Editing Erath, Louisiana (section)

==Economy==
Erath is home to [[Henry Hub]], an important junction of [[natural gas]] pipeline systems. Natural gas prices in North America are more or less set at this junction.

The "Henry" hub is so named for its location in the Henry hamlet of Erath, which was named after the Henry High School that stood there until damage from flooding due to Hurricane Rita forced its closure and demolition. This school was named for its benefactor, William Henry, who originally immigrated from Copenhagen, Denmark as Ludwig Wilhelm Kattentidt, circa 1840,<ref name="VPbyPerrin">{{cite book |last=Perrin |first=Warren A. |title=Vermilion Parish |year=2011 |publisher=Arcadia Pub. |location=Mt. Pleasant, SC |isbn=9780738582245 |page=27 |access-date=January 29, 2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RcGBGrNTFhEC&q=william+henry&pg=PA47}}</ref> then dropped the surname and used his father's middle 'Heinrich' for his surname of Henry. There are Henry descendants in the area to this day.

It was customary for benefactors to sponsor schools; there were quite a few similarly sponsored schools in Vermilion Parish around that time.<ref name="ErathSchoolsByBodin">{{cite web|last=Bodin |first=Stacy |title=History of the Erath Schools |url=http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/vpkids/vp/erath/erathhistory/ErathSchools/erathschoolsystem.htm |work=Vermilion Parish Schools |access-date=January 29, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140203140323/http://www.vrml.k12.la.us/vpkids/vp/erath/erathhistory/ErathSchools/erathschoolsystem.htm |archive-date=February 3, 2014 }}</ref> Being that long ago and in a rural area, with schools sometimes sponsored even in homes, there was great variation in what was offered to how many, and it often changed over time. Records say that the Henry school was founded in 1877,<ref name="ErathSchoolsByBodin" /> and apparently became a high school in 1896 because it celebrated its centennial in 1996.<ref name="VPbyPerrin" />

In 1992, the Vermilion Parish school district reorganized the schools.<ref name="HenryHighTornDown">{{cite news|title=Henry High being torn down|url=http://www.vermiliontoday.com/henry-high-being-torn-down|access-date=January 30, 2014|newspaper=Vermilion Today|date=March 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308032227/http://www.vermiliontoday.com/henry-high-being-torn-down|archive-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Students transferred to Erath High, and Henry High became an elementary school. Then on September 24, 2005 (less than a month after [[Hurricane Katrina]]), [[Hurricane Rita]] smashed the parish and ruined the school. The area was also hit hard three years later by [[Hurricane Ike]], and the main building was finally razed around March 2009.<ref name="HenryHighTornDown" /> Likewise, St. John Catholic Church across the street had its rectory damaged; it is being replaced with a new building elevated to meet new flood standards as of early 2014.

When land for the Henry school was bequeathed, it was stipulated for education into perpetuity, or to be returned to the heirs.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}  The gymnasium was salvaged and is still used by the school district to this day.<ref>{{cite news|title=Very Special Arts Festival takes place in Vermilion Parish in Henry High gym|url=http://www.vermiliontoday.com/very-special-arts-festival-takes-place-vermilion-parish-henry-high-gym|access-date=January 30, 2014|newspaper=Vermilion Today|date=April 25, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308030713/http://www.vermiliontoday.com/very-special-arts-festival-takes-place-vermilion-parish-henry-high-gym|archive-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> A Google Earth comparison of, for example, February 28, 2006, to April 23, 2012, at the intersection of Highways 330 and 689 shows a parking lot where the main school was, and the church's rectory gone, but the gymnasium in clear use by child sports organizations and other groups.