Census-designated place in Louisiana, United States
Norco
is a
census-designated place
(CDP) in
St. Charles Parish
,
Louisiana
, United States. The population was 2,984 at the
2020 census
.
[4]
The community is home to a major
Shell
/
Valero
manufacturing complex. The CDP's name is derived from the New Orleans Refining Company.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The community of Norco was once called "Sellers," after a wealthy family there. In 1911, the land was purchased by an agent for
Shell Oil
, and the
New Orleans Refining Company
(NORCO) was established. The community's name was officially changed from Sellers to Norco sometime after 1926.
[5]
History
[
edit
]
By the late 18th century,
French
and European colonial settlers had established numerous
sugar cane
plantations
. They imported
enslaved
Africans
as laborers. As sugar cane cultivation was highly labor-intensive, the slave population greatly outnumbered the ethnic Europeans in the colony, a circumstance that continued after the
Louisiana Purchase
by the United States in 1803.
On January 8, 1811, planters were alarmed by the
German Coast Uprising
led by
Charles Deslondes
, a
free person of color
from
Haiti
(formerly the French colony of
Saint-Domingue
). It was the largest slave uprising in US history, though it resulted in few white fatalities. Deslondes and his followers had been influenced by the ideas of the
French
and
Haitian
revolutions. In 1809?1810, French-speaking refugees from the Revolution immigrated by the thousands to New Orleans and Louisiana: white planters and their slaves, and
free people of color
, adding to the French Creole, African and free people of color populations.
[6]
Deslondes led followers to the plantation of Col. Manuel Andre, where they had hoped to seize stored arms, but those had been moved. The band traveled downriver, gathering more slaves for the
insurrection
as they marched. They were armed simply with hand tools and accompanied their progress by drums. More than 200 men participated in the uprising; they killed two white men on their march toward New Orleans. The alarm was raised, and both militia and regular troops were called out by Gov.
William C.C. Claiborne
to put down the short-lived revolt. The white militia and troops killed 95 slaves in total, many immediately and others in executions after quick trials.
[7]
Since 1995 members of the African American History Alliance of Louisiana have gathered annually at Norco in January to commemorate the events of the German Coast Uprising, when men of color reached for freedom decades before the
American Civil War
and
emancipation
. They have been joined by descendants of the insurgents.
[8]
In 1942, a Catholic Church, Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, was founded.
[9]
In 2021,
Hurricane Ida
passed through the area, leaving the oil refineries/chemical plants spewing toxic chemicals through
flaring
.
[10]
Geography
[
edit
]
Norco is located at
30°0′14″N
90°24′39″W
/
30.00389°N 90.41083°W
/
30.00389; -90.41083
(30.003753, -90.410824).
[11]
The city is situated on the eastern edge of the large
Bonnet Carre Spillway
, which provides for an outlet from the
Mississippi River
to
Lake Pontchartrain
during flooding of the river.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km
2
), of which 3.0 square miles (7.8 km
2
) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km
2
) (12.83%) is water.
There are two distinct neighborhoods in Norco, one of which is 'Diamond' that spans about four blocks and it is 100% African American and the other neighborhood in Norco is 98% white.
[12]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1990
| 3,385
| | ?
|
---|
2000
| 3,579
| | 5.7%
|
---|
2010
| 3,074
| | ?14.1%
|
---|
2020
| 2,984
| | ?2.9%
|
---|
Norco CDP, Louisiana ? Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
Race / Ethnicity
(
NH = Non-Hispanic
)
|
Pop 1990
[14]
|
Pop 2000
[15]
|
Pop 2010
[16]
|
Pop 2020
[17]
|
% 1990
|
% 2000
|
% 2010
|
2020
|
White
alone (NH)
|
2,686
|
2,762
|
2,713
|
2,431
|
79.35%
|
77.17%
|
88.26%
|
81.47%
|
Black or African American
alone (NH)
|
629
|
686
|
210
|
221
|
18.58%
|
19.17%
|
6.83%
|
7.41%
|
Native American
or
Alaska Native
alone (NH)
|
11
|
14
|
10
|
4
|
0.32%
|
0.39%
|
0.33%
|
0.13%
|
Asian
alone (NH)
|
16
|
10
|
14
|
15
|
0.47%
|
0.28%
|
0.46%
|
0.50%
|
Pacific Islander
alone (NH)
|
x
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
x
|
0.00%
|
0.07%
|
0.00%
|
Some Other Race
alone (NH)
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
7
|
0.06%
|
0.03%
|
0.10%
|
0.23%
|
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial
(NH)
|
x
|
34
|
29
|
128
|
x
|
0.95%
|
0.94%
|
4.29%
|
Hispanic or Latino
(any race)
|
41
|
72
|
93
|
178
|
1.21%
|
2.01%
|
3.03%
|
5.97%
|
Total
|
3,385
|
3,579
|
3,074
|
2,984
|
100.00%
|
100.00%
|
100.00%
|
100.00%
|
As of the
2020 United States census
, there were 2,984 people, 1,201 households, and 750 families residing in the CDP.
