Massachusetts has dissolved many but not all of its county governments. In Vermont , Massachusetts , and Maine county government consists only of

5670-723: The term "shire town" is used in place of county seat. County seats in China are the administrative centers of the counties in the People's Republic of China . Xian have existed since the Warring States period and were set up nationwide by the Qin dynasty . The number of counties in China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As Qin Shi Huang reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1,000. Under

5751-531: The time of landfall, with its dome and much of its internal equipment sheared from the radar tower's base. A few weeks later, Hurricane Delta also hit Lake Charles. Lake Charles is the principal city of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area , which had a population of 240,082 as of 2023. It is the larger principal city of the Lake Charles-DeRidder combined statistical area , with

5832-416: The towns involved, along with providing employment opportunities. There are 33 counties with multiple county seats in 11 states: Alaska is divided into boroughs rather than counties; the county seat in these case is referred to as the "borough seat"; this includes six consolidated city-borough governments (one of which is styled as a "municipality"). The Unorganized Borough, Alaska , which covers 49% of

5913-503: The turn of the century, "The largest pine in the world grew where DeRidder now stands - or so it is claimed by timber men who knew." About the origin of the town, she says, "the Kansas City railroad was built from Kansas City to Port Arthur - and came right through here about 1896. By 1898 the trains were running. The post-office was named Miersburg for the postmaster whose name was Miers. The railroad workers had used this spot for

5994-544: The use of county seats in particular, will fully transition with the permission of the United States Census Bureau to a system of councils of government for the purposes of boundary definition and as county equivalents. Two counties in South Dakota , Oglala Lakota and Todd , have their county seat and government services centered in a neighboring county. Their county-level services are provided by Fall River County and Tripp County , respectively. In Virginia ,

6075-406: Was an independent city from 1968 to 2013, while also being the county seat of Bedford County . Bedford reverted to an incorporated town, and remains the county seat, though is now part of the county. The state with the most counties is Texas, with 254, and the state with the fewest counties is Delaware, with 3. Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles is the fifth-most populous city in

6156-530: Was dropped from the program and shuttered. In 2005, the city was heavily damaged by Hurricane Rita . In 2020, it was battered by two hurricanes, Category 4 Hurricane Laura on August 26–27, and Hurricane Delta on October 9, 2020. Lake Charles after the hurricane was described as if “20 tornadoes came in and wiped the city”. The southern portion of the city was damaged by an EF2 tornado on October 27, 2021, and an EF1 tornado caused minor damage to downtown Lake Charles on May 13, 2024. Lake Charles, located on

6237-822: Was founded by merchant and tradesman Marco Eliche (or Marco de Élitxe) as an outpost. He was a Sephardic Jewish trader of either Basque-Spanish or Venetian-Italian origins. He had arrived in Louisiana after hitchhiking and was invited onto a Spanish vessel due to his determination and loyalty to volunteer and work freely for the Spanish Empire. Long before incorporation and even before the Louisiana Purchase , other names for Lake Charles were Porte du Lafitte (Port of Jean Lafitte ) or Rivière Lafitte (River Lafitte/Lafitte's River), among many other names now lost. Eliche had also founded other outposts and towns in Louisiana prior, most notably Marksville , which

6318-532: Was made of logs and covered with board shingles, split by hand from the logs of the forest. It was constructed in 1893 and was the old homestead house of Calvin Shirley, who was the original owner of the land upon which the first business house and residence of DeRidder were built. Mr. Shirley homesteaded the 160 acres (0.65 km) which was later platted and became the original townsite of DeRidder." According to Eva Stewart Frazar, whose family came to DeRidder near

6399-522: Was once the main economic engine of the area. The Calcasieu Ship Channel , which allows large ocean-going vessels to sail up from the Gulf, also borders the city. The 2010 census recorded Lake Charles total land size was 48.6 sq miles was to 2023 census records Lake Charles being 61.35 sq miles in total size. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 44.8 square miles (116.0 km ), of which 42.0 square miles (108.9 km )

6480-583: Was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the magistrate , who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of counties mostly resembled that of the later years of the Qing dynasty . Changes of location and names of counties in Chinese history have been

6561-723: Was used until 1982, when a court action forced it to close. On October 4, 1981, it was put on the National Register of Historic Places , along with several other buildings in DeRidder. In 1983 Washington, Second, Stewart, and Port streets were added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Beauregard Parish as the DeRidder Commercial Historic District . As of the 2020 United States census , there were 9,852 people, 3,838 households, and 2,510 families residing in

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