Sulphur, Louisiana

Sulphur (French: Soufre) is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,410 at the 2010 census. Sulphur is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Sulphur is named for the sulfur mines that were operated in the area in the 1900s. In 1867, Professor Eugene W. Hilgard, an experienced geologist who was prospecting for oil and other minerals, conducted exploratory borings in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana and discovered sulfur in the caprock of a salt dome. However, the sulfur was beneath several hundred feet of muck and quicksand containing deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, which made mining extremely hazardous. Repeated unsuccessful attempts to sink conventional mining shafts in the 1870s and 1880s resulted in the loss of many lives.

In 1890, the German immigrant Herman Frasch invented and patented the Frasch Process of mining sulfur, using concentric pipes to pump superheated water into the ground, liquefy the mineral, and force the liquid to the surface with compressed air. The first molten sulfur was brought to the surface on Christmas Eve of 1894. Sulfur soon began to be mined on an industrial scale, with the molten mineral allowed to solidify and dry in enormous vats 100 by 400 feet, then blasted and hauled by rail to the Sabine River for shipment. Frasch's invention greatly facilitated sulfur mining, and the Union Sulphur Company, a joint venture of Dr. Frasch and the American Sulphur Company that owned the land, sparked a period of booming growth in the decades that followed.

Louisiana

Louisiana (ⁱ/luːˌiːziˈænə/ or ⁱ/ˌluːziˈænə/; French: État de Louisiane, [lwizjan]; Louisiana Creole: Léta de la Lwizyàn) is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are the local government's equivalent to counties. The largest parish by population is East Baton Rouge Parish, and the largest by land area is Plaquemines. Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, Texas to the west, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.

Much of the state's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota; typical examples include birds such as ibis and egrets. There are also many species of tree frogs, and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. In more elevated areas, fire is a natural process in the landscape, and has produced extensive areas of longleaf pine forest and wet savannas. These support an exceptionally large number of plant species, including many species of orchids and carnivorous plants.

Louisiana (shipwreck)

The Louisiana was a steamboat that sank in Lake Michigan off the coast of Washington, Door County, Wisconsin, United States, during the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. In 1992 the shipwreck site was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

History

The Louisiana was constructed in Marine City, Michigan in 1887, while her engine was built at the Dry Dock Complex in Detroit, Michigan.

On November 2, 1913, the Louisiana departed from Lorain, Ohio to deliver a load of coal to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After completing her stop in Milwaukee, the Louisiana made way for Escanaba, Michigan to pick up a load of iron ore. In the early morning hours of November 8, the ship passed through Porte des Morts. Upon reaching the strait, she was greeted by a severe snowstorm. The captain attempted to take refuge at Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin, but the heavy seas and howling wind proved too strong for the ship's anchors to hold her in place, and she was run aground.

Despite the situation on board the Louisiana, the crew opted to remain aboard the vessel rather than taking the one small lifeboat they had out to the raging seas. However, a fire broke out in the cargo hold later in the morning and the crew members were left with no choice. A rescue ship had been deployed from Plum Island, but the breaking waves were too powerful for the ship to be able to reach the crew. In the end, the crew was able to make it to shore.

Louisiana, Missouri

Louisiana is a city in Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 3,300 at the 2010 census. Louisiana is located in northeast Missouri, on the Mississippi River south of Hannibal.

Louisiana is at the junction of State Route 79 and US 54. The former follows the Mississippi River for most of its length from Hannibal to St. Charles County. The latter enters Louisiana from Illinois via the Champ Clark Bridge, named for a former US Speaker of the House from nearby Bowling Green.

History

The town was founded in 1817 by John Walter Basye and named after his daughter, Louisiana Basye. Other notable early residents were Samuel Caldwell and Joel Shaw, both of whom purchased land from Bayse in 1818. All three properties became the original town plat and comprised mainly riverfront properties. Many of the towns residents trace their ancestry to these town pioneers. Louisiana proved to be a profitable shipping point on the Mississippi River, and that wealth led to numerous substantial antebellum homes. Many of those still remain and, along with the Georgia Street Historic District in downtown Louisiana, are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources has noted that the town has "the most intact Victorian Streetscape in the state of Missouri."