Belle Chasse, Louisiana

There is little consensus regarding the origin of the name Belle Chasse. In French, belle chasse literally means "beautiful hunting." It is widely believed that it was so named due to the richness of wildlife which the initial French colonists observed when they settled in the region. Others say that Belle Chasse was named for Spanish colonial administrator Joseph Deville Degoutin Bellechasse, who lived there from 1806 to 1814. The Confederate statesman Judah P. Benjamin was the most famous owner of the Belle Chasse plantation. After falling into decay and abandonment by the 1930s, the landmark plantation house was demolished in 1960. The bell was salvaged and today is in front of the Belle Chasse Public Library. The Naval Air Station was founded in 1920 on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain, but in 1957 it relocated to its current location (Belle Chasse, Louisiana). It has been designated as a Joint Forces Reserve Air Station. It is home to various naval air units as well as an Air Force Reserve fighter squadron and a Marine Corps Reserve helicopter unit. In March 2009, U.S. Navy Reserve Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 (VAW-77) relocated its six E-2C aircraft from NAS Atlanta, GA to Belle Chasse. The squadron routinely deploys to the Caribbean on counter-narcotic operations. The squadron aircrew are all U.S. Naval Reservists while the maintenance department for the aircraft is run by Northrop Grumman Field Services. ==Geography==

Belle Chasse is located at (29.852243, -89.9983335), in the New Orleans metropolitan area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and (12.21%) is water. ==Demographics==

Belle Chasse first appeared as a census designated place the 1980 U.S. census. The median age was 38.7 years. 26.2% of residents were under the age of 18 and 14.5% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 97.8 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 92.5 males age 18 and over. 100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas. There were 3,823 households in Belle Chasse, of which 41.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 54.8% were married-couple households, 14.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 23.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. Income and poverty In the census-designated place, the median income for a household was $66,653, and $50,169 was the median income for males versus $41,623 for females. An estimated 11.3% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. ==Culture and arts==

Belle Chasse is home to the famous "Orange Fest," and "Crawfish Fest. It is also home to the Plaquemines Parish Seafood Festival. ==Education==

Plaquemines Parish School Board operates public schools in the entire parish. Belle Chasse Primary, Belle Chasse Middle, Belle Chasse High School, Belle Chasse Academy, Plaquemines Parrish Alternative School. At first Belle Chasse High, which opened in 1928, was K-12, but in 1977 Belle Chasse Middle School opened to take the middle grades away. Belle Chasse Primary opened in August 1994. Belle Chasse Middle received the 5th grade in 1999. The Plaquemines Parish Library maintains the Belle Chasse Branch, and the library headquarters in the F. Edward Hebert Building. ==Government==

Belle Chasse is the current and was the temporary home of the Plaquemines Parish Courthouse. The United States Postal Service operates a post office. Parish president Amos Cormier Jr. was once a resident of Port Sulphur and resided in Belle Chasse when he died. Kirk Lepine defeated incumbent Amos Cormier III in a runoff election on Dec. 8 2018 to become Plaquemines Parish President. ==National Guard==

Belle Chasse serves as a headquarters for the Louisiana Air Force National Guard and home of the 159th Fighter Wing. It served as the principal helicopter staging area for rescue operations during Hurricane Katrina. ==Notable people==

• Billy Nungesser, former Parish President and current Lt. Governor of Louisiana. • Chris Henry, former wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals • Benny Rousselle, former member of the Louisiana House (1996–1999) and the former president of Plaquemines Parish government (1999–2007) • Ernest Wooton, District 105 state representative (1999–2012), Plaquemines Parish sheriff (1984–1992) • Bella Blue, Burlesque dancer ==References==