Westwego is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located in Jefferson Parish. It is a suburban community of New Orleans in the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area and lies along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The population of the city of Westwego was 8,568 at the 2020 United States census.

Etymology

One story states that Westwego was so named because it was a major crossing point on the Mississippi River during the great westward movement of the late 19th century. When travelers were asked their destination, they would often reply "west we go". Another more specific tale, recounted in John Churchill Chase's Frenchmen, Desire, Good Children is that the name was the specific outcome of an 1871 meeting of a railroad board of directors in New York, where planning was undertaken to use the site as an eastern terminus ("...west we go from there"). There has been further speculation that this use of "Westwego" as a place name may have been influenced by the board members' familiarity with the name of Oswego, New York.

History

Early history and development

The area of Westwego, Louisiana was inhabited by Native Americans for thousands of years before Europeans settled here. These indigenous people created huge shell middens that can still be seen in the vicinity today. The French first developed the area in 1719 when French minister of state Claude le Blanc started a plantation and a port along the Mississippi River.

The port became an important site in the history of the transatlantic slave trade. The estate was later owned by the Zeringue family, who turned it into bustling sugar plantation, known as Seven Oaks. Planter Camille Zeringue built a canal at the plantation that played a prominent role in the community's history for decades. Other antebellum plantations in the area included the Whitehouse Plantation, Magnolia Lane, and the LaBranche Plantation among others. After Camille Zeringue's death, Seven Oaks was owned by Pablo Sala, who divided the property along the canal into lots, which he sold for $40 each. Many of these lots were purchased by displaced hurricane victims from Cheniere Caminada whose homes were destroyed in the great unnamed 1893 storm. With the addition of these families, who were mostly fisherman and trappers, the community of Salaville was born.

Geography

The city of Westwego is located in the Greater New Orleans metropolitan area and region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.64%, is water.

!Pop 2010

!

!% 2000

!% 2010

!

|-

|White alone (NH)

|7,846

|5,996

|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,956

|72.90%

|70.26%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |57.84%

|-

|Black or African American alone (NH)

|2,137

|1,708

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,326

|19.86%

|20.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |27.15%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)

|98

|99

|style='background: #ffffe6; |76

|0.91%

|1.16%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.89%

|-

|Asian alone (NH)

|165

|64

|style='background: #ffffe6; |87

|1.53%

|0.75%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.02%

|-

|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|0

|1

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3

|0.00%

|0.01%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.04%

|-

|Other race alone (NH)

|11

|17

|style='background: #ffffe6; |50

|0.10%

|0.20%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.58%

|-

|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)

|120

|119

|style='background: #ffffe6; |310

|1.11%

|1.39%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.62%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|386

|530

|style='background: #ffffe6; |760

|3.59%

|6.21%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8.87%

|-

|Total

|10,763

|8,534

|style='background: #ffffe6; |8,568

|100.00%

|100.00%

|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%

|}

According to the 2010 United States census, there were 8,534 people, 3,811 households, and 2,450 families residing in the city. By the 2020 census, there were 8,568 people living in Westwego. Per the 2020 census, the racial and ethnic makeup was 57.84% non-Hispanic white, 27.15% Black or African American, 0.89% Native American, 1.02% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.2% multiracial or some other race, and 8.87% Hispanic or Latino American of any race; the growth of the non-white population from 2010 to 2020 reflected state- and nationwide trends of diversification.

In 2010, the median income for a household in the city was $27,218, and the median income for a family was $31,187. Males had a median income of $29,398 versus $18,916 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,160. About 17.9% of families and 22.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.7% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65 or over. In 2019, the median income for a household in the city was $30,126. Males had a median income of $30,217 versus $43,022 for females. An estimated 28.3% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Education

thumb|Joshua Butler School in Westwego

The public schools in Westwego are operated by the Jefferson Parish Public School System.

Elementary schools taking portions of Westwego include:<!--These maps are to be compared against other maps--> Isaac G. Joseph Elementary School in Westwego, Gilbert PreK-8 school in Avondale, and Truman PreK-8 in Estelle. In 2020, Myrtle C. Thibodeaux and Vic A. Pitre Elementary Schools were consolidated into Joseph Elementary, on the site of Pitre, and named after the first African-American superintendent of the school district. Most middle school Westwego residents are zoned to Worley Middle School in Westwego, while some are zoned to Gilbert PreK-8 and Truman PreK-8. Gilbert was known as Henry Ford Middle School until 2019. High school residents are zoned to Higgins High School in an unincorporated area.

Our Lady of Prompt Succor Catholic School is a private Catholic school (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans) in the city.

Jefferson Parish Library operates the Edith S. Lawson Library in Westwego.

In 2020, Ray St. Pierre Academy moved into the Thibodaux facility. Joshua Butler Elementary School, a public elementary school in Westwego, closed in 2023.

Notable people

  • John Alario, dean of the Louisiana State Legislature; State Senate President since 2012
  • Sherman A. Bernard (1925-2012), Louisiana insurance commissioner lived at the time of his election in 1972 in Westwego.
  • Robert Billiot, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Jefferson Parish since 2008; former educator from Westwego
  • Skyler Green, reared in Westwego, professional football wide receiver and return specialist
  • Ted Haggard, former Evangelical preacher, lived there for a short while in 2007 after a gay prostitution scandal

References

  • City of Westwego