Jennings, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jennings, Louisiana
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| City of Jennings | |
The front facade of the W. H. Tupper General Merchandise Museum, circa 2008
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| Motto(s):
"Cradle of Louisiana Oil"
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Location of Jennings in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana.
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Jefferson Davis |
| Founded | May 2, 1888 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 10.58 sq mi (27.40 km2) |
| • Land | 10.56 sq mi (27.35 km2) |
| • Water | 0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2) |
| Elevation | 26 ft (8 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 9,837 |
| • Density | 931.53/sq mi (359.67/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
70546
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| Area code(s) | 337 |
| FIPS code | 22-38355 |
| Website | City of Jennings, Louisiana |
Jennings is a city in Louisiana, United States. It is the main city of Jefferson Davis Parish. Jennings is located near Lake Charles. In 2020, about 9,837 people lived there.
Jennings is the biggest city in the Jennings Micropolitan Statistical Area. This area includes all of Jefferson Davis Parish. It is also part of the larger Lake Charles-Jennings Combined Statistical Area. Jennings is also in the Acadiana region of Louisiana. Many people in this area speak French. They are often descendants of early Acadian settlers.
Contents
A Look Back: Jennings' History
Jennings was named after Jennings McComb. He was an Irish builder for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He built the train station in Jennings. This station became the center of a new town.
The first person to settle here was A. D. McFarlain in 1881. He came from St. Mary Parish and opened a store. McFarlain was also the first person to grow rice, make bricks, and build homes in the area. He was an important businessman in the town.
Many wheat farmers from states like Iowa and Kansas moved to Jennings. The local people, who were mostly Acadian French and African-American, called these new settlers "Yankees". The locals had lived along the waterways and used them for travel. They also fished in the bayous. The Cajuns helped the new settlers a lot with farming and building homes. People grew crops like rice, cotton, sweet potatoes, and corn.
Sylvester L. Cary arrived in Jennings in 1883 from Iowa. He is known as the town's "father." He convinced many other Iowans to move there. He was looking for a place with "neither winter nor mortgages." Cary was very impressed by the rich land around Jennings. He wrote to his friends in Iowa, telling them how great the area was. When he went back to Iowa to move his family, he persuaded many neighbors to come with him to Jennings.
A company called North American Land and Timber Co. helped develop much of southwest Louisiana. This company owned a lot of land. In 1885, they hired Seaman A. Knapp. He was the president of the Iowa State College of Agriculture. His job was to show that the area was good for growing rice. Knapp helped many Iowans settle in the area. The land company also put ads in newspapers in the Midwest.
On May 2, 1888, Jennings officially became a village. In 1901, a big fire destroyed many wooden buildings in Jennings.
In the same year, Jennings became famous for something else. It was the site of Louisiana's first oil well. This discovery brought a lot of excitement and growth to the town for a while. When oil production slowed down, farming continued to be the main way people made a living.
Where is Jennings? Geography Facts
Jennings is located at 30°13′20″N 92°39′25″W / 30.22222°N 92.65694°W. Its elevation is about 26 feet (8 meters) above sea level.
The United States Census Bureau says that Jennings covers a total area of about 10.3 square miles (27.4 square kilometers). Most of this area, about 10.2 square miles (27.35 square kilometers), is land. A small part, about 0.04 square miles (0.05 square kilometers), is water.
Weather in Jennings: Climate Overview
The weather in Jennings has hot, humid summers. Winters are usually mild to cool. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Jennings has a humid subtropical climate. This is often shown as "Cfa" on climate maps.
