Editing St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana (section)

==History==

===Pre-history===
St. Tammany was originally inhabited by numerous Indian peoples, including the Colapissas, Bayou Goulas, Chickasaw, Biloxi, Choctaw and Pensacola nations (although Frederick S. Ellis, in his book ''St. Tammany Parish: L'autre Côté du Lac'', claims that the regionally prominent Choctaw tribe did not arrive in the area until after it had begun to be settled by Europeans).

In 1699, [[Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville]], a French explorer, was the first European to visit the area of present-day St. Tammany Parish. While exploring lakes [[Lake Pontchartrain|Pontchartrain]] and [[Lake Maurepas|Maurepas]], Iberville wrote in his journal, "The place where I am is one of the prettiest I have seen, fine level ground bare of canes. The land north of the lakes is a country of pine trees mixed with hard woods. The soil is sandy and many tracks of buffalo and deer can be seen."

===West Florida===
After the 18th-century founding and development of [[New Orleans]], [[French people|French]] settlers began to enter the region. The primary industry was the production of [[pitch (resin)|pitch]], [[tar]], [[turpentine]] and [[resin]] from the forests.

After [[early modern France|France]] was defeated in the [[French and Indian War]], St. Tammany (along with the other future "[[Florida Parishes]]") became part of [[British West Florida]]. During this period, the area comprising today's St. Tammany attracted British [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalists]] who wanted to escape persecution in the [[Thirteen Colonies]]. After [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] was defeated in the [[American Revolutionary War]], West Florida was governed by [[Spanish West Florida|the Spanish]]. The West Florida period ended with [[Republic of West Florida|the West Florida revolt]], which precipitated annexation by the United States.

===Creation and naming of the parish===
In 1810, President [[James Madison]] claimed West Florida as part of Louisiana and sent [[William C. C. Claiborne]] to claim the territory. Claiborne established the boundaries of the [[Florida Parishes]]. He created St. Tammany Parish and named it after the [[Lenape|Delaware Indian]] Chief [[Tamanend]] (c.1628-1698), who made peace with [[William Penn]] and was generally renowned for his goodness.<ref>[http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2006-05-02/blake.php Blake Ponchartrain: New Orleans Know-It-All, 2 May 2006] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206085349/http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2006-05-02/blake.php |date=December 6, 2006 }}, bestofneworleans.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.</ref> Among the nine Louisiana parishes (counties) named for "saints" (see "[[List of parishes in Louisiana]]"), St. Tammany is the only one whose [[eponym]] is not a [[Canonization|saint]] of the [[Roman Catholic Church]], the ecclesiastical parishes of which formed the basis for the state's civil parishes. In fact, Tamanend is not known to have been a Christian, and was certainly not a Roman Catholic. However, he became popularly revered as an "American patron saint"<ref>[http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/knickerbocker/ Charles W. Jones: Knickerbocker Santa Claus, October 1954], stnicholascenter.org. Retrieved November 10, 2015.</ref> in the post-[[American Revolutionary War|Revolutionary]] period (long after his death).

Under Spanish rule, the area east of the [[Tangipahoa River]], which would become St. Tammany Parish (and later [[Washington Parish, Louisiana|Washington Parish]] to the north), was known as the St. Ferdinand District. Due to the fact that [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand]] was also the name of [[List of Spanish monarchs|the disputed King of Spain]] at the time, it was deemed that the new parish should have a more "American" sounding name.

===19th century===
In the early 1830s, there were only two towns in St. Tammany: [[Covington, Louisiana|Covington]], a retreat with summer homes and hotels; and [[Madisonville, Louisiana|Madisonville]], a shipbuilding and sawmill town. The area south of Covington to Lake Pontchartrain's northern shore and extending eastwards to the [[Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana)|Pearl River]] border with the state of [[Mississippi]] was known as the Covington Lowlands. This region included the present-day towns of [[Mandeville, Louisiana|Mandeville]], [[Abita Springs, Louisiana|Abita Springs]], [[Lacombe, Louisiana|Lacombe]], [[Slidell, Louisiana|Slidell]], and [[Pearl River, Louisiana|Pearl River]].

