Winn Parish, Louisiana

Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,755.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The parish seat and largest city is Winnfield.<ref name="GR6">Template:Cite web</ref> The parish was founded in 1852.<ref name=CCET>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.

History

File:Saline Bayou (Winn-Natchitoches Parish, LA) IMG 7496 1.jpg

Saline Bayou

File:2015 backwater flooding in Winn Parish, LA MG 7194.JPG

Backwater flooding in Winn Parish led temporarily in June 2015 to a detour around U.S. Highway 71 at St. Maurice, Louisiana.

Winn Parish was established in 1852 from lands which had belonged to the parishes of Catahoula, Natchitoches, and Rapides.<ref name=CCET/>

During the Civil War, David Pierson, a young attorney, was elected to represent the parish at the Secession Convention called in January 1861 in Baton Rouge by Governor Thomas Overton Moore. Pierson voted against secession and refused, along with several others, to change his "no" vote at the end of the process when asked to do so to make the final tally unanimous.Template:Citation needed

That these conscripts refused to fight for the Confederacy is understandable considering that Union support was higher in north Louisiana, and especially high in Winn Parish.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Confederate States Army defeated a Union detachment sent to destroy a salt works in the parish. Winn Parish contributed to the $80,000 raised to build fortifications on the nearby Red River.<ref>John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, Template:ISBN, pp. 164, 310</ref>

After the war, bandits roamed the Natchez Trace or Harrisonburg Road that ran through the lower part of the parish. Among the worst were the West and Kimbrell clan. For seven years they preyed especially on travelers and migrants passing through the area.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In April 1873, white Democrats forming a militia from Winn Parish joined with ex-Confederate veterans from Rapides and Grant parishes against Republican blacks in the Colfax massacre in neighboring Grant Parish.<ref>Keith, Leeanna, The Colfax Massacre: The Untold Story of Black Power, White Terror, & The Death of Reconstruction, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> They attacked freedmen defending the parish courthouse and two Republican officeholders in the aftermath to the disputed gubernatorial election of 1872. Among the 80–150 blacks killed were at least 50 who had surrendered; a total of three white men were killed in the confrontation.<ref>Buddy Jordan obituary, Alexandria Daily Town Talk, February 23, 2012</ref><ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 17, 2007</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="jordan">Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert is land and Template:Convert (0.7%) is water.<ref name="GR1">Template:Cite web</ref>

Major highways

• File:US 71.svg U.S. Highway 71
• File:US 84.svg U.S. Highway 84
• File:US 167.svg U.S. Highway 167
• File:Louisiana 34 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 34
• File:Louisiana 126 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 126
• File:Louisiana 127 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 127
• File:Louisiana 156 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 156
• File:Louisiana 471 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 471
• File:Louisiana 499 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 499
• File:Louisiana 500 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 500
• File:Louisiana 501 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 501
• File:Louisiana 505 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 505
• File:Louisiana 1228 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 1228

Adjacent parishes

• Jackson Parish (north)
• Caldwell Parish (northeast)
• La Salle Parish (southeast)
• Grant Parish (south)
• Natchitoches Parish (west)
• Bienville Parish (northwest)

National protected area

• Kisatchie National Forest (part)
• Saline Bayou

Communities

City

• Winnfield (parish seat and largest municipality)

Town

• Tullos (partial)

Villages

• Atlanta
• Calvin
• Dodson
• Sikes

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

• Jordan Hill
• Joyce
• Saint Maurice

Other communities

• Packton<ref>Template:Gnis</ref>
• Tannehill
• Wheeling

Demographics

Winn Parish racial composition as of 2020<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	8,498	61.78%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	3,518	25.58%
Native American	77	0.56%
Asian	172	1.25%
Pacific Islander	16	0.12%
Other/Mixed	451	3.28%
Hispanic or Latino	1,023	7.44%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,755 people, 5,483 households, and 3,661 families residing in the parish.

Education

Winn Parish School Board operates local public schools in all of the parish.<ref>Template:Cite web - Text list</ref>

Corrections

Winn Correctional Center is in an unincorporated section of Winn Parish. Corrections Corporation of America, under contract with Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, once operated the prison.<ref>"Winn Corr. Center Template:Webarchive." Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Accessed September 14, 2008.</ref>

National Guard

"A" Company of the Louisiana National Guard 199th Forward Support Battalion was previously located in Winnfield, Louisiana. The unit deployed twice to Iraq as part of the 256TH IBCT in 2004-5 and 2010. The unit's Winnfield Armory was closed.Template:Citation needed

Politics

Winn Parish, Louisiana, has distinguished itself as a notable indicator of statewide electoral outcomes. This parish has consistently mirrored the state's choice for the presidential winner in 15 consecutive elections since 1964. Template:PresHead Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresRow Template:PresFoot

Notable people

• O.K. Allen, governor of Louisiana
• Huey Long, governor of Louisiana
• Earl Kemp Long, governor of Louisiana

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Winn Parish, Louisiana