| Climate data for Jennings, Louisiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1897–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) |
87 (31) |
92 (33) |
97 (36) |
100 (38) |
104 (40) |
105 (41) |
105 (41) |
107 (42) |
98 (37) |
95 (35) |
89 (32) |
107 (42) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 60.1 (15.6) |
63.9 (17.7) |
70.7 (21.5) |
77.1 (25.1) |
83.7 (28.7) |
88.5 (31.4) |
90.2 (32.3) |
91.0 (32.8) |
87.7 (30.9) |
80.4 (26.9) |
70.2 (21.2) |
62.5 (16.9) |
77.2 (25.1) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 50.9 (10.5) |
54.5 (12.5) |
61.1 (16.2) |
67.5 (19.7) |
74.8 (23.8) |
80.3 (26.8) |
81.9 (27.7) |
82.1 (27.8) |
78.3 (25.7) |
69.5 (20.8) |
59.7 (15.4) |
53.1 (11.7) |
67.8 (19.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 41.6 (5.3) |
45.1 (7.3) |
51.5 (10.8) |
57.8 (14.3) |
65.9 (18.8) |
72.0 (22.2) |
73.7 (23.2) |
73.2 (22.9) |
69.0 (20.6) |
58.7 (14.8) |
49.2 (9.6) |
43.6 (6.4) |
58.4 (14.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 10 (−12) |
9 (−13) |
20 (−7) |
32 (0) |
39 (4) |
46 (8) |
59 (15) |
59 (15) |
43 (6) |
27 (−3) |
22 (−6) |
10 (−12) |
9 (−13) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 6.29 (160) |
4.25 (108) |
3.77 (96) |
4.79 (122) |
5.52 (140) |
6.61 (168) |
5.36 (136) |
6.80 (173) |
5.80 (147) |
4.73 (120) |
4.85 (123) |
4.74 (120) |
63.51 (1,613) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.1 (0.25) |
0.1 (0.25) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 11.6 | 10.2 | 8.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 12.2 | 14.2 | 12.8 | 9.8 | 7.8 | 8.9 | 11.3 | 123.5 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Who Lives in Jennings? Population and People
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1890 | 412 | — | |
| 1900 | 1,539 | 273.5% | |
| 1910 | 3,925 | 155.0% | |
| 1920 | 3,824 | −2.6% | |
| 1930 | 4,036 | 5.5% | |
| 1940 | 7,343 | 81.9% | |
| 1950 | 9,663 | 31.6% | |
| 1960 | 11,887 | 23.0% | |
| 1970 | 11,783 | −0.9% | |
| 1980 | 12,401 | 5.2% | |
| 1990 | 11,305 | −8.8% | |
| 2000 | 10,986 | −2.8% | |
| 2010 | 10,383 | −5.5% | |
| 2020 | 9,837 | −5.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
In 2020, the 2020 United States census showed that 9,837 people lived in Jennings. There were 3,862 households and 2,390 families.
| Race | Number | Percentage |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 6,364 | 64.69% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 2,782 | 28.28% |
| Native American | 31 | 0.32% |
| Asian | 30 | 0.3% |
| Pacific Islander | 3 | 0.03% |
| Other/Mixed | 387 | 3.93% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 240 | 2.44% |
Famous Faces from Jennings
Many interesting people have come from Jennings, Louisiana. Here are a few:
- A.C. Clemons (1921–1992) was a member of the Louisiana State Senate.
- Chancy Croft (born 1937) was born in Jennings. He later became the President of the Alaska Senate.
- Avalon Daggett is a filmmaker.
- Cleve Francis (born 1945) is a country music artist. He released three albums in the early 1990s.
- John E. Guinn is a current member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Jennings.
- Eugene John Hebert (1923–1990) was a Society of Jesus Roman Catholic priest. He disappeared in Sri Lanka.
- W. Scott Heywood (1872–1950) was a member of the Louisiana State Senate. He also discovered oil in Jeff Davis Parish in 1901.
- June James is a former NFL football player.
- Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick (born 1918) was a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents. She was also a music teacher.
- Monte Ledbetter is an American football player.
- Pat Rapp is a former MLB baseball player. He played for teams like the San Francisco Giants and Florida Marlins.
- Guy Sockrider was a member of the Louisiana State Senate from Jennings. He was also a businessman.
- Donald Ellsworth Walter (born 1936) was a U.S. District Judge. He was born in Jennings.
- Travis Etienne (born 1999) is an American football running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
- Trevor Etienne is an American football running back for the Georgia Bulldogs.
Learning in Jennings: Schools and Libraries
The Jefferson Davis Parish Public Schools system runs the public schools in Jennings.
- Jennings Elementary School teaches students from pre-kindergarten to 6th grade.
- Jennings High School is for students in 7th to 12th grade.
Bethel Christian School is a private Christian school. It teaches students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. It is located near Jennings.
The Jefferson Davis Parish Library has its main branch in Jennings. It is at 118 West Plaquemine Street. The City of Jennings also has its own library. It is called the Jennings Carnegie Public Library and is at 303 North Cary Avenue.
Our Lady Immaculate (OLI) is a Catholic school. It serves students from pre-kindergarten to 8th grade.
Images for kids
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A friendly robot to help you learn!
See also
In Spanish: Jennings (Luisiana) para niños
