Slidell, Louisiana, United States

🇺🇸 Slidell is a city on the north-east shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the New Orleans−Metairie−Kenner metropolitan statistical area.

History One of the earlier settlers to the area was Foster Willie. Along with a younger brother, Wesley Coke Asbury Gause, Judge Wingate, and several others, he left Shallotte, North Carolina, on February 18, and arrived at Pearlington, Mississippi, on April 14, 1836. Wesley and his family remained there, while John and family crossed the Pearl River and built a log cabin on the west bank, a little further south. He then began a lumber mill in the fledgling town later known as Slidell. His traveling back and forth from lumber yard to home created a road known today as Gause Boulevard, a major east–west street in the town. The lumber yard was where Gause Boulevard crosses the railroad track. The log cabin was built at the east end of the road, just a few yards from the river. The house stood until the late 1990s, and a small family burial plot still remains where John is buried between his two wives, Lydia Russ and Johanna Frederica VanHeemskerk.

Slidell was founded on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain in 1882 and 1883 during construction of the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad (N.O.N.E.). The N.O.N.E. line connected New Orleans to Meridian, Mississippi. The town was named in honor of American politician and Confederate ambassador to France John Slidell, and officially chartered by the Louisiana State Legislature in 1888.

20th century and beyond Around 1910, Slidell began a period of economic and industrial growth. A large creosote plant was built, and Slidell became home to the Fritz Salmen Brickyard, a major producer of bricks later named St. Joe Brick. A lumber mill and shipyard were also built. Following the construction of Interstate 10, Interstate 59, and Interstate 12, Slidell became a major crossroads for those traversing the Gulf States.

In 1915, the creosote plant burned to the ground. The plant was rebuilt on Bayou Lane, closer to a water source and a fire station. Eventually, creosote polluted the bayou, a source of drinking water for many of Slidell's residents. The creosote plant was abandoned in 1986 and became an EPA Superfund site. The canal was dredged and waste incinerated until completion of the cleanup in the 1990s. At that time a boat launch was built and Heritage Park was constructed on the former site.

With the advent of the U.S. space program in the 1960s, NASA opened the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the John C. Stennis Space Center in nearby Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and a NASA computer centre on Gause Boulevard. This nearly tripled Slidell's population over ten years, and the city became a major suburb of New Orleans. The National Weather Service forecast office for the New Orleans and Baton Rouge area is also in Slidell. Slidell is the headquarters of Vesco Tennis Courts, a privately held firm specialising in construction of hard surfaces for outdoor sports facilities.

The city has hosted several parade krewes each Carnival season.

On August 29, 2005, Slidell suffered extensive damage from Hurricane Katrina, as the storm made final landfall on the morning of August 29, 2005. The municipal area is about 2 miles (3 km) inland, and parts of the city experienced a storm surge in excess of 10 feet (3.0 m). The unincorporated areas of St. Tammany Parish, to the south and east, often called Slidell, experienced a storm surge of 13 to 16 feet (4.0 to 4.9 m).

Slidell Museum The Slidell Museum is a small museum that highlights the founding of the city as a railroad town. Located in Olde Town Slidell on 1st Street, the museum is open Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free to the public.

Economy Slidell is the global headquarters for automotive manufacturer and military contractor Textron Marine & Land Systems off Gause Boulevard.

Transport Amtrak’s Crescent serves Slidell station, and offers service to New York City, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Birmingham, New Orleans, and intermediate points. The station is located on Front Street in Olde Towne Slidell.

Slidell is on the south-west corner of the intersection of Interstate 10, Interstate 12, Interstate 59, and U.S. Highway 11. The I-10 Twin Span Bridge runs from Slidell to New Orleans East across Lake Pontchartrain.

Slidell Airport (ICAO: KASD, FAA LID: ASD) is a city-owned public-use airport four nautical miles (7 km) north-west of Slidell's central business district. Although most U.S. airports use the same three-letter location identifier for the FAA and IATA, Slidell's is assigned ASD by the FAA but has no designation from the IATA (which assigned ASD to Andros Town Airport in the Bahamas).