Mandeville was founded in 1834 by [[Bernard de Marigny|Bernard de Marigny de Mandeville]] and was developed as a health resort for wealthy New Orleanians, because it was believed that [[ozone]] was both salutary and naturally emitted by the numerous trees in the area (both beliefs later proven false), giving rise to an early name for the region&nbsp;— the "Ozone Belt".

Regular ferry service commenced across [[Lake Pontchartrain]], and shortly thereafter another resort community was founded, Abita Springs. A railroad was constructed in the 1880s connecting Covington and Abita Springs to Mandeville and to [[New Orleans]], allowing for further growth, particularly in Abita Springs, where underground spring waters permitted supposedly healthful baths.

===20th century===
[[Image:StTammanyTrolleyTicket1915.jpg|thumb|Round-trip trolley ticket on the St. Tammany and New Orleans Railways and Ferry Co., punched to be good on the transit line between [[Mandeville, Louisiana|Mandeville]] and [[Covington, Louisiana|Covington]], Louisiana, for the date of December 30, 1915]]

With the completion of high-speed road connections to St. Tammany from [[New Orleans]] and its older suburbs ([[Lake Pontchartrain Causeway]], the [[I-10 Twin Span Bridge]]), the parish began to develop as a bedroom community. [[Suburb|Suburban sprawl]] first took root in and around [[Slidell, Louisiana]], in the eastern part of the parish. Though the Causeway was completed in 1956 and linked suburban [[Metairie, Louisiana|Metairie]] with western St. Tammany, growth in and around western St. Tammany towns like Mandeville, Covington, and Madisonville only gathered momentum in the late 1960s.

===21st century===
While St. Tammany was sparsely populated and almost wholly rural in the 1950s, its population exceeded 200,000 in the wake of [[Hurricane Katrina]]'s landfall in 2005.

A major event in the parish's transition from a bedroom community of commuters to a more diverse and independent economic unit occurred in 2008 with the relocation of [[Chevron Corporation|Chevron's]] regional corporate headquarters from [[New Orleans Central Business District|downtown New Orleans]] to an office park outside of Covington.

One of the parish's most powerful figures was Jack Strain, who served as St. Tammany sheriff from 1996 to 2016.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain gets 4 life sentences for sex crimes |url=https://www.wdsu.com/article/st-tammany-jack-strain-sentenced/39175824 |access-date=May 13, 2023 |work=WDSU |date=February 22, 2022 |language=en}}</ref> After losing his bid for a sixth term, Strain was the subject of a federal corruption investigation into his privatizing a parish work release program in exchange for kickbacks. After being charged with 16 federal counts, Strain agreed to plead guilty to one count of bribery.<ref>{{cite web |title=Eastern District of Louisiana - Former St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Jack Strain Sentenced to 120 Months Imprisonment After Previously Pleading Guilty to Soliciting and Receiving Bribes Involving Contract for Privatization of Work Release Program in St. Tammany Parish |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edla/pr/former-st-tammany-parish-sheriff-jack-strain-sentenced-120-months-imprisonment-after |website=www.justice.gov |access-date=May 13, 2023 |language=en |date=April 6, 2022}}</ref> But the federal investigation also uncovered accusations of sexual abuse involving juveniles. Strain was charged with four counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated incest and one count each of sexual battery and indecent behavior with a juvenile.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pagones |first1=Sara |title=Former St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain guilty on all sex crime charges |url=https://www.nola.com/news/courts/article_339b914a-4095-11ec-b26d-17006bd04e1b.html |access-date=May 13, 2023 |work=NOLA.com |date=November 8, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to four life terms in prison.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Pagones |first1=Sara |title=Jack Strain formally sentenced to life behind bars for sex crimes |url=https://www.nola.com/news/courts/jack-strain-formally-sentenced-to-life-behind-bars-for-sex-crimes/article_a9dee4c2-9371-11ec-ac85-ff8c1e9ea8fe.html |access-date=May 13, 2023 |work=NOLA.com |date=February 22, 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

