Village of Folsom, LA

Following the 1878 outbreak of Yellow Fever in New Orleans, many
residents fled to the Northshore and to what were believed to be
the healing powers of the ozone waters. It was during this time
that the US government declared St. Tammany Parish to be the 2 nd
healthiest place to live in the country, having so few deaths from
Yellow Fever and Malaria that physicians thought the quality of the
air and water helped prevent or cure these diseases.
Incorporation of Folsom
By 1880, the area that is now the Village of Folsom was occupied by
several families. As recorded in the 1880 United State Census,
adults in Folsom were listed either as farmers or a housewives. At
the time St. Tammany continued to be mostly virgin forestland and
land used for cultivating crops. The parish was traversed by trading
routes, including Holmesville Road, which were dirt roads that were
maintained by the St. Tammany Police Jury. Police Juries were the
form of local government at the time and semi-annual meetings
were held in January and July. Often, the Jury would wait 3-4 days
before a quorum was present to being the meetings and meetings
would last up to 6 days.
Land in the area was available for homesteading under the
Recovery and Reclaims Acts of 1855 and 1857, averaging about
$1.25 per acre. Between 1868 and 1886, over 3,200 new acres of
land were homesteaded, in 1887 another 2,500 acres of land, and
between 1888 and 1897, another 4,000 acres of land was
homesteaded in the Folsom area v . Amidst this growth in new
landowners, Native American tribes still lived and traded.
It was in 1904, when George M. Fendlason and his brother Hines
Norman filed for a plat of survey, that Folsom became a village.
Since it became a village, Folsom has been known for its towering
pines and its rolling hills. Folsom earned its name from President
Grover Cleveland’s wife, Frances Folsom Cleveland, an icon for
working women at the time. One of the first lots was sold in
Folsom in November 1904.
In 1881, work began on the Northshore’s railroad. Completed in
1887, this railroad connected New Orleans to St. Tammany Parish,
including Slidell, Lacombe, Mandeville, and Abita Springs. By 1888,
Covington was connected and by 1905, the East Louisiana Railroad
had laid tracks down and built a depot on what is now Railroad
Avenue in Folsom.
Detailed view of Railroad Line Map
Courtesy of St. Tammany Parish Public Schools vi
Village of Folsom, LA
Comprehensive Master Plan
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