Gretna, Louisiana

From Free net encyclopedia

The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 17,423.

Image:GetnaCourthouseNov231.jpg

1 History
- 1.1 Hurricane Katrina
2 Famous residents
3 Geography
4 Demographics
5 Education
6 External links
- 6.1 Audio and video

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History

Gretna was settled in the 19th century, 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. Gretna was incorporated in 1913, absorbing the section of McDonoghville within the Jefferson Parish boundaries. In the 1940 census, Gretna had a population of 10,879.

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Hurricane Katrina

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (2005), starving and dehydrated refugees who attempted to escape from New Orleans by walking over the Crescent City Connection bridge over the Mississippi were turned back by Gretna Police who threatened to shoot New Orleans residents and tourists who tried to enter Gretna on foot. The Crescent City Connection connects to United States Highway 90, at the time the only passable highway out of New Orleans.

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

The actions of the Gretna Police have been criticized by some. Others 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. 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. Some critics have alleged a motivation of racism, as the majority of those attempting to escape the flooding in New Orleans were African American.

The Gretna City Council passed a measure of support for the Chief of Police's decision to block the bridge, which continues to be a topic of controversy in Greater New Orleans.

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Famous residents

Frankie Ford (rock and roll performer)
Emmett Hardy (early jazz great)
Lash La Rue (Western film actor)
Mel Ott (baseball hall of famer)

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Geography

Image:LAMap-doton-Gretna.png

Gretna is located on 29°54'59" North, 90°3'15" West (29.916459, -90.054260)Template:GR.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.0 km² (3.9 mi²). 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 9.33% water.

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Demographics

As of the census Template:GR of 2000, there were 17,423 people, 6,958 households, and 4,286 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,922.0/km² (4,983.9/mi²). There were 7,665 housing units at an average density of 845.6/km² (2,192.6/mi²). 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. 6.34% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
Image:GretnaLevee.jpg

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. 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. 24.2% of the population and 20.8% of families were below the poverty line. 34.7% of those under the age of 18 and 20.2% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

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