BAYOU LA BATRE, ALABAMA

'Bayou La Batre' (IPA pronunciation: ) is a city in Mobile County, Alabama, United States. It is included in the Mobile metropolitan statistical area. At the 2000 census, the population was 2,313. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 2,725. [1]
Bayou La Batre is considered a fishing village, due to the relaxed pace of life in the area, and as a seafood-processing harbor for fishing boats and shrimp boats. The local Chamber of Commerce described the city as the "Seafood Capital of Alabama" for packaging seafood from hundreds of fishing boats.^[1]
Bayou La Batre was the first permanent settlement on the south Mobile County mainland and was founded in 1786, when French-born Joseph Bouzage (Bosarge) [1733-1795] was awarded a 1,259-acre Spanish land grant on the West Bank of the bayou (see history below). The modern City of Bayou La Batre was incorporated in 1955.
Bayou La Batre was featured in the 1994 movie ''Forrest Gump'' and the book upon which it is based. In April 2005, Disney Studios launched a secretly built pirate ship, the ''Black Pearl'', out of Bayou La Batre for filming sequels to ''.
"Pirates of the Bayou" (2005-01-23),
Russ Henderson, ''Mobile Register'', webpage:
POTC2-page4.
On August 29, 2005, the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, which produced the largest storm surge ever recorded in the area, reaching nearly 16 feet^[2] and pushing many shrimp boats and the cargo ship ''M/V Caribbean Clipper'' onto shore (see details below).

Contents

Geography

History

Demographics

Education

Film and book references

Shipbuilding

Hurricane Katrina

Notes

References

External links

Geography

Bayou La Batre is located at (30.403253, -88.248117).
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.8 km² (4.2 mi²). 10.4 km² (4.0 mi²) of it is land, and 0.4 km² (0.2 mi²) of it (3.59%) is water.

History

As part of the French settlement of the Gulf Coast, the bayou was originally called "Reviere D'Erbane" and acquired the present name from the French-maintained battery of artillery on the west bank ("bayou of the battery"). Bayou La Batre was the first permanent settlement on the south Mobile County mainland and was founded in 1786, when Joseph Bouzage (Bosarge) [1733-95] moved into the area and was awarded a 1,259-acre Spanish land grant on the bayou's west bank.
Born in Poitiers, France, Joseph Bouzage came to the Gulf Coast circa 1760, married Catherine Louise Baudreau (Boudreau) on June 5, 1762, and was the father of seven children, including one son, Jean Baptiste.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,313 people, 769 households, and 599 families residing in the city. The population density was 221.6/km² (573.9/mi²). There were 845 housing units at an average density of 81.0/km² (209.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 52.44% White, 10.25% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 33.29% Asian, 0.43% Pacific Islander, 0.95% from other races, and 2.38% from two or more races. 1.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The large Asian population is attributable to a large influx of Vietnamese American shrimpers as immigrants following the Vietnam War as well as Cambodian and Laotian refugees and their children. Bayou la Batre was a popular destination for such immigrants because it fostered and continues to foster a similar shrimping industry to that of Vietnam.
There were 769 households, out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.8% were married couples living together, 17.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.01, and the average family size was 3.40.
The age distribution was 29.9% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,539, and the median income for a family was $27,580. Males had a median income of $22,847 versus $14,042 for females. The per capita income for the city was $9,928. About 22.9% of families and 28.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.9% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Bayou La Batre is served by the Mobile County Public School System. The city has Booth Elementary School and Alba Middle School. Secondary public school students go to Alma Bryant High School in Irvington.

Film and book references

Bayou La Batre is mentioned in the film ''Forrest Gump'' as the home of Forrest's army buddy Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue, whom he met during the Vietnam War. After Bubba is killed in combat, despite Forrest's attempt to save him, Forrest eventually fulfills a promise to Bubba by moving to Bayou La Batre, buying a shrimp boat, and trying to catch shrimp. Forrest and another character in the book, Lt. Dan, are out shrimping in the Gulf when Hurricane Carmen strikes the region; Forrest, Lt. Dan, and the boat survive, but the rest of the Bayou La Batre shimp boat fleet is destroyed. Forrest and Lt. Dan then make a fortune catching shrimp and found the fictitious Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, based in Bayou La Batre.
In Winston Groom's book of the same name (upon which the movie was based), Forrest doesn't buy a boat to catch shrimp, but starts a small but ultimately successful shrimp hatchery in Bayou La Batre with the help of Bubba's father.

Shipbuilding

Bayou La Batre is a center for shipbuilding. In 2005, crews of Disney Studios secretly built a 130-foot pirate ship, the ''Black Pearl'', at Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre; the pitch-black ship was actually a huge wooden prop built on top of a modern 96-foot-long steel utility boat. In April 2005, crews sailed the ship out of the bayou for filming in the Caribbean, making sequels to Disney's 2003 film ''.

Cargo ship and boats aground at Bayou La Batre, Alabama, after Hurricane Katrina.

Ship ''M/V Caribbean Clipper'' aground at Bayou La Batre after Hurricane Katrina (the ship was unloaded by crane six months later and refloated).

Hurricane Katrina

On August 29, 2005, the area was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, with a local storm surge of nearly 16 feet"Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Katrina." (post-analysis) ''National Hurricane Center.'' revised August 10, 2006. and higher waves that engulfed Bayou La Batre and pushed over 23 shrimp boats and the cargo ship ''M/V Caribbean Clipper'' onto shore."View Online Video at Alabama Public Television." The captain rode out Katrina on the 179-foot cargo ship, owned by Caribbean Shipping Inc., and the ship was returned to sea six months later, using a large crane.
Students from the Alba Middle School documented the destruction through a series of photos that were exhibited at various venues in Alabama and the Chicago, Illinois region. Some of these were published in a book titled ''Eyes of the Storm: A Community Survives after Katrina'' (ISBN 978-0-9789362-0-4).

Notes

1.
Bayou La Batre Chamber of Commerce, webpage:
Bayou La Batre Chamber.
2.
"Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Katrina" (post-analysis),
''National Hurricane Center'', revised August 10, 2006, webpage:
K-PDF.

References

★ Information on metropolitan statistical areas and Mobile MSA.

★ Picture of ship ''M/V Caribbean Clipper'': aground with crane in Bayou La Batre. ''The Anniston Star'' (www.annistonstar.com). March 1-3, 2006.

External links

★ Bayou La Batre Chamber of Commerce

★ The Bayou La Batre Historical Homepage