Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana

{{short description|Parish in Louisiana, United States}} {{Use American English|date=June 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}} {{Infobox U.S. county | county = Tangipahoa Parish | state = Louisiana | type = Parish | ex image = Columbia Theater (479735797).jpg | ex image size = 250px | ex image cap = Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts in Hammond | founded year = 1869 | founded date = March 6 | seat wl = Amite City | largest city wl = Hammond | area_total_sq_mi = 823 | area_land_sq_mi = 791 | area_water_sq_mi = 32 | area percentage = 3.9 | population_as_of = 2020 | population_total = 133157 | population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana; United States |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/tangipahoaparishlouisiana,US/PST045221 |website=QuickFacts |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 2, 2022 |date=July 1, 2021}}</ref> | pop_est_as_of = 2025 | population_est = 141346 {{gain}} | pop_est_footnotes = | population_density_sq_mi = auto | time zone = Central | footnotes = | web = www.tangipahoa.org | named for = Acolapissa word meaning ''ear of corn'' or ''those who gather corn'' | district = 1st | district2 = 5th |logo=File:Logo of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.png|seal=File:Seal of Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.png}} [[File:Ponchatoula Creek Southeastern footbridge.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Footbridge across a tributary of Ponchatoula Creek leading to North Oak Street Park on the campus of Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Tangipahoa Parish]]

'''Tangipahoa Parish''' ({{IPAc-en|pron|ˌ|t|æ|n|dʒ|ᵻ|p|ə|ˈ|h|oʊ|ə}}) is a parish located on the southeastern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,157.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Tangipahoa_Parish,_Louisiana?g=0500000US22105|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=January 22, 2023}}</ref> The parish seat is Amite City,<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> while the largest city is Hammond. Southeastern Louisiana University is located in Hammond. Lake Pontchartrain borders the southeastern side of the parish.

The name ''Tangipahoa'' comes from an Acolapissa word meaning "ear of corn" or "those who gather corn." The parish was organized in 1869 during the Reconstruction era.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tangipahoa Parish|url=http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/parishes/Florida_Parishes/tangipahoa.html|publisher=Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism|access-date=September 5, 2014}}</ref>

Tangipahoa Parish comprises the Hammond, LA metropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Baton Rouge–Hammond, LA combined statistical area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Van Leuven |first=Andrew J. |date=August 4, 2023 |title=Recent Changes to U.S. Metropolitan and Micropolitan Areas |url=https://andrewvanleuven.com/post/cbsa_2023/ |access-date=January 11, 2024 |website=Andrew J. Van Leuven, Ph.D. |language=en-us}}</ref> It is one of what are called the Florida Parishes, at one time part of West Florida.

==History== {{More citations needed section|date=January 2022}} Tangipahoa Parish was created by Louisiana Act 85 on March 6, 1869, during the Reconstruction era.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Acts passed by the General Assembly of the state: To Create the Parish of Tangipahoa |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/pst.000018406139?urlappend=%3Bseq=87%3BowneLibrary |publisher=Louisiana State Legislature |access-date=February 2, 2022 |pages=83–86 |date=1869| hdl=2027/pst.000018406139?urlappend=%3Bseq=87 }}</ref> The parish was assembled from territories taken from Livingston Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. Tammany Parish, and Washington Parish. It was named after the Tangipahoa River and the historic Tangipahoa Native American people of this area. Tangipahoa is the youngest parish in the ''Florida Parishes'' region of southern Louisiana.

Parts of this area had already been developed for sugar cane plantations when the parish was organized, and that industry depended on numerous African American laborers who were freedmen after the war. Mostly white yeomen farmers occupied areas in the piney woods and resisted planters' attempts at political dominance. African Americans comprised about one-quarter of the population overall in the Florida Parishes before the war but were prevalent in the plantation areas, where they had been enslaved laborers.<ref name="pfeifer"/>

The region developed rapidly during and after Reconstruction. Both physical and political conflicts arose in Tangipahoa Parish among interests related to construction of railroads, exploitation of timber, yeoman farmers in the piney woods keeping truck farms, and the beginning of manufacturing.

