Central

There’s no doubt that the name Brownsfield/Central is quite a mouthful. The area it describes is just as expansive, and, luckily, rests less than 20 miles from Louisiana’s capital city of Baton Rouge. This rural area is both city and not. Central, a large unincorporated area for well over a century, became the Bayou state’s newest city in 2005. Today’s Brownsfield/Central is considered a rural suburb of Baton Rouge. It’s situated between the Amite and Comite Rivers, and while the town is centered around Louisiana Highway 408, the area continues to stretch far beyond the city itself. This part of Brownsfield/Central is used for farming and industrial purposes as well as for residences. Many people choosing this part of the region prefer to have several acres for their homes, allowing for gardens and wooded backyards. <br><br>With the area being so large, there are both swathes of land ready to be developed as well as ready-to-build-on lots closer to Highway 408. Those lots can be as large or small as you like, although most homes are built to have large front or back yards. There’s no one housing style to be found here. Instead, you’ll find everything from established cottages and ranch-style residences to eclectic custom buildings to manufactured houses. Acadian cottages are popular as are estate houses. Prices range from $200,000 for a three-bedroom, two-bath ranch to nearly $3 million for a multi-story estate home with four bedrooms and bathrooms. <br><br>Students in the Brownsfield/Central area might attend schools in either the East Baton Rouge Parish school system or the dedicated Central school district. At Northeast Elementary, the facility has teamed up with the Southern University Agricultural Center and several master gardeners to create innovative nature clubs for the children. Central Middle has been named one of the overall top 50 public middle schools in Louisiana by the education ranking website Niche. Northeast High offers dual enrollment courses in conjunction with Louisiana State University and Baton Rouge Community College. <br><br>With so many wooded areas, it might seem like you’re living in a kind of park already. But in Brownsfield/Central, you’ll find numerous dedicated green spaces for the community’s use. Palomino Drive Park covers 150 acres and has a stocked lake for fishing in addition to tennis courts and public Wi-Fi. Central Sports Park consists of seven baseball and softball diamonds as well as four multi-purpose fields. Jackson Community Park has a walking track, spray pad, playground and recreation center to engage the entire family. <br><br>One thing you’ll notice while exploring the area is the mix of farmland and industry around Brownsfield/Central. Construction companies mix with growers of Christmas trees, and smaller operations include wedding venues and specialized taxidermy services. Cattle graze over spacious pastureland, and acre upon acre is planted with crops like cotton and soybeans. But there are plenty of produce growers as well. Luckett Farms is a family-run business owned by a third-generation agriculturalist. The company takes part in community-supported agriculture where individuals can prepay for a share of the crops. Each week during the summer or fall a box of produce is prepared for the subscriber with whatever fruits and vegetables are ripe. This creates a wonderful mixture of the freshest products possible. Selections can include offerings of blueberries, corn, peas, greens, potatoes, strawberries, tomatoes or any of dozens of other crops. <br><br>Living in Brownsfield/Central allows residents to choose the comforts of a small town or the rural countryside just a half-hour from the shopping and restaurants of Baton Rouge.