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Tangipahoa is named for a Native American
tribe that once lived the area between the Pearl
River and the Mississippi. The Tangipahoa were a Muskogean speaking
tribe. Originally located along the Pearl River, they were forced by more
powerful oppressors including Indians,
French, and English to move farther west. One group settled on the
west-bank of the Mississippi where they lived until being defeated by the
Houma and Okelousas, They then retreated to the Pearl River area. Over
the years their tribe rapidly lost numbers, merged with other tribes,
and finally disappeared.
The name Tangipahoa is Choctaw and is believed to mean "cornstalk" or "corncob". The Choctaw themselves translated it to mean "corncob", however, the Choctaw Dictionary fails to record the word "pahpha"
The Tangipahoa
Parish is part of the area known as the Florida
parishes. It was established on March 6, 1869, the last of the Florida
parishes. It was cut from several surround parishes as a right-away for
a railroad from New Orleans to Natchez. The parish seat is Amite along
the railroad, highway 51, and Interstate 55.
There are 42 schools
in the parish, 35 public and 7 private.The
parish has 790.3 square miles (51 miles long, north to south, and 18 miles
wide). Click here for info of
town names from
"Rootsweb.com"
The topography of the parish extends from low flat land in the south to
rolling hills in the north. It is the center of the strawberry industry
in the South. Ponchartoula on the south end - population 5,475- is already recognized as the "Strawberry Capital of the World". The town also holds the title of America's Antique City". The town takes its name from the Choctaw word for "hanging hair" (Spanish moss).
For photos of my drive up highway 51, click
here.
For political information about who
and where, click
here.
For addresses to parish cities, click
here.
For Tangipahoa Parish Links, click
here.
For Kentwood information including
Britney Spears, click here.