History At A Glance: Bush: Small Town, Country Charm

Bush, an unincorporated rural community in northeastern St. Tammany Parish offers peaceful respite from the bustling activities of the busier cities of St. Tammany Parish and the Southshore. Bush’s local grocery store, community center, churches and post office serves their function, while providing means for socializing with one’s neighbors. The first Bush Library was opened on July 3, 1952 and the librarian was Mrs. Arthur Graham. Years later, the need for renovations for the Bush library was realized. The current Bush library was reopened to the public and dedicated in March of 1975. The library provides residents an assortment of books, DVDs, computers, databases, weekly story time and the annual summer reading program.

Education is important among Bush residents and Fifth Ward Junior High provides education for youths from kindergarten to eighth grade. For high school, Bush youths attend Covington High School.

Vineyards are also popular in Bush. One of the popular vineyards is Pontchartrain Vineyards and Winery. Pontchartrain Vineyards and Winery, a 34.5 acre site produces fine table wines with a testing room for interested parties. On average, Pontchartrain Vineyards produces 2,500 cases of wine a year. Wine is sold through their tasting room, fine restaurants and retailers in Louisiana, as well as some states in the United States. Pontchartrain Vineyards and Winery also hosts Jazz’n the Vines, a concert series held during the spring and fall months in which popular bands entertain the crowd.

Another vineyard, La Serendipity Vineyards, located near Pontchartrain Vineyards also has a large 24 acre crop of grapes and has wine tastings most weekends. Pontchartrain Vineyards and La Serendipity are two of the five vineyards in Louisiana.

Bush also offers blueberry farms where you can pick your own blueberries for a great price. Typically, blueberry picking season in Louisiana is from May to mid-July.

Not interested in picking blueberries or tasting wine, but want to enjoy the countryside? How about a nice horseback ride? Splendor Farms offers trail riding on 75 acres of leafy, flourishing terrain, as well as a pool, petting zoo and picnic areas.

Bush is also home to The House of Seafood, a famed seafood restaurant among St. Tammany residents and visitors from neighboring areas. The House of Seafood offers buffet style dining with various seafood selections and sides to please the appetite.