| Madisonville, Louisiana | |
| Official Name: | Town of Madisonville |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Pushpin Map: | Louisiana##United States |
| Pushpin Label: | Madisonville |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Louisiana##Location in the United States |
| Coordinates: | 30.4072°N -90.1617°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Louisiana |
| Subdivision Type2: | Parish |
| Subdivision Name2: | St. Tammany |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1800 |
| Named For: | James Madison |
| Leader Title: | Mayor |
| Leader Name: | Jean Pelloat |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 6.60 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 2.55 |
| Area Land Km2: | 6.54 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 2.53 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.06 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 0.02 |
| Elevation Ft: | 7 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 850 |
| Population Density Km2: | 129.88 |
| Population Density Sq Mi: | 336.37 |
| Timezone1: | CST |
| Utc Offset1: | -6 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CDT |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | -5 |
| Area Code: | 985 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 22-47560 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Wikimedia Commons |
| Website: | http://www.townofmadisonville.org |
Madisonville is a town in St. Tammany Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 748 at the 2010 U.S. census,[2] and 850 at the 2020 U.S. census.[3] It is part of the New Orleans - Metairie - Kenner metropolitan statistical area. The ZIP code is 70447.
Madisonville was founded by Jean Baptiste Baham in 1800, before the United States acquired this area, as the town of "Coquille" or "Cokie" because of the abundance of shells in the area, at the site of the Native American village of "Chiconcte". The town was renamed in honor of US President James Madison around 1811.[4]
Madisonville was a notable port, providing bricks and other products of the towns along the Tchefuncte River to New Orleans, in the decades before the Civil War. After the Capture of New Orleans by the Union Army, this area remained under nominal Confederate control; and the cutoff of trade with New Orleans across enemy lines was devastating to the local economy, which did not recover for decades after the peace.
The opening of the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and associated highways gradually brought Madisonville into the sphere of Greater New Orleans, in the second half of the 20th century.
Much of the town flooded with the Lake Pontchartrain storm surge of Hurricane Katrina, on August 29, 2005. The police/fire station and the town hall were damaged by the flood waters. The town flooded again in 2012 during Hurricane Isaac. Town buildings were again repaired but the police station was moved to a historic building at the intersection of Covington, St. John and Cedar Streets. The fire station later moved to a new building on Hwy. 22 just west of the town center.
Frederick (Fritz) Jahncke emigrated to New Orleans from Hamburg, Germany in 1870. After working as a mason, he started a business that built the first sidewalks in New Orleans. Jahncke expanded; using a rented steam-driven hydraulic suction dredge, his firm was the first to extract sand and shell from the Tchefuncte and other rivers to make concrete used in expanding New Orleans.
Jahncke purchased a half-interest in the Baham Shipyard, entering into shipbuilding. In 1905 he purchased the remaining interest, acquiring land for yards, as well as warehouses, docks, storage facilities and equipment. He died in 1911 and the company passed to Ernest Lee, Paul F. and Walter F. Jahncke. In 1917, the company started building five wooden ships for the US Navy for World War I. Two ships were completed – the SS Bayou Teche, which was launched in March 1918, and the SS Balabac on September 29, 1918. The war ended November 11, 1918, and three of the ships were not completed. The SS Abbeville was completed on January 19, 1919, and the SS Pontchartrain on April 6, 1919. The last ship was hauled across the river and burned. Part of the hull is still visible at low tide.[5]
The town of Madisonville is located on the banks of the Tchefuncte River, near where the river enters Lake Pontchartrain. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.51sqkm, of which 6.46sqkm is land and 0.06sqkm, or 0.86%, is water.[6]
| Number | Percentage | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 741 | 87.18% | |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 38 | 4.47% | |
| Native American | 4 | 0.47% | |
| Asian | 12 | 1.41% | |
| Other/Mixed | 21 | 2.47% | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 34 | 4.0% |
There were 302 households, out of which 21.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.7% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 19.2% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $50,625, and the median income for a family was $57,083. Males had a median income of $41,042 versus $19,375 for females. The per capita income for the town was $25,114. About 4.5% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.3% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.
Madisonville hosts the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum, which sponsors the Wooden Boat Festival each fall.[8]
See main article: Tchefuncte River Range Lights.
The Tchefuncte River Lighthouse is owned by the Town of Madisonville and is operated by the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum with a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Southeastern Museum Conference, a gift from the Southeastern Louisiana University Development Fund that included live-streaming security cameras and on-site information about lake levels and wind and wave action by the Department of Computer Science, as well as contributions from private groups and individuals.[9] The Tchefuncte River Lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places July 14, 1986. It is only accessible by boat. The lighthouse keepers' cottage was removed to the grounds of the maritime museum where it remains.
St. Tammany Parish Public School System is the public school system of the entire parish.[10] Schools operated by the district which include Madisonville in their attendance boundaries are:
St. Tammany Parish Library operates the Madisonville Branch.[15]
St. Tammany Parish is within the service areas of two community colleges: Northshore Technical Community College and Delgado Community College.[16]
