Carville is a neighborhood of St. Gabriel, located in Iberville Parish in southern Louisiana, sixteen miles south of

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, on 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 ...

. Best known as the childhood hometown of famed

political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televi ...

James Carville, it is also known for its sixty-five-year history as the only place in America to treat leprosy until outpatient treatment became viable in 1981. Nowadays, that legacy is celebrated at the National Hansen’s Disease Museum, which educates visitors about the condition.

Neighborhood Name

The area was renamed for James Carville's grandfather

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Louis Arthur Carville in 1909, to differentiate the area — formerly called "Island" — from the many other places in Louisiana with that name.

Carville National Leprosarium

"In 1917, on February 3rd, Senate Bill number 4086, an act to establish a National Leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana, aspassed by the US Senate." The result was a U.S. Public Health Service hospital named "Carville National Leprosarium," and dedicated to treating

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a Chronic condition, long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the Peripheral nervous system, nerves, respir ...

. It underwent several name changes throughout its history, including Louisiana Leper Home, U.S. Marine Hospital No. 66 (1921), and Gillis W. Long Hansen's Disease Center (1986). The former site of the long-closed hospital has been known as the Gillis W. Long Center since 1986. Named for the late

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

Gillis William Long, a Democrat from Louisiana's 8th congressional district, it is operated by the

Louisiana Army National Guard The Louisiana Army National Guard (; ) is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal ...

, and the facility now includes the National Hansen’s Disease Museum.

External links

100 Years of Carville's History

Carville's Legacy

Gillis W. Long Center Web site

The National Hansen's Disease Museum

References

Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River St. Gabriel, Louisiana Neighborhoods in Louisiana {{Louisiana-geo-stub