Carville, Louisiana
Neighborhood Name
The area was renamed for James Carville's grandfather postmaster Louis Arthur Carville in 1909, to differentiate the area — formerly called "Island" — from the many other places in Louisiana with that name.
Carville National Leprosarium
"In 1917, on February 3rd, Senate Bill number 4086, an act to establish a National Leprosarium in Carville, Louisiana, [was] passed by the US Senate." The result was a U.S. Public Health Service hospital named "Carville National Leprosarium," and dedicated to treating leprosy.
The former site of the long-closed hospital has been known as the Gillis W. Long Center since 1986. Named for the late U.S. Representative Gillis William Long, a Democrat from Louisiana's 8th congressional district, it is operated by the Louisiana Army National Guard, and the facility now includes the National Hansen’s Disease Museum.
External links
- 100 Years of Carville's History
- Carville's Legacy
- Gillis W. Long Center Web site
- The National Hansen's Disease Museum