SLS 17RS-88 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 7
BY SENATOR JOHNS
COMMENDATIONS. Commends the city of Lake Charles on the celebration of its 150
th
anniversary.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend the city of Lake Charles on the celebration of its one hundred fiftieth
3 anniversary.
4 WHEREAS, the first people to settle the lake were Mr. and Mrs. LeBleu of
5 Bordeaux, France in 1781, and it was known as LeBleu Settlement; and
6 WHEREAS, they secured their home six miles east of the present site of Lake
7 Charles, living peacefully with several Indian tribes; and
8 WHEREAS, other settlers ventured to the area, including Charles Sallier who
9 married Catherine LeBleu and the couple built their home on the lake and it became known
10 as Charlie's Lake; and
11 WHEREAS, by 1860, the area was being called "Charleston" or "Charles Town" and
12 on March 7, 1861, Lake Charles was officially incorporated as the town of Charleston,
13 Louisiana; and
14 WHEREAS, six years after the city was incorporated, dissatisfaction over the name
15 Charleston arose and on March 16, 1867, Charleston was renamed and incorporated as the
16 town of Lake Charles after its founder, Charles Sallier; and
17 WHEREAS, the first industry in Lake Charles was lumber and exporting that
18 commodity increased at the end of the Civil War with inexpensive pine being sought
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1 throughout the United States; and
2 WHEREAS, as a result, more sawmills were being built and the 1880s saw the small
3 sawmill village develop into a boom town and grow four hundred percent; and
4 WHEREAS, in addition to the lumber industry, Lake Charles had a geographic
5 advantage for the traveling entertainment business and many traveling troupes passing
6 through the South to New Orleans and on to Galveston and Houston found Lake Charles to
7 be a good place for a one-night Sunday performance; and
8 WHEREAS, Gerstner Field, a large aviation training camp during World War I, was
9 the first military air field built in Lake Charles and in Louisiana; and
10 WHEREAS, it was an integral part of Lake Charles' history, employed several
11 thousand people, and graduated four hundred ninety-nine fighter pilots and aviation
12 instructors; and
13 WHEREAS, after it was closed and demolished, Lake Charles and Southwest
14 Louisiana were left with a penchant for aviation that continues to this day; and
15 WHEREAS, in 1967, a time capsule was buried during the City of Lake Charles
16 Centennial Celebration with instructions that it be opened fifty years later during the
17 sesquicentennial celebration; and
18 WHEREAS, a centennial edition of the American Press, a McNeese State College
19 log roster of the Newcomer's Club, a centennial program book, a centennial parade picture
20 story, centennial coins and souvenirs, and a recorded message from Governor John
21 McKeithen, Mayor James Sudduth, Police Chief J. E. Pete Stout, and state Senator Jesse
22 Knowles, are included in the time capsule; and
23 WHEREAS, in honor of the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of Lake Charles,
24 Louisiana, the time capsule will be opened on Saturday, April 22, 2017; and
25 WHEREAS, today the city of Lake Charles is known as a friendly community that
26 still plays a large role in business and industry in Louisiana.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
28 does hereby commend the city of Lake Charles and its citizenry and public officials upon
29 the celebration of the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the municipality.
30 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
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1 mayor of the city of Lake Charles.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Nancy Vicknair.
DIGEST
SR 7 Original 2017 Regular Session Johns
Commends the city of Lake Charles on the celebration of its 150th anniversary.
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