[18]
Education
[
edit
]
St. Charles Parish Public School System
operates public schools, including:
Prior to 1969
Mary M. Bethune High School
in Norco served area black students; that year it closed, with high school students moved to Destrehan High School.
[20]
Notable people
[
edit
]
- Minor Hall
, jazz drummer
- Tubby Hall
, jazz drummer
- James Brown Humphrey
, Musician, bandleader, and music instructor
- Damaris Johnson
, NFL wide receiver/punt returner for the
Philadelphia Eagles
and
Houston Texans
- Jamall Johnson
, NFL and CFL linebacker and actor
- Rondell Mealey
, NFL running back for the
Green Bay Packers
- Gregory A. Miller
, member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives
from St. Charles Parish, was reared in Norco.
[21]
- Ralph R. Miller
, member of the Louisiana House from 1968 to 1980 and 1982 to 1992; father of Gregory A. Miller
- George T. Oubre
, state senator from 1968 to 1972 for St. Charles, St. James, and St. John the Baptist parishes; candidate for
state attorney general
in December 1971, while residing in Norco
- Jeremy Parquet
, NFL offensive lineman for the
Kansas City Chiefs
,
St. Louis Rams
and
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Rusty Rebowe
, NFL linebacker for the
New Orleans Saints
- Tim Rebowe
, Head football coach at
Nicholls State University
- Darrington Sentimore
, NFL defensive lineman for the
Cincinnati Bengals
- Gary Smith, Jr.
,
Louisiana state senator
In popular culture
[
edit
]
- The eponymous video game
NORCO
takes place in the alternative future Norco and the surrounding area.
[22]
[23]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
March 20,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Norco Census Designated Place"
.
Geographic Names Information System
.
United States Geological Survey
,
United States Department of the Interior
.
- ^
"Norco LA ZIP Code"
. zipdatamaps.com. 2023
. Retrieved
June 16,
2023
.
- ^
"2020 Race and Population Totals"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
October 25,
2021
.
- ^
[1]
Steve Lerner,
Diamond: A Struggle for Environmental Justice in Louisiana's Chemical Corridor
, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2005, pp. 24, 228.
ISBN
978-0-262-12273-3
. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
- ^
Adam Rothman,
Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South
, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005, pp. 106-108
- ^
Adam Rothman,
Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South
, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2005, p. 111
- ^
James W. Lowen,
Lies Across America: What Our History Sites Get Wrong
, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2007, p. 192
- ^
"Sacred Heart of Jesus Church Norci, Louisiana-History"
. Retrieved
September 4,
2022
.
- ^
"After Ida, Toxic Smoke From Shell's Norco Plant in Louisiana Creates Apocalyptic Landscape"
. August 31, 2021
. Retrieved
May 15,
2023
.
- ^
"US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990"
.
United States Census Bureau
. February 12, 2011
. Retrieved
April 23,
2011
.
- ^
na's chemical corridor Cambridge, Mass. ; MIT
- ^
"Decennial Census of Population and Housing by Decade"
.
US Census Bureau
.
- ^
a
b
"1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana"
(PDF)
.
United States Census Bureau
.
- ^
a
b
"P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race ? 2000: DEC Summary File 1 ? Norco CDP, Louisiana"
.
United States Census Bureau
.
- ^
a
b
"P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race ? 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) ? Norco CDP, Louisiana"
.
United States Census Bureau
.
- ^
a
b
"P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race ? 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Norco CDP, Louisiana"
.
United States Census Bureau
.
- ^
"Explore Census Data"
.
data.census.gov
. Retrieved
December 28,
2021
.
- ^
"
Destrehan High School
" (
Archive
).
AdvancED
. p. 4. Retrieved on December 3, 2016. "The school pulls from the five communities which make up the East Bank of St. Charles Parish: Destrehan, Montz, New Sarpy, Norco, and St. Rose."
- ^
"
About Our School
."
Destrehan High School
. Retrieved on December 3, 2016.
- ^
"Mary Sparacello, St. Charles Parish-based 56th Louisiana House district draws trio of hopefuls, September 28, 2011"
.
New Orleans Times-Picayune
. Retrieved
August 26,
2013
.
- ^
Review by Emily Price (May 10, 2022).
"Norco review: A Deep South dystopia about mundane, corporate evils"
.
The Washington Post
. Retrieved
June 11,
2022
.
- ^
"Norco is an unforgettable game about losing and finding religion"
.
Polygon
. April 14, 2022.
External links
[
edit
]
- Fenceline
, PBS documentary about the oil industry in Norco, and how the community is divided over issues around it.