Louisiana Trivia & Tidbits - Page 17

Looking for Louisiana trivia? Try our list Louisiana little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

In Lake Charles (pop. 70,400) stands the Sallier Oak, which experts say is about 300 years old. The tree, with branches dipping almost to the ground, is named for the area's first French settler, Charles Sallier.

first appeared: 12/24/2000

Eunice (pop. 11,162) has a true prairie encompassing several city blocks. Years after civilization removed the grasses and wildflowers of Louisiana’s miles of prairie, original grasses and plants were replanted.

first appeared: 12/17/2000

A 3,000-year-old mound shaped like a bird with a wingspan of 640 feet, built by Native Americans, is located in northeastern Louisiana. Experts believe such mounds were often the center of cultural and religious activities.

first appeared: 12/10/2000

During the Civil War, Gov. Thomas Moore served in three state capitals: Baton Rouge, Opelousas, and Shreveport. The capital had to be changed to avoid Union troops.

first appeared: 12/3/2000

The first oil well in Louisiana was drilled in 1901 in Jennings (pop.11,305). Louisiana ranks second in the nation in oil production, behind Texas.

first appeared: 11/26/2000

The first American princess of Monaco was not Grace Kelly but Alice Heine, born in New Orleans in 1858. Heine married Prince Albert I in 1875, but the marriage did not last. The prince's second wife gave birth to the man who married Kelly, the movie star.

first appeared: 11/19/2000

Southern Louisiana has a pine forest area called the Ozone Belt, which got its name because the forest supposedly improves the quality of air in the area.

first appeared: 11/12/2000

Since 1541, when Hernando de Soto claimed Louisiana for Spain, the flags of France, Great Britain, Napoleon, the Republic of West Florida, the United States, the Confederacy, and Louisiana itself (an independent republic before joining the Confederacy), have flown over the state.

first appeared: 11/5/2000

Not surprisingly, the word jazz was first applied to music in New Orleans in the late 1800s. The music style combined elements of ragtime, marching band music, and the blues.

first appeared: 10/22/2000

The United States paid France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory in 1803, doubling the size of our country. Thirteen states—Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Minnesota, Colorado, North Dakota, and Montana—were carved out of the Louisiana Territory.

first appeared: 10/8/2000

The Atchafalaya Basin in St. Martin Parish is the largest freshwater river basin in the world, containing nearly 500,000 acres of swamps, lakes, and bayous.

first appeared: 9/24/2000

Louisiana’s state song, You are My Sunshine, was co-written by former governor Jimmie Davis in 1940. The tune became the official state song in 1977. Davis was governor from 1944-1948 and 1960-1964.

first appeared: 9/10/2000

Louisiana's State Capitol is the tallest capitol building in the country. It's 450 feet high and has 34 floors.

first appeared: 8/27/2000

The Madonna Church of Bayou Goula is said to be the smallest church in the world. It is approximately 6 square feet in area—room for about three people.

first appeared: 8/13/2000

The town of Waterproof doesn’t live up to its name. The town has moved three times to escape floodwaters since its founding in the mid-1800s. Today, Waterproof is two and a half miles from its original location, and a huge levee has been constructed around the town. The residents refuse to give up.

first appeared: 7/30/2000

Louisiana was the first state to pass a law making English its official language. The law was passed in 1811—109 years before another state, Nebraska, did the same thing.

first appeared: 7/16/2000

THE DIATONIC ACCORDION-commonly known as the Cajun accordion-is Louisiana?s official musical instrument. The instruments were hard to find after World War II because only one accordion factory was located outside the Iron Curtain, so Cajuns began making their own.

first appeared: 7/2/2000

The battle of New Orleans made Andrew Jackson a war hero. But, the battle was fought two weeks after the War of 1812 had ended. News of the war?s ending did not reach Lousiana until a month after the battle.

first appeared: 6/18/2000

Forget golden retrievers: Louisiana’s official state dog is the Catahoula Leopard Dog, a cross between a canine raised by the Native Americans of the Catahoula Lake region and the Spanish "war dog" of the early 1500s. The Catahoula has unusual glassy eyes, webbed feet, and a spotted coat. They love the water.

first appeared: 5/21/2000

In September 1999, a chance discovery of human remains was made in a rural part of Louisiana’s Bienville Parish. Researchers found them to be 5,630 years old–or 3,000 years before the pyramids of Egypt.

first appeared: 5/7/2000

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