Zachary

History

Much of the land which the city now occupies was part of a farm owned by Darel Zachary (1827-1907). In the 1880s, Zachary sold his land to the Illinois Central Railroad, who built a track and a depot on it. A village quickly grew up around the depot, which came to be called "Zachary" after the original farmer. Zachary's first post office was opened in 1885, and it was incorporated as a city on August 2, 1889, with Thomas Edward McHugh as its first mayor. A fire devastated the city in 1903, supposedly caused by a greengrocer trying to flame-ripen his bananas. The "historic village" at the center of the city is composed of buildings which either survived the fire, or were built shortly after it, the oldest (excluding the depot) being the 1898 Allison House. The first census was carried out in 1914 and reported just 419 residents. In 1966 Zachary became the first city in Louisiana since the Reconstruction Era to elect a Republican as mayor, Jack Louis Breaux.

Geography

Zachary is located in northern East Baton Rouge Parish. It is bordered to the north by the city of Slaughter, to the east by Central, and to the south by Baker. Louisiana Highway 19 passes through the city, leading north to the center of Slaughter and south to U.S. Route 61 in the northern part of Baton Rouge. According to the United States Census Bureau, Zachary has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.13%, is water. |date=November 2011 }}

Largest nearby schools

• Zachary High School
  High · Zachary · 1,765 students · 19:1 ratio
• Northwestern Middle School
  Middle · Zachary · 912 students · 19:1 ratio
• Scotlandville Magnet High School
  High · Baton Rouge · 903 students · 17:1 ratio
• Copper Mill Elementary/Middle School
  Middle · Zachary · 889 students · 19.8:1 ratio
• Rollins Place Elementary
  Elementary · Zachary · 847 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• Zachary Elementary School
  Elementary · Zachary · 821 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Advantage Charter Academy
  Elementary · Baker · 509 students · 25.4:1 ratio
• Impact Charter School
  Elementary · Baker · 442 students · 17:1 ratio