Simmesport, Louisiana

Simmesport, Louisiana
Town
Location of Simmesport in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 30°58′50″N91°48′51″W / 30.98056°N 91.81417°W / 30.98056; -91.81417 [1]
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Avoyelles
Government
• Mayor	Leslie Draper (D) (elected 2016)
Area [2]
• Total	2.37 sq mi (6.15 km2)
• Land	2.19 sq mi (5.66 km2)
• Water	0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2)
Elevation [1]	46 ft (14 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	1,468
• Density	671.85/sq mi (259.43/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	71369 [3]
Area code	318
FIPS code	22-70525
Website	simmesportla.com

Simmesport is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. ^[1] The population was 2,161 at the 2010 census. ^[4] It is the northernmost town on the Atchafalaya River, located near the Old River which connects the Red and Atchafalaya rivers with the Mississippi River.

History

The town was founded by Bennet Barton Simmes (1811–1888), one-time owner of White Hall Plantation, which was located on the opposite bank of the Atchafalaya River.

In December 2005 industrialist Frank Stronach founded a new community just south of Simmesport along the Atchafalaya River levee, known as Canadaville, a place intended to house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. ^[5]

Geography

Simmesport is located in eastern Avoyelles Parish on the west bank of the Atchafalaya River. ^[6]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.1 km²), of which 2.2 square miles (5.7 km²) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km²), or 7.93%, is water. ^[4]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1930	638		—
1940	1,215		90.4%
1950	1,510		24.3%
1960	2,125		40.7%
1970	2,027		−4.6%
1980	2,293		13.1%
1990	2,092		−8.8%
2000	2,239		7.0%
2010	2,161		−3.5%
2020	1,468		−32.1%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]

Simmesport racial composition as of 2020 ^[8]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	528	35.97%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	858	58.45%
Native American	8	0.54%
Asian	5	0.34%
Other/Mixed	49	3.33%
Hispanic or Latino	20	1.36%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,468 people, 627 households, and 379 families residing in the town.

Notable people

• Norma McCorvey, a.k.a. "Jane Roe", the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade , was born in Simmesport in 1947.
• Joe Simon, the soul musician, was born in Simmesport in 1943.

References

1. "Simmesport, Louisiana". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
3. "Simmesport LA ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved June 16, 2023.
4. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Simmesport town, Louisiana". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved May 16, 2013.
5. {{cite news Canadaville, Louisiana is no longer a community and was considered to be a failure by many. The site of the community is still there but many of the homes and structures have been moved. Many inhabitants of Canadaville now reside within the town and throughout the area. |url = https://nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=edb3713c-f82a-4712-bea5-9d5855456f24 |title = Canadaville a blessing for Katrina evacuees |date = 2006 |newspaper = National Post |access-date = October 4, 2015 }}^{[ permanent dead link ‍]}
6. Simmesport, LA, 7.5 Minute Topographic Quadrangle, USGS, 1998
7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
8. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2021.

External links

• Don't sneeze at Atchafalaya policy changes, LaCoastPost.com, July 6, 2009