Gretna, Louisiana

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City of Gretna
City
none Gretna City Hall
Gretna City Hall
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parish Jefferson
Area 3.9 sq mi (10.1 km²)
 - land 3.5 sq mi (9.1 km²)
 - water 0.4 sq mi (1 km²), 10.26%
Center
 - coordinates 29°54′59″N 90°03′15″W / 29.91639, -90.05417Coordinates: 29°54′59″N 90°03′15″W / 29.91639, -90.05417
 - elevation 0 ft (0 m) [1]
Population 17,423 (2000)
Density 4,983.9 /sq mi (1,924.3 /km²)
Mayor Ronnie C. Harris
Time zone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes 70053, 70056
Area code 504
Location of Gretna in Louisiana
Location of Gretna in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Website : http://www.gretnala.com

The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. [2] [3] Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. The population was 17,423 at the 2000 census.

Contents

[edit] History

Gretna was settled in 1836 [4], originally as Mechanicsham, growing with a station on the Mississippi River for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Texas and Pacific Railroad, and Southern Pacific Railroad, with a ferry across the River to New Orleans. The famous spice-maker Zatarain's was founded here in 1889. Gretna was incorporated in 1913, absorbing the section of McDonogh within the Jefferson Parish boundaries. In the 1940 census, Gretna had a population of 10,879.

[edit] Famous residents

[edit] Geography

Gretna is located on 29°54′59″N, 90°3′15″W (29.916459, -90.054260) [5] and has an elevation of 0 feet (0 m).[1]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.9 square miles (10.0 km²), of which, 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (0.9 km²) of it (9.33%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census[6] of 2000, there were 17,423 people,[3] 6,958 households, and 4,286 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,983.9 people per square mile (1,922.0/km²). There were 7,665 housing units at an average density of 2,192.6/sq mi (845.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 56.32% White, 35.53% African American, 0.60% Native American, 3.12% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.63% from other races, and 1.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.34% of the population.

There were 6,958 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years, higher than Louisiana's median age of 34.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $28,065, and the median income for a family was $31,881. Males had a median income of $28,259 versus $21,019 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,735. About 20.8% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.7% of those under age 18 and 20.2% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Education

Gretna's public schools are operated by the Jefferson Parish Public Schools agency. Schools are in Gretna unless otherwise noted.

Elementary schools:

  • George Cox Elementary School (Unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Gretna address)
  • Frederick Douglass Elementary School
  • Gretna Park Elementary School
  • William Hart Elementary School
  • McDonogh #26 Elementary School
  • Middleton Elementary School
  • Solis Elementary School
  • Terrytown Elementary School

Middle schools:

  • Gretna Middle School
  • Livaudais Middle School (Unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Gretna address)

High schools:

  • West Jefferson High School

In addition, Thomas Jefferson High School [1] is in Gretna.

[edit] Hurricane Katrina controversy

 This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007)
High water along the Mississippi River levee at Gretna, 2005
High water along the Mississippi River levee at Gretna, 2005

The City of Gretna received considerable press coverage when, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (late August 2005), displaced and dehydrated survivors who attempted to escape from New Orleans by walking over the Crescent City Connection bridge over the Mississippi River were turned back at gunpoint by City of Gretna Police, along with Crescent City Connection Police and Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputies, who set up a roadblock on the bridge in the days following the hurricane. According to eyewitnesses, some of these officers threatened to shoot New Orleans residents and tourists as they attempted to cross into Gretna on foot.[2] [3] [4]

The Crescent City Connection connects to United States Highway 90, which was, at the time, the only passable highway out of New Orleans. Initially, as many as 6,000 evacuees were permitted to cross and were shuttled out of the area on buses; however, that operation was eventually discontinued as available fuel supplies were exhausted.[citation needed] Without transportation or sufficient supplies of food or water, West Bank officials determined that they were unable to further assist the evacuees.[citation needed] Actually, water continued to be available on the West Bank in the Algiers section[7] The decision to stop further evacuees from crossing the river was then made after the Oakwood Center in Gretna was looted and burned, allegedly by evacuees from the East Bank of New Orleans.[citation needed] A unified local police decision was made to lock down all areas. Due to the lack of effective communications during the crisis, some New Orleans police officers independently continued to direct evacuees to buses across the bridge that were no longer operational.[citation needed]

The purpose of the roadblock was to stop evacuees from crossing over into the evacuated communities on the West Bank of the Mississippi River.[citation needed] Gretna Police had charge of West Bank-bound lanes, while Jefferson Parish deputies controlled the East Bank-bound lanes and the bridge police closed the center transit lanes.

Some critics have said that the Gretna Police were out of their jurisdiction when they took up posts on the bridge because the West Bank end of the bridge comes to ground in the New Orleans neighborhood of Algiers. However, the Gretna city limits extend such that a small portion of the bridge enters Gretna before reentering New Orleans a second time.

[edit] Reaction

The actions of the Gretna Police have been criticized by many. Some have supported the actions, noting that Gretna had also suffered loss of power and drinkable water, and had nowhere to keep another city's evacuees.[citation needed] Some have said that the Gretna Police action were prompted by reports of widespread looting in New Orleans and fears it could spread to Gretna.[citation needed] Some critics have alleged a motivation of racism, as the majority of those attempting to escape the flooding in New Orleans were African American[citation needed]; despite the fact that Gretna and other communities have a large percentage (but not a majority) of African-Americans.

Some activists alleged racism, citing longstanding racial tensions between urban and suburban New Orleans that date back to the civil rights era.[citation needed] Officials in Gretna and Jefferson Parish defended the actions of their police officers as necessary and proper during such a crisis.[citation needed] The Gretna City Council subsequently passed a resolution supporting the Chief of Police's decision to block the bridge, which continues to be a topic of controversy in Greater New Orleans.[citation needed] Gretna Mayor Ronnie C. Harris said, "This wasn't just one man's decision. The whole community backs it."

[edit] Trivia

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "Gretna". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey (June 4, 1980). Retrieved on 2008-02-05.
  2. ^ "Gretna, Louisiana (LA) Detailed Profile" (notes), City Data, 2007, webpage: C-Gretna.
  3. ^ a b "Census 2000 Data for the State of Louisiana" (town list), US Census Bureau, May 2003, webpage: C2000-LA.
  4. ^ City of Gretna. City of Gretna. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
  5. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  6. ^ Gretna, Louisiana Fact Sheet. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-02-13.
  7. ^ {{{author}}}, Quality Water 2006 A Report on the State of Tap Water In New Orleans, Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, 2007.

[edit] External links

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[edit] Audio and video

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Parish seat: Gretna
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