Garyville, LA

Garyville is a small town located in the parish of St. James, Louisiana. The population was estimated to be just over 1,000 people in 2013. Garyville is a farming community that has seen its share of growth over the years due to its proximity to Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The town's economy is based largely on agriculture and real estate.

The Garyville area was first settled in the early 1800s by French settlers who established a plantation known as La Belle Aire. In 1856, the area was purchased by John Witherspoon Gary and his wife Sarah Elizabeth (née Moore). They named their plantation after their home state of Virginia. Mr. Gary developed the plantation into one of the largest cotton plantations in Louisiana with more than 10,000 acres under cultivation. The GARYVILLE MALL opened on October 2nd 1988 and included JCPenney, Sears, Belk and other major retailers at that time. It was anchored by two anchors - Sears and JCPenney - which closed their stores in early 2017 as part of a plan announced in 2015 to close 150 stores nationwide including all three anchors at GARYVILLE MALL

In 1871, Mr. Gary built a railroad line from Baton Rouge to serve his plantation workers and cargo shipments arriving from New Orleans via Lake Pontchartrain connected to the Southern Pacific Railroad at Mandeville Junction near Hammond south of Baton Rouge . This line operated until 1977 when it was abandoned . Today only remnants remain such as old rail ties & bridges across dry creeks or farm fields

In 1902, Mr. Gary founded what would become one of Louisiana's leading banks - The Citizens National Bank (now part of BBVA Compass) . In 1916 he also founded what would become one of Louisiana's leading insurance companies - The Lafayette Insurance Company (now part of State Farm) In 1922 he also founded what would become one of Louisiana's leading construction companies - The Garyville Construction Company (now known as Kiewit Construction) He died in 1944 at age 89 leaving an estate worth $5 million dollars ($60 million today) which provided much needed financial support for local businesses and civic organizations during these difficult times following World War II . Today there are still many businesses located in or associated with Garyville that trace their roots back to those early days including several churches , schools , banks , restaurants etc ..