FOLSOM, LA
FOLSOM, LA
Folsom is a village in St. Tammany Parish, LA. The population was 716 at the 2010 census. Folsom earned its name from President Grover Cleveland’s wife, Frances Folsom Cleveland, an icon for working women at the time.
In 1915, the Village of Folsom was incorporated, however Folsom did not have enough revenue to operate as an incorporated village between 1928 and 1947. Folsom was re-incorporated in 1947 and it was then that Folsom’s municipal government was established with William P. Dyess becoming the first mayor and Hayden Lavinghouse the first policeman. The Louisiana State Tobacco Tax of 1947 provided the much needed tax revenue for the Village.
In 1928, the first bridge connecting St. Tammany Paris to the Southshore and New Orleans opened. This bridge had several names including the Ponchartrain Toll Bridge, the Watson-Williams Bridge, the Five-Mile.
Climate and soil have always been the backbone of Folsom’s economy and it is from these local virtues that the people of Folsom have found established their high quality of life and small town atmosphere. The land in Folsom was first farmed. With the arrival of railroad, lumber, tar, and turpentine became the locally exported products. This was then replaced by tung nut farming and finally, the growth of the local plant nurseries. Horse farms compliment the nursery economy in Folsom and these two industries are what Folsom is known for today.
