Lake Charles

Lake Charles is a city in southwestern Louisiana, the seat of government for Calcasieu Parish. Because of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and area lakes, Lake Charles is known as the "Lake Area." Located seventy miles east of Beaumont, Texas, it is particularly known for its petroleum industry and access to gambling. Its Sudduth Coliseum is named for former Mayor James Edward Sudduth, I (1917-1995).

The seventh largest city in the state, Lake Charles had a 2010 population count of 71,993, but the metro area exceeds 200,000. A subsequent estimate placed the city at 76,070.

The city is served by a daily newspaper, The Lake Charles American Press. It has a full university, McNeese State University, which began as a junior college in 1939. There is also the Sowela Technical Community College.

Louisiana Governor Sam Houston Jones moved to Lake Charles in 1924, where he became an assistant district attorney for Calcasieu Parish. Elected governor in 1940, Jones tried to dismantle the power of the Earl Long political machine, but he was overwhelmingly defeated by Earl Long in the 1948 Democratic runoff election.

See also

• Jim Beam
• Samuel Welsh