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is a city in Washington Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,365 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Bogalusa Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Washington Parish and is also part of the larger New Orleans–Metairie–Bogalusa Combined Statistical Area.
Bogalusa was the home of B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn, Sr. (1916-2008), a 44-year member of the Louisiana State Senate, a confidant of the Long dynasty, and favorite of organized labor. Because of his power and longevity, Rayburn was often called "the Dean" of the Louisiana Senate. His son, B.B. "Benny" Rayburn, Jr. (1944-2006), served as sheriff of Washington Parish.
Tom Colten, later the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, was the business manger of the
from 1948 until his relocation in 1955 to Minden in Webster Parish, where he served two terms as mayor.
Bogalusa was founded by the Goodyears of Buffalo, New York, who started the Great Southern Lumber Company in 1906. The sawmill was, for many years, the largest in the world. Bogalusa is famous for its reforestation program.
In 1938, the Goodyears had ended their lumber operations at the Great Southern Lumber Company and sold the paper mill operations. The current owner is the Temple-Inland Corporation , the area's largest employer.
Today, Bogalusa's economy revolves around the lumber mill and paper, as well as agriculture.