Top 10 things to know about Tangipahoa, and it’s not all strawberries

• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Jun 14, 2009

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It’s all in a name

Tangipahoa Parish was named for the Tangipahoa Indians, who lived in the area when the French originally settled Louisiana. Tangipahoa is believed to be the Choctaw Indian word for “ear of corn” or “cornstalk.” Tangipahoa is also the name of the scenic river that feeds into Lake Pontchartrain and the name of a village of 764 residents along U.S. 51.

Ponchatoula

Another Native American name belongs to the city of Ponchatoula. The city was created in the 1850s and given the name of the nearby Ponchatoula Creek, according to the city’s Chamber of Commerce. Ponchatoula is believed to be a Choctaw word meaning “hanging hair,” a reference to Spanish moss on trees. Today, it is the home of 6,337 residents and hosts the parish’s most popular festival, the Strawberry Festival, every March.

When railroad was king

The creation of this long, narrow parish — 51 miles long and 18 miles wide — out of Livingston, St. Tammany, St. Helena and Washington parishes in 1869 was driven by the development of the railroad that connects New Orleans and Chicago. All eight of its municipalities — Ponchatoula, Hammond, Tickfaw, Independence, Amite, Roseland, Tangipahoa and Kentwood — are located along the rail line.

Scenery

The parish boasts gentle, rolling hills on its north end along the Mississippi state line and swamps and cypress flats at its south end along the north shores of lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas.

Agriculture

Strawberries are the famous crop of the parish, but 76 percent of the $63.3 million worth of agricultural output in 2007 was in livestock, dairy production and related products, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Agriculture accounts for about 3 percent of the parish’s overall economic growth, but about a quarter of the parish’s 790 square miles is devoted to farming, according to the Bureau.

Strawberries

Strawberry farms also attracted a large community of Italian immigrants to the parish. They purchased land and grew the crop in the late 1800s and early 1900s. This ethnic heritage is celebrated every April at the Italian festival in Independence.