Jennings, Louisiana

History

For whom the town was named, Jennings McComb was an Irish contractor for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He built the Jennings depot on a divide peculiar to the southwest Louisiana. This became the center of new development based on the railroad. The first settler was recorded as A. D. McFarlain, who came in 1881 from St. Mary Parish and opened a store. McFarlain also became the first rice grower, postmaster, brickmaker, and builder in the community. Prospering with Jennings’ growth, McFarlain was considered one of the town's prominent businessmen and civic leaders.

The Jennings area attracted numerous wheat farmers from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and other Midwestern states. The new settlers of southwest Louisiana were referred to as "Yankees" by the natives, who were of Acadian French and African-American descent. They had settled along the waterways in the parish, which they had relied on for transportation before the railroad. They fished in the bayous. The Cajuns gave appreciable aid to the settlers in homesteading and homemaking. The people grew rice, cotton, sweet potatoes, and corn.

Sylvester L. Cary reached this area on February 7, 1883, from Iowa. He became known as the town's "father," as he persuaded other Iowans to relocate there. He said he was "seeking a home where there was neither winter nor mortgages." So impressed was Cary by the fertile country around the Jennings depot that he shared his findings with others. He attracted fellow Midwesterners to southwest Louisiana by writing to friends in Iowa, extolling the area. When he returned to Iowa to pack up his family for the move to Jennings, he persuaded several neighbors preparing to migrate west, to follow him to Jennings and southwest Louisiana.

Much of southwest Louisiana was developed by the North American Land and Timber Co., which owned large portions of land. Seaman A. Knapp, president of the Iowa State College of Agriculture, was engaged in 1885 to demonstrate the region's suitability for rice production. Knapp attracted a number of Iowans to settle the area. The land company placed advertisements in newspapers published in the Midwestern states.

On May 2, 1888, the settlement of Jennings was incorporated as a village. In 1901, a fire destroyed a large portion of the wooden structures in Jennings.

That same year, Jennings was the site of the first oil well to produce in Louisiana, revealing its first oil field. Oil brought a boom to the town for a period. When oil production declined, the basic agricultural economy of the parish supported the town.

Geography

Jennings is located at (30.222207, -92.656880) and has an elevation of 26 ft.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.3 sqmi, of which 10.2 sqmi is land and 0.04 sqmi (0.19%) is water.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Jennings has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

| Jan record high F = 83 | Feb record high F = 87 | Mar record high F = 92 | Apr record high F = 97 | May record high F = 100 | Jun record high F = 104 | Jul record high F = 105 | Aug record high F = 107 | Sep record high F = 107 | Oct record high F = 98 | Nov record high F = 95 | Dec record high F = 89 | year record high F = 107

|Jan avg record high F = 75.0 |Feb avg record high F = 76.9 |Mar avg record high F = 81.4 |Apr avg record high F = 85.2 |May avg record high F = 90.4 |Jun avg record high F = 94.3 |Jul avg record high F = 95.3 |Aug avg record high F = 96.7 |Sep avg record high F = 94.4 |Oct avg record high F = 89.6 |Nov avg record high F = 82.9 |Dec avg record high F = 77.5 |year avg record high F = 97.7

|Jan avg record low F = 26.3 |Feb avg record low F = 30.9 |Mar avg record low F = 35.0 |Apr avg record low F = 43.1 |May avg record low F = 54.0 |Jun avg record low F = 65.3 |Jul avg record low F = 68.8 |Aug avg record low F = 68.2 |Sep avg record low F = 56.9 |Oct avg record low F = 43.0 |Nov avg record low F = 33.5 |Dec avg record low F = 29.7 |year avg record low F = 24.6

| Jan record low F = 7 | Feb record low F = 9 | Mar record low F = 20 | Apr record low F = 32 | May record low F = 39 | Jun record low F = 46 | Jul record low F = 59 | Aug record low F = 59 | Sep record low F = 43 | Oct record low F = 27 | Nov record low F = 22 | Dec record low F = 10 | year record low F = 7 | access-date = August 27, 2021}} | access-date = August 27, 2021}}

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,837 people, 3,862 households, and 2,390 families residing in the city.

