Winnfield, Louisiana

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Winnfield, Louisiana
Downtown Winnfield 2021.jpg
Downtown Winnfield
Winn Parish Louisiana Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Winnfield Highlighted.svg
Location of Winnfield in Winn Parish, Louisiana
Louisiana in United States (US48).svg
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 31°55′24″N92°38′25″W / 31.92333°N 92.64028°W / 31.92333; -92.64028
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
Parish Winn
Government
  TypeCity council/mayor
  MayorMayor Gerald "Scooter" Hamms (Dem)

Winnfield City Council:
District 1: Erika Breda (Dem.)
District 2: Ada Hall (Dem.)
District 3: Chiquita Caldwel (no party)
District 4: Matt Miller (no party)
District 5: Teresa Phillips (no party)

Chief of Police Johnny Carpenter (Dem.)

Contents

Area
[1]
  Total3.64 sq mi (9.43 km2)
  Land3.64 sq mi (9.43 km2)
  Water0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation
128 ft (39 m)
Population
 (2020)
  Total4,153
  Density1,140.31/sq mi (440.32/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
  Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
71483
Area code 318
FIPS code 22-82460
Website Official website

Winnfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield: Huey Long, Earl K. Long, and Oscar K. Allen. [2]

History

Stores in Winnfield, 1904 Stores in Winnfield, Louisiana (1904).jpg
Stores in Winnfield, 1904
Courthouse, 1904 Courthouse in Winnfield, Louisiana (1904).jpg
Courthouse, 1904

When Winn Parish was officially formed by the state legislature in 1852, Winnfield was established as the parish seat.[ citation needed ] During the Civil War, the area around Winnfield was the site of some minor skirmishes. Confederate forces defeated a Union detachment near Salsbury Bridge sent to destroy the Drake's Salt Works in the area.[ citation needed ]

Many Civil War bandits made the region their home. Among these were the West and Kimbrel clan.

Three Louisiana governors were Winnfield natives and grew up here: Huey Long, Oscar K. Allen and Earl Long. Huey Long became governor, U.S. Senator. He was assassinated in 1935. Oscar K. Allen was elected governor in 1932. Earl Long, "the Louisiana Longshot," served in a variety of state positions, said to be more than other Louisianan, including elective office.[ citation needed ] He was elected governor in 1939, 1948 and 1956. He was elected to Congress in 1960 but died before he could assume office.

Winnfield was a major producer of salt in the Civil War days; salt kettles used at Big Cedar and Drake's Salt Works furnished salt for the Confederate army. One still exists today in front of the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame, turned into a fountain. The salt works was located on Saline Bayou. [3] Later the Cary Salt Works started an 840-foot deep mine west of Winnfield. The mine was used by the federal government in Project Coyboy Plowshare Program, Cowboy Event. Between December 1959 and March 1960 a series of high explosives were set off inside the Carry Salt Works in an unused portion of the mine. [4] [5] [6] The mine was later flooded by an underground river. The mine and all equipment inside were abandoned.

The rock quarry operated near or on top of the salt mine and produced limestone and gravel still operates today as Winn Rock.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.6 km2), all land.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1880 133
1910 2,925
1920 2,9751.7%
1930 3,72125.1%
1940 4,51221.3%
1950 5,62924.8%
1960 7,02224.7%
1970 7,1421.7%
1980 7,3112.4%
1990 6,138−16.0%
2000 5,749−6.3%
2010 4,840−15.8%
2020 4,153−14.2%
U.S. Decennial Census [7]
Winnfield racial composition as of 2020 [8]
RaceNumberPercentage
White (non-Hispanic)1,63639.39%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)2,21053.21%
Native American 180.43%
Asian 40.1%
Other/mixed 1573.78%
Hispanic or Latino 1283.08%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,153 people, 1,967 households, and 1,173 families residing in the city.

Economy

Winnfield City Hall Winnfield, LA, City Hall MVI 2712.jpg
Winnfield City Hall

As of 2014, according to Bauer, Walmart, Winn Correctional Center, and the area lumber mill offer the majority of the jobs in the Winnfield area; because of the poverty in the area, residents are willing to take low-paying jobs at Winn Correctional Center despite the danger present there. [9]

Arts and culture

Museums

Annual events

Education

Public schools

Winn Parish School Board operates local public schools, which include:

Higher education

Media

Newspapers

TV

Radio

Notable people

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winn Parish, Louisiana</span> Parish in Louisiana, United States

Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,755. The parish seat and largest city is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's sixty-four parishes. Winn is separated from Natchitoches Parish along U.S. Highway 71 by Saline Bayou, the first blackwater protected waterway in the American South.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huey Long</span> American politician (1893–1935)

Huey Pierce Long Jr., nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination in 1935. He was a left-wing populist member of the Democratic Party and rose to national prominence during the Great Depression for his vocal criticism of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, which Long deemed insufficiently radical. As the political leader of Louisiana, he commanded wide networks of supporters and often took forceful action. A controversial figure, Long is celebrated as a populist champion of the poor or, conversely, denounced as a fascist demagogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pineville, Louisiana</span> City in Louisiana, United States

Pineville is a city in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located across the Red River from the larger Alexandria, and is part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,555 at the 2010 census. It had been 13,829 in 2000; population hence grew by 5 percent over the preceding decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dodson, Louisiana</span> Village in Louisiana, United States

Dodson is a village in Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 357 at the 2000 census, which decreased to 337 in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John H. Overton</span> American politician

John Holmes Overton Sr., was an attorney and Democratic US Representative and US Senator from Louisiana. His nephew, Thomas Overton Brooks, was also a US representative, from the Shreveport-based 4th district of Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Earl Long</span> 45th governor of Louisiana

