Arcola, Louisiana

Arcola is an unincorporated community in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana.^[2]

Arcola, Louisiana
Unincorporated community
Arcola, Louisiana Show map of Louisiana Arcola, Louisiana Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 30°46′36″N 90°30′37″W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Tangipahoa
Elevation	41 ft (12 m)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Area code	985
GNIS feature ID	553313[1]
FIPS code	22-02760

Etymology

Some local residents believe that during the New Orleans yellow fever epidemic in the year 1853 several Italian families settled in the area. It is speculated that these first settlers named the village after Arcole a small comune in the province of Verona, Italy.^[3]

Prospect Hill

In the mid 1800s Arcola was also named Prospect Hill. In the year 1851 the New Orleans, Jackson and Great Northern railway was constructed and passed through the community. Some have speculated that the railroad gave the name "Prospect Hill" to the area.^[4] A local resident attempted to use this as a defense to avoid paying back a promissory note. In the year 1855 the case of Joseph Lallande vs William G. Hope was brought before the Louisiana Supreme Court due to the fact that the defendant lived in Arcola but his promissory note was sent to "Prospect Hill".^[5]

References

1. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. June 4, 1980. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
2. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Arcola, Louisiana
3. McLellan, Sandra. "About Tangipahoa Parish". rootsweb.com. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
4. McLellan, Sandra. "Arcola, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana". USGenWeb. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
5. Louisiana. Supreme Court; Thomas H. Thorpe; Charles G. Gill (1867). Louisiana Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Louisiana. West Publishing Company. pp. 188–.