===Hurricane Katrina effects===
[[Hurricane Katrina]] made its final landfall in eastern St. Tammany Parish. The western [[eye wall]] passed directly over St. Tammany Parish as a [[Category 3 hurricane]]  at about 9:45 AM CST, August 29, 2005.<ref>[http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ms-word/TCR-AL122005_Katrina.doc] Richard D. Knabb, Jamie R. Rhome, and Daniel P. Brown, National Hurricane Center, "Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Katrina", August 23–30, 2005. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref>  The communities of Slidell, Avery Estates, Lakeshore Estates, Oak Harbor, Eden Isles and Northshore Beach were inundated by the storm surge that extended over {{convert|6|mi|0}} inland. The storm surge impacted all {{convert|57|mi}} of St. Tammany Parish's coastline, including Lacombe, Mandeville and Madisonville.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/katrina_la_sttammany.shtm |title=FEMA: Hurricane Katrina Surge Inundation and Advisory Base Flood Elevation Maps |publisher=Fema.gov |date=June 4, 2009 |access-date=July 22, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710083558/http://www.fema.gov/hazard/flood/recoverydata/katrina/katrina_la_sttammany.shtm |archive-date=July 10, 2010 }}</ref> The storm surge in the area of the Rigolets Pass was estimated at {{convert|16|ft}}, not including wave action, declining to {{convert|7|ft}} at Madisonville. The surge had a second peak in eastern St. Tammany as the westerly winds from the southern eye wall pushed the surge to the east, backing up at the bottleneck of the Rigolets Pass.

The twin spans of I-10 bridges between Slidell and New Orleans East were virtually destroyed, and much of I-10 in New Orleans East was under water. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway and the [[U.S. Route 11 in Louisiana|U.S. Highway 11]] bridge, connecting the north and south shores of Lake Pontchartrain, were open only to emergency traffic.

Initial search and rescue operations were conducted south of [[U.S. Route 190 (Louisiana)|U.S. Highway 190]] from Lacombe east to the state line.<ref>[http://www2.stpgov.org/news/2005/TuesdayAug30_9am.html] St. Tammany Parish Emergency Operations Center Parish Status Update, Tuesday, August 30, 2005, 9:00 AM. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref>  Fire District No. 1 and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's office evacuated over 3,000 people from flooded homes and rescued about 300 people in imminent danger.<ref>[http://www2.stpgov.org/news/2005/10272005-StateoftheParish.html] "State of the Parish" Speech, October 27, 2005, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref>  Radio communications among first responders functioned throughout the rescue period, but the 9-1-1 system was not operational for ten days.<ref>[http://www2.stpgov.org/news/2005/09082005_Thur_5PM_status_update.html] St. Tammany Parish Emergency Operations Center Parish Status Update, Thursday, September 8, 2005, 5:00 PM. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref> Utility services were not available anywhere in the parish. Generator power was available for hospitals and a special needs shelter. Hospitals were running at capacity on generator power.

The hurricane-force winds toppled trees and telephone poles parish-wide, blocking all transportation routes. Land debris cleanup continued into 2007, with over 6.6 million cubic yards (5&nbsp;million m<sup>3</sup>) collected.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stpgov.org/pdf/1179167900.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=September 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724015847/http://www.stpgov.org/pdf/1179167900.pdf |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }} "State of the Parish" Speech, October 27, 2005, St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis. Retrieved September 11, 2009.</ref> Debris cleaning in waterways continued at least through 2009.
Hurricane Katrina damaged 48,792 housing units in St. Tammany Parish from flood waters, high winds, or both.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/GulfCoast_HousingDamageEstimates_021206.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=July 29, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305162439/http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/GulfCoast_HousingDamageEstimates_021206.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2012 }}"Current Housing Unit Damage Estimates, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma", February 12, 2006, Analysis by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research</ref>