Livingston

History

Like the parish, Livingston takes its name from the jurist Edward Livingston. Livingston was the site of a major train derailment (spilling about 200,000 gallons of chemicals) in 1982. On February 11, 2016, it was officially announced that the LIGO collaboration successfully made the first direct observation of gravitational waves in September 2015. Barry Barish, Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for leading this work. The communities of Doyle and Livingston combined in 1955 to create the Town of Livingston. Doyle was established northeast of present-day Livingston in the late 1800's, located on Hog Branch, off present-day North Doyle Road but moved when the railroad was built from Baton Rouge to Hammond, and the community was re-located in 1901 by the McDonald family. Livingston originated as a company town established by the Lyon Lumber Company during its expansion into the pine forests of Livingston Parish following the conversion of its Garyville mill from cypress to pine production in 1915. To support these new operations, the company extended its logging railroad northward and established Livingston as the northern terminus of the Garyville Northern Railroad. When Livingston was first established, there was a house on every lot, a boardwalk in front of every home, and water wells drilled on each corner so every home would have access to running water. Today, the Catholic Church and less than a dozen homes built by the Lyons Lumber Company are all that is left of the era. During its heyday, there were about 200 homes, and a town square where the present Old Courthouse sits today. All the businesses faced the town square, with all those lots measuring 25 ft wide except the corner lots which were 33 ft. Big Store…

Geography

Livingston is located at (30.498721, -90.748371). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land. The communities of Doyle and Livingston combined in 1955 to create the Town of Livingston. Doyle was established northeast of present-day Livingston, located on Hog Branch, off present-day North Doyle Road but moved when the railroad was built from Baton Rouge to Hammond, and the community was re-located in 1908 by the McDonald family.

Race & ethnicity