Sugar cane had depended on the labor of large gangs of enslaved African Americans before the Civil War. After the war and emancipation, some freedmen stayed to work on the plantations as laborers. Others moved to New Orleans and other cities, seeking different work. This area had rapid development and received a high rate of immigrants and migrants from other areas of the country. Through the turn of the twentieth century, the eastern Florida Parishes had the most white mob violence and highest rate of lynchings (primarily of black men) in southern Louisiana.<ref name="pfeifer"/>

Especially after Reconstruction, whites helped black communities with flowers and food. Piney woods whites resisted the planters' efforts to restore their political power, but imposed their own brutal violence on freedmen.

Tangipahoa Parish became more socially volatile by a "pronounced in-migration" of northerners (from the Midwest) and Sicilian immigrants, coupled with "industrial development along the Illinois Central Railroad, and crippling political factionalism."<ref name="pfeifer"/>

During the period of 1877–1950, a total of 24 blacks were lynched by whites in the parish as a means of racial terrorism and intimidation. This was the sixth highest total of any parish in Louisiana<ref>[https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf ''Lynching in America, Third Edition: Supplement by County''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171023063004/https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf |date=October 23, 2017 }}, p. 6, Equal Justice Initiative, Mobile, AL, 2017</ref> and the highest number of any parish in southern Louisiana.<ref name="pfeifer">[https://books.google.com/books?id=zAGwb3G6soMC&q=Tangipahoa+parish Michael James Pfeifer, ''Rough Justice: Lynching and American Society, 1874-1947''], University of Illinois Press, 2004, pp. 83-84</ref> Twenty-two of these murders took place from 1879 to 1919, a time of heightened violence in the state. Unlike some other parishes, Tangipahoa did not have a high rate of legal executions of blacks; the whites operated outside the justice system altogether.<ref name="pfeifer"/> Among those lynched and hanged by a mob was Emma Hooper, a black woman who had shot and wounded a constable.<ref>Pfeifer (2004), ''Rough Justice'', p. 198, Footnote #104</ref>

In 1898 the Louisiana state legislature disenfranchised most slaves by raising barriers to voter registration. They effectively excluded blacks from politics for decades, until after passage and enforcement of federal civil rights legislation.

In the first half of the 20th century, many African Americans left Tangipahoa Parish to escape the racial violence and oppression of Jim Crow, moving to industrial cities in the Great Migration. Especially during and after World War II, they moved to the West Coast, where the buildup of the defense industry opened up new jobs. In the 21st century, blacks constitute a minority in the parish.

Timber, agriculture and industry are still important to the parish. It suffered flooding in 1932 and in the early 1980s. In 2016, Tangipahoa was one of many parishes declared a Federal disaster area due to historic flooding from rainfall and storms in both March and August.

==Geography== According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of {{convert|823|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|791|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|32|sqmi}} (3.9%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_22.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928155956/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_22.txt|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref> Lake Pontchartrain lies on the southeast side of the parish.

Most of the parish south of Ponchatoula consists of Holocene coastal swamp and marsh—gray-to-black clays of high organic content and thick peat beds underlying freshwater marsh and swamp.<ref>{{cite web | author=McCulloh, R. P. | author2=P. V. Heinrich | author3=J. Snead | year=2003 | url=http://www.lgs.lsu.edu/deploy/uploads/Ponchatoula%20100K.pdf | title=Ponchatoula 30 x 60 Minute Geologic Quadrangle | work=Louisiana Geological Survey | publisher=Louisiana State University | location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana | access-date=October 17, 2009 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628131228/http://www.lgs.lsu.edu/deploy/uploads/Ponchatoula%20100K.pdf | archive-date=June 28, 2010 }}</ref>

==Communities==

===Cities=== * Hammond (largest municipality) * Ponchatoula

===Towns=== * Amite City (parish seat) * Independence * Kentwood * Roseland

===Villages=== * Tangipahoa * Tickfaw

===Census-designated place=== * Natalbany

===Other unincorporated places=== {{div col}} * Baptist * Fluker * Husser * Loranger * Manchac (Akers) * Pumpkin Center * Robert * Rosaryville * Wilmer {{div col end}}

