White Castle, Louisiana
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White Castle is a town in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. At the 2010 U.S. census the town population was 1,883, and 1,640 at the 2020
population estimates program The Population Estimates Program (PEP) is a program of the U.S. Census Bureau that publishes annual population estimates and estimates of birth, death, and international migration rates for people in the United States. In addition to publishing t ...
. It is part of the
Baton Rouge metropolitan area The Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget, or simply the Baton Rouge metropolitan area or Greater Baton Rouge, is a sprawling metropolitan statistical area surrounding the c ...
.


History

The town of White Castle was carved out of the George Wailes plantation "White Castle". The 1883 Charles H. Dickinson Survey of several
parishes of Louisiana The U.S. state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes (; ), making it the only state besides Alaska to call its primary subdivisions something other than "counties." Louisiana's usage of the term "parish" for a geographic region or local gov ...
shows the White Castle Plantation property.
Nottoway Plantation Nottoway Plantation, also known as Nottoway Resort, and Nottoway Plantation House, was a historic plantation house located near White Castle, Louisiana, United States. The home was a Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival and Italianate archit ...
, a prominent
antebellum Antebellum, Latin for "before war", may refer to: United States history * Antebellum South, the pre-American Civil War period in the Southern US ** Antebellum Georgia ** Antebellum South Carolina ** Antebellum Virginia * Antebellum architectu ...
mansion, was located nearby. White Castle was established as a town in the 1880s with the influx of people and business brought by the logging industry in the
cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...
swamps of the area. When the cypress wood was depleted, the main economic activity reverted to the
sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...
industry which had been established in the latter part of the 18th century. Individual plantation sugar mills gave way to larger mills servicing many plantations. By 1970, White Castle had three major sugar mills, Cora Texas, Cedar Grove, and Catherine/Supples. Only one, Cora Texas located just south of White Castle on LA 1, is still in operation. Antebellum plantation homes in the area are Nottoway, Tally-ho, among others. People living in the unincorporated areas of Samstown, Lone Star, Belle Grove, Dorseyville, and as far away as Bayou Goula helped support White Castle businesses through the years. At one time, there were three car dealerships, Dufour Chevrolet, White Castle Motor company (Ford), and Dixie Sales and Service(Chrysler/Plymouth); three drug stores, Hebert's, Viallon's, and Bajon's; Weils and Shaheens clothing stores; Agosta Shoe Store; Eskine's Jewelry; and two lumber yards, Baudoin's and Tassin's. Engolio's Maggio's, Chiaramonte, Dominic Sciortino, Tina's, Forte's, and Landry's were used for grocery shopping. Big-screen entertainment was provided by Castle Theater until 1959, when it was closed. During the 1950s, the chemical industry entered the area, congregating around 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 ...
between
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 ...
and
New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
. This industry brought economic growth which took White Castle into the 1980s. Companies establishing chemical plants in the area near White Castle were
Dow Chemical The Dow Chemical Company is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Midland, Michigan, United States. The company was among the three largest chemical producers in the world in 2021. It is the operating subsidiary of Dow Inc., ...
north of Plaquemine, Georgia-Gulf and Hercules north of White Castle, and
Ciba-Geigy Novartis AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical corporation based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world and was the eighth largest by revenue in 2024. Novartis manufactures the drugs ...
on the east bank of the Mississippi. Population levels have remained between 1,900 and 2,200 for the last forty years, within the White Castle town limits. The surrounding unincorporated areas have seen an increase in population.


Geography

White Castle is located in southeastern Iberville Parish on the south 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 ...
.
Louisiana Highway 1 Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) is a state highway in Louisiana. At , it is the longest numbered highway of any class in Louisiana. It runs diagonally across the state, connecting the oil field, oil and gas fields near the island of Grand Isle, ...
passes through the town, leading northwest to Plaquemine, the Iberville
Parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...
and southeast the same distance to Donaldsonville, the seat of
Ascension Parish Ascension Parish (; ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 126,500. Its parish seat is Donaldsonville. The parish was created in 1807. Ascension Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metr ...
. 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 town of White Castle has a total area of , of which , or 0.41%, are water.


Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,722 people, 672 households, and 421 families residing in the town. The racial and ethnic makeup of the town was 83.4% Black and African American, 14.2%
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 ...
, and 2.3% two or more races 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 ...
. The median household income was $30,729 and 27.3% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. At the 2000 United States census, there were 1,946 people, 699 households, and 513 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 762 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 76.82%
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 ...
, 22.56%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.21% Asian, 0.10% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 1.44% of the population. There were 699 households, out of which 38.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples living together, 30.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.6% were non-families. 24.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.34. In the town, the population was spread out, with 31.7% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 18.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.3 males. The median income for a household in the town was $19,435, and the median income for a family was $24,236. Males had a median income of $25,170 versus $15,885 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,246. About 25.4% of families and 31.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.0% of those under age 18 and 18.8% of those age 65 or over.


Notable people

* Kate Walker Behan (1851-1918), club leader and philanthropist * Ronald Martin,
American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...


Radio stations

* KKAY * WBSN-FM


References


External links


Belle Grove Plantation
{{authority control Towns in Louisiana Towns in Iberville Parish, Louisiana Baton Rouge metropolitan area Populated places established in 1883 Louisiana populated places on the Mississippi River