Zachary is a city in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States, in the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 11,275 at the 2000 census. As the population of East Baton Rouge Parish grows, Zachary is increasingly transforming itself from a country town to an affluent suburb of Baton Rouge. Land prices in Zachary have increased dramatically in recent years because of this, and, as of 2006, the displacement caused by Hurricane Katrina is expected to intensify this even more as former residents of New Orleans neighborhoods move northward. However, the U.S. Census Bureau released a population count for East Baton Rouge Parish, done in July 2006 but released in Mach 2007 which includes Baker, Louisiana and Zachary and found that only 19,264 displaced citizens remain in East Baton Rouge Parish which dismisses all claims about Zachary's "intensifying" growth with only a small portion of displaced citizens remaining and many still consider themselves "temporary" as they wait for federal recovery cash to return to their homes in the New Orleans metropolitan area or other Gulf Coast regions. While the study dismissed claims of Zachary's intensifying growth as a result of displaced citizens of Hurricane Katrina, Zachary is continually adding an enormous amount of residents due to having the Number 1 ranked school System in Louisiana for 3 consecutive years.

History

Zachary was named after a farmer who owned the land that became the present city of Zachary. According to local lore, Darel Zachary was a very successful farmer until 1883 when the Illinois Central Railroad built a railroad track straight through his land. The resulting train traffic killed many of his pigs and cows. Zachary sold his 160 acres of land for $1 per acre and left nothing but his name in Zachary.

Zachary's first post office opened in 1885, and it was incorporated as a city in 1889. The first census in 1914 reported just 419 residents. By 1980, there were 7,525 residents, in 2000 there were 11,275 residents.

The Zachary school district became independent from the East Baton Rouge Parish school district in 2004, and immediately received the highest standardized test scores in the state of Louisiana.

Zachary was the first city in Louisiana to elect a Republican as mayor in 20th-century Louisiana. Jack Louis Breaux, Sr., served as a part-time mayor from 1966-1978, and a full-time mayor under a home-rule charter from 1978 until his death of a brain tumor on January 26, 1980.

Geography

Zachary is located at (30.655085, -91.156781).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.8 square miles (61.5 km²), of which, 23.7 square miles (61.5 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.13%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 11,275 people, 3,836 households, and 3,064 families residing in the city. The population density was 475.2 people per square mile (183.5/km²). There were 4,076 housing units at an average density of 171.8/sq mi (66.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.76% White, 28.72% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.46% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.72% of the population.

There were 3,836 households out of which 43.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 17.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.26.

The population was spread out across age groups with 30.0% under 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 20.8% from 45 to 64, and 10.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.7 males in the same age range.

The median income for a household in the city was $49,669, and the median income for a family was $57,389. Males had a median income of $45,092 versus $25,143 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,554. About 6.9% of families and 9.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.6% of those under age 18 and 7.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

• Donna Douglas, actress famous for playing Elly Mae Clamplett on "The Beverly Hillbillies" situation comedy in the 1960s.
• Jack Breaux (1926-1980), first Republican mayor of Zachary since Reconstruction
• John Daly, PGA Superstar in 1991
• Trindon Holliday (born 1986), wide receiver and running back for the LSU Fighting Tigers football team.
• John N. Kennedy (born 1951), Louisiana state treasurer
• Roderick Mullen, NFL Cornerback
• Bob Odom (born 1935), Outgoing Louisiana agriculture commissioner
• Doug Williams, former NFL quarterback for the Washington Redskins and MVP of Super Bowl XXII
• Robert Pete Williams (1914-1980), blues musician
• Kedrick Brown (born 1981), Zachary High School basketball player who was the first Junior College player to be drafted in the NBA draft

Education

Unlike other residents of East Baton Rouge Parish, Zachary residents are served by the Zachary Community School Board.

The Zachary Community School Board took schools from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System in 2002.

Notes

External links

• Chamber of Commerce website
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