==Demographics== {{US Census population | 1870 = 7928 | 1880 = 9638 | 1890 = 12655 | 1900 = 17625 | 1910 = 29160 | 1920 = 31440 | 1930 = 46227 | 1940 = 45519 | 1950 = 53218 | 1960 = 59434 | 1970 = 65875 | 1980 = 80698 | 1990 = 85709 | 2000 = 100588 | 2010 = 121097 | 2020 = 133157 |estyear=2025 |estimate=141346 |estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2025">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-counties-total.html|title=County Population Totals and Components of Change: 2020-2025|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=April 10, 2026}}</ref> {{gain}} | align-fn = center | footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref> 1790-1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref> 1900-1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/la190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref> 1990-2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/22105.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 18, 2013|archive-date=August 21, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821124446/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/22105.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> | align = right }}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" |+'''Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana – Racial and ethnic composition''' {{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}} !Race / Ethnicity (''NH = Non-Hispanic'') !Pop 1980<ref name=1980Census>{{Cite web|title=1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 15 - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 20/12-20/20)|url=https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1980a_laABC-02.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau|page=}}</ref> !Pop 1990<ref name=1990Census>{{Cite web|title=1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin|url=https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1990/cp-2/cp-2-20-1.pdf|website=United States Census Bureau|page=15-38}}</ref> !Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US22105&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}</ref> !Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US22105&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}</ref> !style="background-color: #ffffb3;" | Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=p2&g=050XX00US22105&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=United States Census Bureau |access-date= }}</ref> !% 1980 !% 1990 !% 2000 !% 2010 !style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020 |- |White alone (NH) |55,375 |59,895 |69,300 |77,807 |style='background: #ffffe6; |79,825 |68.62% |69.88% |68.89% |64.25% |style='background: #ffffe6; |59.95% |- |Black or African American alone (NH) |23,945 |24,446 |28,388 |36,485 |style='background: #ffffe6; |39,770 |29.67% |28.52% |28.22% |30.13% |style='background: #ffffe6; |29.87% |- |Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) |84 |175 |222 |355 |style='background: #ffffe6; |409 |0.10% |0.20% |0.22% |0.29% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.31% |- |Asian alone (NH) |141 |232 |387 |714 |style='background: #ffffe6; |942 |0.17% |0.27% |0.38% |0.59% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.71% |- |Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH) |x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census</ref> |x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census</ref> |5 |35 |style='background: #ffffe6; |23 |x |x |0.00% |0.03% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02% |- |Other race alone (NH) |99 |10 |62 |108 |style='background: #ffffe6; |376 |0.12% |0.01% |0.06% |0.09% |style='background: #ffffe6; |0.28% |- |Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) |x <ref>not an option in the 1980 Census</ref> |x <ref>not an option in the 1990 Census</ref> |688 |1,333 |style='background: #ffffe6; |4,570 |x |x |0.68% |1.10% |style='background: #ffffe6; |3.43% |- |Hispanic or Latino (any race) |1,054 |951 |1,536 |4,260 |style='background: #ffffe6; |7,242 |1.31% |1.11% |1.53% |3.52% |style='background: #ffffe6; |5.44% |- |'''Total''' |'''80,698''' |'''85,709''' |'''100,588''' |'''121,097''' |style='background: #ffffe6; |'''133,157 ''' |'''100.00%''' |'''100.00%''' |'''100.00%''' |'''100.00%''' |style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%''' |}

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 133,157. The median age was 36.6 years. 23.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 94.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.3 males age 18 and over.<ref name="Census2020DP">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dp?get=NAME,DP1_0021P,DP1_0024P,DP1_0025C,DP1_0049C,DP1_0045C,DP1_0069C,DP1_0073C,DP1_0125P,DP1_0126P,DP1_0129P,DP1_0133P,DP1_0137P,DP1_0138P,DP1_0139P,DP1_0141P,DP1_0142P,DP1_0143P,DP1_0145P,DP1_0146P,DP1_0147C,DP1_0148C,DP1_0149C,DP1_0156C,DP1_0157C,DP1_0158C,DP1_0159P,DP1_0160P&for=county%3A105&in=state%3A22|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=January 3, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref><ref name="Census2020PL">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/pl?get=NAME,P1_001N,P1_003N,P1_004N,P1_005N,P1_006N,P1_007N,P1_008N,P1_009N,P2_001N,P2_002N,H1_001N,H1_002N&for=county%3A105&in=state%3A22|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2021|access-date=January 3, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

