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Covington
The city of Covington is the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, in the US state of Louisiana.
It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. The population was 8,483 at the 2000 census, and was estimated to be 9,347 in July 2005.
History
Earliest known settlement by Europeans was in 1800 by Jacques Dreux. In 1813 John Wharton Collins established a town here with the name of Wharton. He is buried on the corner of the city cemetery directly across from the City Hall.
The city was renamed after General Leonard Covington, a hero of the War of 1812.
Commerce was brought here by boat up the Bogue Falaya, which connects through the Tchefuncte River to Lake Pontchartrain.
In 1888 the railroad came to town.
In the late 20th century many people who worked in New Orleans started living in Covington, commuting across Lake Pontchartrain on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Population continues to grow, bringing Covington ever more into the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan area. In 2003, Covington elected its first female and first Republican mayor, Candace Watkins. She since has been elected to a second term after running unopposed.
Hurricane Katrina
Following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, Covington along with the rest of the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain experienced a massive population boom as a result of many former inhabitants of the New Orleans area being forced to move out of their storm ravaged homes.
Town fire
On the night of September 28, 2006, the City Hall and adjacent Police Department sustained heavy damage in a fire. John M. Thompson, who moved to Covington after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his home, was booked on a federal arson charge after setting the fire with a cigarette and hurricane evacuation pamphlets. The fire caused at least $350,000 in damage, and the council chambers will likely have to be demolished and rebuilt.
Geography
Covington is located at (30.479002, -90.104029) and has an elevation of .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.9 km² (6.9 mi²). 17.6 km² (6.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.45%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,483 people,[ 3,258 households, and 2,212 families residing in the city. The population density was 481.7/km² (1,248.0/mi²). There were 3,565 housing units at an average density of 202.4/km² (524.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.45% White, 20.17% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.25% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.56% of the population.]
There were 3,258 households out of which 33.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.8% were married couples living together, 17.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older....
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