Notable people==

• A.C. Clemons (1921–1992), served in the Louisiana State Senate
• Chancy Croft (1937–2022) Born in Jennings. Moved to Odessa, Texas, then Anchorage, Alaska. President of the Alaska Senate (1975–1977), Democratic Party nominee for Alaska governor (1978), President of the University of Alaska Board of Regents (2001–2002).
• Avalon Daggett (1907–2002), filmmaker
• Cleve Francis (born 1945), Country music artist, released three albums in the early 1990s.
• John E. Guinn (1952–2024), former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Jennings
• Eugene John Hebert (1923–1990), Society of Jesus Roman Catholic priest who disappeared in Sri Lanka
• W. Scott Heywood (1872–1950), member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1932–1936, author of homestead exemption; discovered oil in Jeff Davis Parish in 1901
• June James (1962–1990), NFL player
• Edith Killgore Kirkpatrick (1918–2014), member of Louisiana Board of Regents, 1978–1990; music educator; Baptist state official
• Monte Ledbetter (born 1943), American football player
• Pat Rapp (born 1967), Former MLB player (San Francisco Giants, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Anaheim Angels)
• Guy Sockrider (1921–2011), member of the Louisiana State Senate from Jennings from 1948 to 1964; industrialist in Jennings and later Lake Charles
• Donald Ellsworth Walter (born 1936), U.S. District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, based in Shreveport; U.S. attorney from 1969 to 1977, born in Jennings in 1936
• Travis Etienne (born 1999), American football running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
• Trevor Etienne (born 2004), American football running back for the Georgia Bulldogs.

Education

Jefferson Davis Parish Public Schools operates public schools serving Jennings. The schools serving Jennings, all within the city, include Jennings Elementary School (pk-6), and Jennings High School (7-12) https://web.archive.org/web/20080218084253/http://jenningshighschool.org/.

Bethel Christian School is a PreK-12 Christian school located in unincorporated Jefferson Davis Parish, near Jennings.

Jefferson Davis Parish Library operates the Headquarters Branch at 118 West Plaquemine Street in Jennings. In addition the City of Jennings operates the Jennings Carnegie Public Library at 303 North Cary Avenue.

Our Lady Immaculate (OLI) is a Catholic school serving grades PREK-8.

References

References

1. "City of Jennings, Louisiana". City of Jennings, Louisiana.
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
4. "Jennings (city), Louisiana". quickfacts.census.gov.
5. "library.mcneese.edu "THE HISTORY OF JENNINGS, LOUISIANA"".
6. "Letter of Nancy B. Vezinet, archivist for the State of Louisiana, 24 March 1982. She excerpted the relevant passages from ''Cities and Towns of Louisiana'' by Clare D'Artois Leeper. Cf. also A. A. Wentz, "The Vinton-Lake Charles Colony," ''Vinton (Ia.) Eagle,'' 14 April 1896.".
7. (2011-02-12). "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". [[United States Census Bureau]].
8. (2007-10-25). "US Board on Geographic Names". [[United States Geological Survey]].
9. [http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=26837&cityname=Jennings%2C+Louisiana%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Jennings, Louisiana]
10. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
11. "Explore Census Data".
12. . ["John E. Guinn"](https://www.miguezfuneralhome.com/obituaries/john-e-guinn).
13. "Pat Rapp Stats". Baseball Almanac.
14. (February 27, 2011). "Guy Sockrider". obits.dignitymemorial.com.
15. "[http://www.bcseagles.net/#!contact-us Contact Information]." Bethel Christian School. Retrieved on November 26, 2012. "15147 Hwy 102 Jennings, LA 70546"
16. "[http://cityofjennings.com/depts/library/ Carnegie Public Library:] {{webarchive. link. (2008-09-29 ." ''City of Jennings''. Accessed September 22, 2008.)