The racial makeup of the parish was 61.1% White, 30.1% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.2% from some other race, and 5.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 5.4% of the population.<ref name="Census2020PL"/>

54.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 46.0% lived in rural areas.<ref name="Census2020DHC">{{cite web|title=2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)|url=https://api.census.gov/data/2020/dec/dhc?get=NAME,P2_002N,P2_003N&for=county%3A105&in=state%3A22|website=United States Census Bureau|year=2023|access-date=January 3, 2026|df=mdy}}</ref>

There were 50,961 households in the parish, of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.2% were married-couple households, 19.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.5% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

There were 56,685 housing units, of which 10.1% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 69.1% were owner-occupied and 30.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.5% and the rental vacancy rate was 10.3%.<ref name="Census2020DP"/>

==Government and politics== The parish is part of both Louisiana's 1st congressional district and Louisiana's 5th congressional district. Since the late 20th century most of the conservative, white-majority voters have left the Democratic Party and shifted to the Republican Party. African Americans have largely continued to support the Democratic Party and its candidates.

The parish government is governed by the Louisiana State Constitution and the Tangipahoa Parish Home Rule Charter. The Parish Government of Tangipahoa is headed by a parish president and a parish council (president-council government). The council is the legislative body of the parish, with authority under Louisiana State Constitution, the Parish Home Rule Charter, and laws passed by the Louisiana State Legislature. The Parish Sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer; other elected officers include the coroner, assessor, and clerk of court.

Keith Bardwell, justice of the peace for the parish's 8th ward (Robert, Louisiana), attracted attention in October 2009 for refusing to officiate the wedding of an interracial couple. Bardwell, a justice of the peace for 34 years, had concluded that "most black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society". He said he does not perform weddings for interracial marriages because "I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves."<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2009/10/17/top_stories/8847.txt | archive-url= https://archive.today/20130125021302/http://www.hammondstar.com/articles/2009/10/17/top_stories/8847.txt | url-status= dead | archive-date= January 25, 2013 | title= JP refuses to marry couple | publisher= Daily Star (Hammond) | date= October 15, 2009 | access-date= October 17, 2009 | quote= Bardwell said he came to the conclusion that most black society does not readily accept offspring of such relationships, and neither does white society.... "I don't do interracial marriages because I don't want to put children in a situation they didn't bring on themselves," Bardwell said. "In my heart, I feel the children will later suffer." }}</ref> Bardwell said he had refused to perform the weddings of four couples during the 2½-year period before the news of his actions was publicized, resigned effective November 3, 2009.<ref name="bbc09">{{cite news| title=US judge in mixed-race row quits | work=BBC News | url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8341556.stm | date= November 4, 2009 | access-date=November 4, 2009}}</ref> Governor Bobby Jindal said that the resignation was "long overdue."<ref name="bbc09" />

Despite the parish's Republican leanings, the parish is also the home of Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards. Edwards won over 60% of the parish vote in 2015 and carried the parish again in 2019, outperforming Democratic presidential candidates by over 30 points in both elections.

===Parish Council=== Tangipahoa Parish is governed by an elected ten-member Council, each representing a geographic district and roughly equal populations. As of October 2016 its chairman was Bobby Cortez. Kristen Pecararo is the clerk of the council.<ref name="council">[https://www.tangipahoa.org/government/council/find-your-district#council-members Council page on Parish website], accessed December 1, 2019.</ref>

===President of Tangipahoa Parish=== In 1986, the former governing body of Tangipahoa Parish, the Tangipahoa Police Jury, and the voters of the Parish approved a "home rule charter" style of government. The charter provided for the election of a parish president, essentially a parish-wide mayor. Democrat Gordon A. Burgess was elected to an initial one-year term and re-elected the following year for a four-year term. Burgess was repeatedly re-elected as parish president until he retired in 2015.

