Mandeville
From New Orleans Wiki
Mandeville, LA is a suburb of New Orleans and is considered a part of Metropolitan New Orleans. It lies about 24 miles directly north, over Lake Pontchatrain, of New Orleans. Mandeville holds very strong ties with the New Orleans and a large percentage of its residents commute across the causeway to work. In fact many of Mandeville's residents are transplants from the city who desired a more rural place to live just outside of New Orleans.
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[edit] History
[edit] Past
The city of Mandeville was founded in 1834 by Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville (1785-1868). The Marigny family was a prominent family of Louisiana, owning nearly 1/3 of the city of New Orleans. Bernard inherited a fortune from his father, Pierre Enguerrand Philippe de Mandeville Ecuyer, Sieur de Marigny. Bernard resided in New Orleans; however, he maintained a rich and profitable plantation on the site of what is now Fontainebleau State Park. He went west of Bayou Castine (derived from a Choctaw Indian word "caste" meaning fleas), and purchased approximately 5,000 acres. There he planned to develop a prosperous new town.
Louis Bringer, surveyor general of Louisiana, drew the town plans, according to Bernard's directive. These plans were notarized on January 14, 1834. The town plan included guidelines for both the governing and operation of the new town, as well as civic structures, streets, markets, churches and wharves. The space between the lake and the streets fronting the lake were never to be obstructed in any manner. Most streets were 50 feet in width, except for Marigny and Jackson at 100 feet and Lake Street at 60 feet. Drainage was directed to Bayou Castine, which was never to be re-channelled. Lots were designated at 60 x 90 feet. The sale of lots was advertised in New Orleans' newspapers; and, Bernard provided steamship service for interested parties.
The historic part of the city of Mandeville consists of a unique collection of homes, which were constructed as summer retreats along the Lake Pontchartrain shoreline. Presently, two structures are on the National Register of Historic Places. These are the Moore House "Hightide" at 1717 Lakeshore Drive and the Morel-Nott House at 2627 Lakeshore Drive.
Many families were forced to give up their properties during the depression of 1837. Bernard, himself was required to sell his Fontainebleau Plantation in 1852. Mandeville was inhabited by very few people during the Civil War. Union troops under the command of Major F.H. Peck occupied the town. By the late 19th century, Mandeville's lakeshore resort town image began to increase in popularity once again. The steamship-ferry service from New Orleans continued until 1936. Rail connections through eastern St. Tammany Parish from New Orleans became another mode of transportation. However, the current immigration growth is the direct result of the opening of the Causeway Bridge in 1956. <ref name=city>www.cityofmandeville.org</ref>
[edit] Present
The city of Mandeville, as the gateway to the North Shore and St. Tammany Parish, enjoys a lifestyle that is quite different from New Orleans, its South Shore neighbor. Mandeville embraces the serenity of its rich naturalistic environment. As a waterfront and water-oriented community, Mandeville enjoys a temperate climate amid a lush canopy of live oaks, magnolias and towering pines. Wildlife, such as squirrels, rabbits, opossums, raccoons, deer, armadillos, fish and numerous species of birds and water fowl are abundant throughout the area.
The community exhibits a well-integrated sense of quality and scale, when viewed in perspective with nature. Planning guidelines have established spacious lot sizes, generous building setbacks, and overall low-density residential development. In order to ensure that the pines and hardwoods retain dominance as the community's vertical element, there is a construction height limitation of 35 feet. Landscaping requirements have been enacted to preserve existing trees and vegetation and to replace trees lost through development. Low-rise, landscaped monument signs have been adopted through sign regulations to minimize the visual clutter. These landscape regulations, along with the establishment of a Tree Board (the Community Appearance Commission), have enabled Mandeville to become a proud member of the Tree City USA program. Mandeville's slower paced style of life is parallelled by a preference for sailboats, rather than motor boats on the lake. Herein lies the past legacies that the present city of Mandeville seeks to protect and preserve.
[edit] Stats
- Population (year 2000): 10,489. Estimated population in July 2005: 11,632 (+10.9% change)
- Males: 4,945 (47.1%), Females: 5,544 (52.9%)
- Zip codes: 70448, 70471.
- Median resident age: 37.7 years
- Median household income: $52,500 (year 2000)
- Median house value: $156,700 (year 2000)
- Races in Mandeville:
White Non-Hispanic (90.4%) Black (4.8%) Hispanic (2.4%) Two or more races (0.9%) American Indian (0.7%) Other race (0.6%)
- Ancestries:
French (19.3%) Irish (16.2%) German (15.8%) English (14.4%) Italian (11.8%) United States (9.0%)
- For more stats - city_data
[edit] Katrina
[edit] Immediate Impact
Although New Orleans and Mississippi sustained the most considerable damage from Hurrican Katrina, Mandeville also felt the consequences of the storm. The eye of Katrina passed over the Louisiana/Mississippi borber about thirty miles east but Mandeville did recieve high powered winds and a relatively extensive flooding of the lakefront area. Mandeville sustained heavy losses of its thick timber forests and many homes and businesses were damaged due to wind, fallen trees, and floods. The flooding was particulary devastating on the lakefront where a large storm surge inundated much of the "Old Mandeville" area. Many houses along Lakeshore Dr. were completely destroyed and several businesses, such as Don's, Rip's, and High Water, sustained heavy damage. After the hurricane passed most of the city streets were too cluttered by trees to drive a vehicle any great distance. Although work quickly began and in an unprecedented pooling of local muscle and resources many of the neighborhoods became accessable by the end of the first week. The city remained blanketed in darkness for about a month after. During this time a curfew was initiated in order to keep any possible looting at bay. Through gung ho neighborhood posses and increased levels of law enforcement widespread looting and general malarkey never occured. Actually the only truly noticable change in the social climate was an increased level of neighbor cooperation and an unspoken sense of comraderie that came with the shared traumatic experience. For the next several months the local business slowly began reopening and the majority of the local population began returning. Most residents came home to houses with light to heavy tree damage and/or some level of flood damage. All in all though the general concensus was that Mandeville had made it through the storm and its future was secure.
Map of Inundation in St. Tammany -- Image:Katrinala.pdf
[edit] Recovery and Growth
Mandeville's recovery was more of an individual issue than a community issue and the residents took it upon themselves to do what was necessary to restore any damaged property to its prestorm levels. More important than the actual recovery of the city was the sudden surge of population that came along with the devastation of New Orleans. Because Mandeville is so close to New Orleans, and also safely on the northshore, many of New Orleans' more affluent resisdents decided to move to Mandeville. According to Louisiana Speaks St. Tammany had a population increase of almost 17% in the months after Katrina. Another big effect was the vastly increased traffic in the small city. By the time January '06 arrived in was very difficult to get across town in a timely fashion. Although the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina was extensive Mandeville quickly picked itself up and has been growing at breakneck speed ever since. The area around N. Causeway Approach and Florida Ext. have already been modified to allow an easier transition from Mandeville to the causeway and vice versa. There are currently plans to widen Highway 190 as well as Hwy 22 in order to accomodate the increase in traffic as well as many other plans to improve the quality of life in town.
