Belle Chasse ( ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in

Plaquemines Parish Plaquemines Parish ( ; ; ; ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 23,515 at the 2020 census, the parish seat is Pointe à la Hache and the largest community is Belle Chasse. The parish was formed in 1807. ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States, on the west bank of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Belle Chasse is part of the

Greater New Orleans The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (, ), is a metropolitan statistical area designated by the United ...

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban area, urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share Industry (economics), industries, commercial areas, Transport infrastructure, transport network ...

. The population was 10,579 at the 2020 United States census. Belle Chasse is the largest community in Plaquemines Parish. It is home to

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is a base of the United States military located in Belle Chasse, unincorporated Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, United States. NAS JRB New Orleans is home to a Navy Reserve aggressor squadron a ...

, a

Naval Air Station A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...

for the U.S. Navy Reserve.

History

There is little consensus regarding the origin of the name Belle Chasse. In French, ''belle chasse'' literally means "beautiful hunting." It is widely believed that it was so named due to the richness of wildlife which the initial French colonists observed when they settled in the region. Others say that Belle Chasse was named for Spanish colonial administrator Joseph Deville Degoutin Bellechasse, who lived there from 1806 to 1814. The

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

Judah P. Benjamin was the most famous owner of the Belle Chasse plantation. After falling into decay and abandonment by the 1930s, the landmark plantation house was demolished in 1960. The bell was salvaged and today is in front of the Belle Chasse Public Library. The Naval Air Station was founded in 1920 on the south shore of

Lake Pontchartrain Lake Pontchartrain ( ; ) is an estuary located in southeastern Louisiana in the United States. It covers an area of with an average depth of . Some shipping channels are kept deeper through dredging. It is roughly oval in shape, about from w ...

, but in 1957 it relocated to its current location (Belle Chasse, Louisiana). It has been designated as a Joint Forces Reserve Air Station. It is home to various naval air units as well as an

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

fighter squadron and a

Marine Corps Reserve The Marine Forces Reserve (MARFORRES or MFR), also known as the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR) and the U.S. Marine Corps Forces Reserve, is the reserve force of the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Reserve is an expedi ...

helicopter unit. In March 2009, U.S. Navy Reserve Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) relocated its six E-2C aircraft from NAS Atlanta, GA to Belle Chasse. The squadron routinely deploys to the Caribbean on counter-narcotic operations. The squadron aircrew are all U.S. Naval Reservists while the maintenance department for the aircraft is run by Northrop Grumman Field Services.

Geography

Belle Chasse is located at (29.852243, -89.9983335), in the

New Orleans metropolitan area The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (, ), is a List of United States me ...

. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (12.21%) is water.

Demographics

At the 2019

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual demographics survey program conducted by the United States Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the United States census, decennial census ...

, there were 14,024 people living in Belle Chasse, up from 12,679 in 2010. The 2020 United States census reported a population decline at 10,579. The racial and ethnic makeup of the community was 79.4%

non-Hispanic white Non-Hispanic Whites, also referred to as White Anglo Americans or Non-Latino Whites, are White Americans who are classified by the United States census as "White" and not of Hispanic or Latino origin. According to annual estimates from the Unit ...

, 11.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.6%

American Indian and Alaska Native Native Americans (also called American Indians, First Americans, or Indigenous Americans) are the Indigenous peoples of the United States, particularly of the lower 48 states and Alaska. They may also include any Americans whose origins lie ...

, 2.4% Asian, 2.0% some other race, and 3.9% two or more races.

Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Spaniards, Spanish or Latin Americans, Latin American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino (demonym), ...

were 10.5% of the population in 2019. In 2020, its makeup was 75.85% non-Hispanic white, 5.98% Black or African American, 3.34% Asian, 0.14% Pacific Islander, 4.55% two or more races, and 9.47% Hispanic and Latino American, reflecting the demographic transition of the U.S. In 2019, the median age was 35.0, and 8.2% of the population were aged 5 and under; 70.7% of the population was aged 18 and older, and 10.7% were aged 65 and older. Among the population, 11.4% spoke a language other than English at home, and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

was the second most-spoken language. In the census-designated place, the median income for a household was $66,653, and $50,169 was the median income for males versus $41,623 for females. An estimated 11.3% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Culture and arts

Belle Chasse is home to the famous "Orange Fest," "Crawfish Fest," and "Gamers Fest." It is also home to the Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival.

Education

Plaquemines Parish School Board operates public schools in the entire parish. Belle Chasse Primary, Belle Chasse Middle, Belle Chasse High School, Belle Chasse Academy, Plaquemines Parrish Alternative School. At first Belle Chasse High, which opened in 1928,School Profile
" Belle Chasse High School. Retrieved on December 3, 2016. was K-12, but in 1977 Belle Chasse Middle School opened to take the middle grades away.Home
" Belle Chasse Middle School. February 7, 2004. Retrieved on December 3, 2016. Belle Chasse Primary opened in August 1994. Belle Chasse Middle received the 5th grade in 1999. Belle Chasse also has a Catholic School, Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans The Archdiocese of New Orleans (; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical division of the Catholic Church spanning Jefferson (except Grand Isle), Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, and Washingt ...

. The Plaquemines Parish Library maintains the Belle Chasse Branch, and the library headquarters in the F. Edward Hebert Building.

Government

Belle Chasse is the current and was the temporary home of the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates a post office.

Parish president

Amos Cormier, Jr. was once a resident of Port Sulphur and resided in Belle Chasse when he died. Kirk Lepine defeated incumbent Amos Cormier III in a runoff election on Dec. 8 2018 to become Plaquemines Parish President.

National Guard

Belle Chasse serves as a headquarters for the Louisiana Air Force National Guard and home of the 159th Fighter Wing. It served as the principal helicopter staging area for rescue operations during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

Belle Chasse John Doe

On February 14, 1975, the body of an unidentified teenage boy was found hanging from a

persimmon The persimmon () is the edible fruit of a number of species of trees in the genus '' Diospyros''. The most widely cultivated of these is the Chinese and Japanese kaki persimmon, ''Diospyros kaki''. In 2022, China produced 77% of the world's p ...

tree near Belle Chasse. The teenager had written a lengthy suicide note addressed "to Mom and Dad" in which he stated that he "cannot tolerate the false and empty existence I have created". Though the case received national coverage and over 300 parents of missing sons contacted the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's office, a four-month effort to identify the body failed. He was buried in

Gretna, Louisiana Gretna is the second-largest city in, and parish seat of, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. "Gretna, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), ''City Data'', 2007, webpage: C-Gretna "Census ...

and remains unidentified as of 2025.

Notable people

Billy Nungesser William Harold Nungesser ( ; born January 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the 54th Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, lieutenant governor of Louisiana since 2016. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, N ...

, former Parish President and current Lt. Governor of Louisiana. * Chris Henry, former

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

* Benny Rousselle, former member of the Louisiana House (1996–1999) and the former president of Plaquemines Parish government (1999–2007) * Ernest Wooton, District 105 state representative (1999–2012), Plaquemines Parish sheriff (1984–1992) * Bella Blue, Burlesque dancer

References

External links

Global-Security's review of NAS Belle Chasse

Phillips 66 Refinery in Belle Chasse
{{authority control Census-designated places in Louisiana Census-designated places in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River Census-designated places in the New Orleans metropolitan area