In 2016, Republican businessman Robert "Robby" Miller succeeded Burgess. In April 2016, the Parish hired its first chief administrative officer, Shelby "Joe" Thomas, Jr. to handle operating functions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.actionnews17.com/news/thomas-named-tangipahoa-parish-governments-first-cao-1555729|title=Thomas named Tangipahoa Parish Government's first CAO|work=ActionNews17|access-date=March 8, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- !|President !! Terms of Office !! Party |- | Gordon Burgess || October 27, 1986 – January 11, 2016 || {{Party shading/Democratic}} | Democratic |- | Robby Miller || January 11, 2016 – incumbent || {{Party shading/Republican}} | Republican |}

{{PresHead|place=Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 8, 2018}}</ref>}}  {{PresRow|1912|Democratic|40|1,061|225|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1916|Democratic|159|1,326|12|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1920|Democratic|440|1,501|0|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1924|Democratic|479|1,626|0|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,415|2,834|0|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1932|Democratic|455|4,404|3|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,374|4,624|2|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1940|Democratic|1,284|5,900|3|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1944|Democratic|1,572|4,419|0|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|1,287|2,184|3,937|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1952|Democratic|5,166|5,850|0|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1956|Republican|5,788|4,831|566|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1960|Democratic|3,285|6,648|4,418|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1964|Republican|9,732|7,109|0|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1968|American Independent|2,907|4,983|13,088|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1972|Republican|11,607|5,227|1,623|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1976|Democratic|9,242|14,432|637|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1980|Democratic|15,187|15,272|883|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1984|Republican|19,580|12,799|200|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1988|Republican|16,669|13,527|492|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1992|Democratic|14,128|15,194|4,923|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|1996|Democratic|15,517|18,617|3,457|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2000|Republican|20,421|15,843|891|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2004|Republican|26,181|15,345|609|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2008|Republican|31,434|16,438|730|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2012|Republican|31,590|17,722|787|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2016|Republican|33,959|16,878|1,579|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2020|Republican|37,806|18,887|968|Louisiana}} {{PresRow|2024|Republican|37,500|16,886|718|Louisiana}} {{PresFoot}}

===Law enforcement=== The Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office is headquartered in Hammond.<ref name="sheriff">{{cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.tpso.org/about-us |publisher=Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office |accessdate=February 2, 2022}}</ref> The Sheriff's office was excluded from a DEA task force in 2016 after the Justice Department charged two deputies with stealing money and drugs seized in raids.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grueskin |first1=Caroline |last2=Mustian |first2=Jim |last3=Roberts III|first3=Faimon A. |title=In strip club sting, undercover Louisiana agents 'cross the line' with big 'no-no,' experts say |url=https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/communities/livingston_tangipahoa/article_df7ee444-aca0-11e8-a6fb-9f776e03c16d.html |accessdate=February 2, 2022 |work=The Advocate (Louisiana) |date=September 1, 2018}}</ref>

==Education== The parish is served by the Tangipahoa Parish School System.<ref>[http://www.tangischools.org/ Official website] of the Tangipahoa Parish School System</ref> Southeastern Louisiana University is located in Hammond.

On seven occasions, the American Civil Liberties Union has sued the Tangipahoa Parish School Board, along with other defendants, for having allegedly sponsored and promoted religion in teacher-led school activities.<ref>Mitchell, David. "School board sued over prayer", ''Baton Rouge Morning Advocate'', Capital City Press, p. B01.{{When|date=May 2010}}</ref>

===Education=== The elected school board governs and oversees the Tangipahoa Parish School System (TPSS). The Board has a long history of racial discrimination in the hiring of teachers. In 1975, it was ordered to ensure one-third of the teaching staff were Black. Both the Board and the Court ignored the mandate for more than thirty years. During the period from 1998 to 2008, the Board hired fewer Black teachers than any other school system in the state. In 2010, a second ruling strengthened the first.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Anderson |first1=Melinda |title=A Root Cause of the Teacher-Diversity Problem |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/01/a-root-cause-of-the-teacher-diversity-problem/551234/ |access-date=August 21, 2018 |magazine=The Atlantic |date=January 23, 2018}}</ref>

==National Guard== The parish is home to the 204th Theater Airfield Operations Group and the Forward Support Company of the 205th Engineer Battalion. This 205th Engineer Battalion is a component of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard. These units reside within the city of Hammond. A detachment of the 1021st Engineer Company (Vertical) resides in Independence, Louisiana. The 236th Combat Communications Squadron of the Louisiana Air National Guard also resides at the Hammond Airport.