Earl Kemp Long was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Louisiana for nine years. A member of the Democratic Party, he held the same position that his brother, Huey Long, held years earlier (1928–1932).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allen J. Ellender</span> American politician (1890–1972)

Allen Joseph Ellender was an American politician and lawyer who was a U.S. senator from Louisiana from 1937 until his death. He was a Democrat who was originally allied with Huey Long. As Senator he had a generally conservative record, voting 77% of the time with the Conservative Coalition on domestic issues. A staunch segregationist, he signed the Southern Manifesto in 1956, voted against the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and opposed anti-lynching legislation in 1938. Unlike many Democrats he was not a "hawk" in foreign policy and opposed the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscar K. Allen</span> American politician (1882–1936)

Oscar Kelly Allen Sr., also known as O. K. Allen, was the 42nd Governor of Louisiana from 1932 to 1936.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1944 Louisiana gubernatorial election</span>

The 1944 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held in two rounds on January 18 and February 29, 1944. Like most Southern states between the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement, Louisiana's Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support. This meant that the two Democratic Party primaries held on these dates were the real contest over who would be governor. The 1944 election saw the reformer ‘anti-Long’ faction retain power for another four years under Jimmie Davis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1956 Louisiana gubernatorial election</span>

The 1956 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on January 17, 1956. Incumbent governor Robert F. Kennon was ineligible to run for a second term in office. Earl K. Long won the Democratic primary, which was tantamount to election, securing his second full term as Governor of Louisiana. He received over 50% of the vote, defeating his opponents so soundly that no runoff vote was needed. His closest competitor was New Orleans mayor deLesseps Story Morrison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Leonard Allen</span> American politician

Asa Leonard Allen was an educator, attorney, and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Louisiana. He served eight terms as a Democrat from 1937 to 1953, having represented the now defunct 8th congressional district, centered about Alexandria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1928 Louisiana gubernatorial election</span>

The 1928 Louisiana gubernatorial election was held on April 17, 1928. Like in most Southern states between the Reconstruction era and the civil rights movement, Louisiana's Republican Party was virtually nonexistent in terms of electoral support. This meant that the Democratic primary held on January 17 was essentially the real contest to decide the governor, as winning the Democratic nomination would be tantamount to election as governor.

The Long family is a family of politicians from the United States. Many have characterized it as a political dynasty. After Huey Long's 1935 assassination, a family dynasty emerged: his brother Earl was elected lieutenant-governor in 1936, and governor in 1948 and 1956. Long's widow, Rose McConnell Long, was appointed to replace him in the Senate, and his son Russell B. Long, was a U.S. senator from 1948 to 1987. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Russell shaped the nation's tax laws. He was an advocate of low business taxes, but also passed the Earned Income Credit and other tax legislation beneficial to the poor. In addition to Long's brother Earl K. Long becoming governor, brother Julius Long was a Winn Parish District Attorney, and brother George S. Long was elected to Congress in 1952. Other more distant relatives, including Gillis William Long and Speedy O. Long, represented Louisiana in the U.S. Congress. Jimmy D. Long of Natchitoches Parish served for 32 years in the Louisiana House. Jimmy's younger brother Gerald Long holds the distinction of being the first office-holder to be a registered Republican among the Long Democratic dynasty.

Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trials is an annual Hog Dog Baying Event held in the third weekend of March in Winnfield, Winn Parish, Louisiana at the Winn Parish Fair Grounds involving boars and various breeds of bay dogs, including Catahoula Leopard Dogs, Blackmouth Cur, Blue Lacy, and others.

Winn Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in Winnfield, Louisiana, United States.

Henry Ernest Hardtner was a Louisiana businessman and conservationist regarded as "the father of forestry in the South." He founded and named the town of Urania in La Salle Parish and served single terms as a Democrat in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature. In 1900 he was the Republican candidate for Louisiana's 5th congressional district, losing to future U.S. Senator Joseph E. Ransdell of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harley Bozeman</span> American politician

Harley Bernard Bozeman was a salesman, tree farmer, politician, and historian from Winnfield, Louisiana, who served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1928 to 1929. He was a confidant of Democratic Governors Huey Pierce Long Jr., and Earl Kemp Long, who were also from Winn Parish in North Louisiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speedy Long</span> American politician

Speedy Oteria Long was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 8th congressional district from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1973. He was a member of the Long family, a cousin of Huey Long, Earl K. Long, Russell Long, and Gillis William Long.

P. K. Smith was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

References

  1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The City of Winnfield, Louisiana, Official website, Retrieved on February 10, 2009
  3. Davies, Greggory E. "1948 History of Winnfield, Winn Parish, LA". USGenWeb Archives.
  4. Project Cowboy: Fracturing of rock salt by a contained high explosive. Ucrl ;6054. Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. 1960.
  5. "Cowboy Trails. Phase I. Small-Scale Explosive Tests in Salt Domes. Part 1. Goals, Methods and Conclusions. Part 2. Experimental Program". November 19, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015.
  6. "Project Coyboy - Coyboy Event - Project Plowboy WinnFreeNet.com". winnfield.winnfreenet.com.
  7. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  8. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  9. "My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard: Part One ." Mother Jones . June 23, 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. About 2:50 through 3:20 of 4:30.
  10. Harley Bozeman obituary, Winn Parish Enterprise-News-American, May 20, 1971
  11. Shanfelt, Eric (February 1, 2012). "Randy to the Rescue: TLC's Ultimage Bridal Event". New Orleans. Retrieved April 1, 2024.