page_title: History of Lake Charles, Louisiana
section_title: Present day
hierarchical_section_title: History of Lake Charles, Louisiana / History / Present day
caption_attribution_description: English: Taken by Douglas Grohne on October 20, 2005. This shot shows destruction by Hurricane Rita in 2005. The boardwalk and Harrah's Casino have been removed, so a visitor would no longer be able to see damage like this along the lake.
context_page_description: While several American Indian tribes are known to have lived in the area occupied by present-day Lake Charles, the first European settlers arrived in the 1760s.
  In 1781 Martin LeBleu and his wife, Dela Marion, of Bordeaux, France were the first recorded Europeans to settle in the area now known as the LeBleu Settlement. Charles Sallier, one of the first settlers, married LeBleu's daughter, Catherine LeBleu; the Salliers built their home on the beach in what is current-day Lake Charles. The area on the east side of the Calcasieu River was defined as the southern part of the "Neutral Ground" until ratification of the Adams-Onís Treaty that was ratified in 1821. The infamous pirate, Jean Lafitte, once delivered stolen slaves and contraband to James Bowie and other plantation owners in the area. By 1860 the area become known as Charles Town in Sallier's honor.
  The Rio Hondo, which flowed through Lake Charles, was later called Quelqueshue, a Native American term meaning "Crying Eagle". Transliterated through French, this became the name of Calcasieu Parish. On March 7, 1861, Lake Charles was officially incorporated as the town of Charleston, Louisiana.
context_section_description: Lake Charles suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Rita, which struck the city as a Category 3 storm early September 24, 2005. On September 22, the mayor ordered a mandatory evacuation of the city, and approximately ninety percent of the residents left. Evacuees were asked to not return for 48 hours, due to wind and flood damage. There was extensive damage to the city's electrical grid, and many areas did not have power restored for up to three weeks.
  On June 20, 2006, a Citgo petroleum plant located in Sulphur, Louisiana released between 15,000 and 18,000 barrels (2,400 and 2,900 m³) of oil into the Calcasieu Ship Channel. The United States Coast Guard was called in to contain the spilled oil, which had by this time flowed down the Calcasieu River.  Because of the disaster, the Coast Guard had to close many waterways, including the Calcasieu River Channel and a one-mile (1.6 km) stretch of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The Port of Lake Charles remained closed for some time after the accident due to contamination.
  Oil prices surged to over $74 per barrel in part due to the Citgo spillage. The Calcasieu Refining Co., which normally processes 76,500 barrels (12,160 m³) of oil a day, was working at low levels for weeks after the incident.
  As part of the city's recovery from Hurricane Rita, elected officials proposed a plan to renovate the downtown area to make it more attractive and pedestrian-friendly. A primary concern for the downtown revitalization was to include quality and affordable housing.  To fund this proposal, officials proposed a city-wide bond issue. To date, about one third of the 90-million dollar bond proposal has been spent. The Lakefront Promenade is currently under construction, as is the 52-berth marina just south of the Civic Center grounds. The monies issued from the bond will also be used for other capital projects throughout the city.
  In 2008, a report showed that overall criminal offenses were down 15%, and major crimes were down 9% in the city.
  In 2020, the city was heavily damaged again by Category 4 Hurricane Laura. Many homes were damaged or destroyed and the Capitol One Building was heavily damaged as many of its windows were blown out.
caption: The destructive force of Hurricane Rita. Looking down the remains of the lakefront boardwalk toward the damaged Harrah's Lake Charles Casino property.
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