==Transportation== ===Railroads===

Amtrak's daily ''City of New Orleans'' long-distance train stops in Hammond, both northbound (to Chicago) and southbound. It serves about 15,000 riders a year, and Hammond-Chicago is the ninth-busiest city pair on the route.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/1038/trains_2014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309054137/https://www.railpassengers.org/site/assets/files/1038/trains_2014.pdf |archive-date=March 9, 2018 |url-status=live|title=Amtrak Fact Sheet|date=2015|website=National Association of Railroad Passengers|access-date=March 8, 2018}}</ref>

The historic main line of the Illinois Central that carries freight through the parish is now part of CN. It continues to be busy.

==Notable people== {{div col}} * Robert Alford, professional football player, Atlanta Falcons, Arizona Cardinals * Chris Broadwater, former District 86 state representative, resides in Hammond * Nick Bruno, president of University of Louisiana at Monroe * Hodding Carter, 20th-century journalist * John L. Crain, president of Southeastern Louisiana University * Donald Dykes, former professional football player, New York Jets and San Diego Chargers * John Bel Edwards, former Governor of Louisiana; former Minority Leader of Louisiana House of Representatives; former District 72 state representative, resides in Amite * C. B. Forgotston, political activist * Barbara Forrest, critic of intelligent design * Tim Gautreaux, writer * Kevin Hughes, former professional football player, St. Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers * Bolivar E. Kemp, U.S. representative, 1925–1933 * Bolivar Edwards Kemp, Jr., Louisiana Attorney General, 1948–1952 * Wade Miley, professional baseball pitcher * Harlan Miller, professional football player, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins * James H. Morrison, represented Louisiana's 6th congressional district from 1943 to 1967 * Kim Mulkey, college basketball player, United States Olympic Team, LSU head women's basketball coach * Rufus Porter, former professional football player * Billy Reid, fashion designer * Weldon Russell, former state representative from Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes * Britney Spears, entertainer *DeVonta Smith, professional football player, Philadelphia Eagles, 2020 Heisman Trophy Winner, Alabama Crimson Tide football * Jackie Smith, former professional football player, St. Louis Cardinals and Dallas Cowboys, NFL Hall of Famer * Irma Thomas, Grammy Award-winning singer * LaBrandon Toefield, former professional football player, Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers * Earl Wilson, former major league baseball player for Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres * Harry D. Wilson, Louisiana state representative and state agriculture commissioner; pushed for the establishment of the town of Independence in 1912 * Justin Wilson, chef and humorist {{div col end}}

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{official website}} * {{cite web |title=History of Tangipahoa Parish |url=http://www.tangitourism.com/About-Us/History |publisher=Tangipahoa Parish Convention & Visitors Bureau}} * {{cite web| url=https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/index.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629201419/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/index.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=June 29, 2007 | title=Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana | publisher=National Park Service | work=Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary| date=September 26, 2000 }}

{{Geographic Location |Center = Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana |North = Pike County, Mississippi |Northeast = Walthall County, Mississippi |East = Washington Parish and St. Tammany Parish |Southeast = Jefferson Parish |South = St. Charles Parish |Southwest = St. John the Baptist Parish |West = St. Helena Parish and Livingston Parish |Northwest = Amite County, Mississippi }} {{Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana}} {{Louisiana parishes}} {{Authority control}} {{Coord|30.62665|-90.40568|format=dms|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-LA_source:wikidata}}

Category:Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Category:1869 establishments in Louisiana Category:Louisiana parishes Category:Louisiana placenames of Native American origin Category:Populated places in the United States established in 1869 Category:Swamps of Louisiana