Arcadia, Louisiana

Arcadia is a town in and the parish seat of Bienville Parish in northern Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,919 at the 2010 census.<ref name="Census 2010">Template:Cite web</ref> Arcadia has the highest elevation of any incorporated municipality in Louisiana. Arcadia's name commemorates the Ancient Greek region of Arcadia.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

In 1934, bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde were killed near Arcadia in a shootout. Their bodies were brought for embalming to a furniture store in Arcadia which also served as a funeral parlor. Enormous crowds of onlookers descended upon the city when news of the pair's deaths there became public.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Arcadia has been a center of the poultry industry, with up to 300 independent growers for years supplying the local feed mill operated by poultry company Pilgrim's Pride.Template:Citation needed In 2009 the company, facing bankruptcy, announced that it would close most of its Louisiana operations, including plants in Arcadia, Athens, Choudrant, and Farmerville; these operations were estimated to have provided a combined 1,300 jobs.<ref name="pilpr">Template:Cite news</ref> Several weeks later, Pilgrim's Pride accepted a Template:US$Template:Nbspmillion (equivalent to $Template:Inflation million in Template:Inflation/year) offer from Foster Farms of California to purchase their operations and keep the plants running. Foster Farms put up $40 million of the purchase price, with the other $40 million covered by the State of Louisiana.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of Template:Convert, all land.<ref name="Census 2010" /> It is Template:Convert east of Shreveport.<ref>Calatanello, Rebecca. "The Long Road to New Bethany and Back." The New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved June 3, 2014. "Fifty miles east of Shreveport, wind whipped through the nearly empty parking lot outside the Arcadia courthouse. "</ref>

Demographics

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

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	705	25.67%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	1,895	69.01%
Native American	12	0.44%
Asian	3	0.11%
Pacific Islander	1	0.04%
Other/Mixed	69	2.51%
Hispanic or Latino	61	2.22%

At the census of 2000,<ref name="GR2">Template:Cite web</ref> there were 3,041 people, 1,071 households, and 737 families residing in the town. At the 2019 American Community Survey, Arcadia had a population of 2,774 people and 1,469 housing units.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. In 2000, there were 1,231 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert. As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,746 people, 1,127 households, and 620 families residing in the town.

In 2019, the racial makeup of Arcadia was 73.2% Black or African American, 22% non-Hispanic white, 4.1% some other race, and 0.7% two or more races.<ref name=":0" /> Previously, the racial makeup of the town was 37.98% White, 60.57% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.26% from various other races, and 0.82% from multiple or mixed races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 1.61% of the population.

In 2000, there were 1,071 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 27.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16. In the town of Arcadia, the population was spread out, with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 81.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,661, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $25,885 versus $17,279 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,962. About 27.1% of families and 31.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over. At the 2019 census estimates, the median household income increased to $23,494. About 41.9% of the population lived at or below the poverty line, and 17.5% of Arcadia's citizens held a bachelor's degree or higher.

Religion

Among the numerous churches in downtown Arcadia are First United Methodist Church and the First Baptist Church, both in large sanctuaries. The Louisiana Baptist Convention was founded in 1848 in nearby Mount Lebanon, south of Gibsland, Louisiana.

Government

The Bienville Parish Courthouse was formerly located in a residential section of Arcadia but moved in 2013 to a newly constructed building off Interstate 20.<ref>Google Maps</ref>

Media

File:Bienville Democrat newspaper, Arcadia, LA IMG 0808.JPG

The Bienville Democrat office in Arcadia

The weekly newspaper, The Bienville Democrat, is printed on Wednesdays in Natchitoches, and then distributed across Bienville Parish.

Education

Public schools within Arcadia are under the jurisdiction of the Bienville Parish School Board; the town has no private schools. Arcadia's two public schools are located in the Arcadia School Complex, which encompasses both Arcadia High School and Crawford Elementary School.

Transportation

The Arcadia-Bienville Parish Airport is located Template:Convert southwest of Arcadia's central business district.<ref>Template:FAA-airport. Federal Aviation Administration. Effective June 30, 2011.</ref> The Bienville Parish Council on Aging provides public transit for the general population to locations within the town or close by, operating on an as-needed basis.<ref>Louisiana DOTD Transit Resource Guide - Bienville Parish. Retrieved September 20, 2024</ref> Appointments should be made ahead of time. Private transport is also available for the area, including charter bus services such as J&T Charters, based in El Dorado, Arkansas.<ref>J&T Charters LLC: Safety By Choice, Skill By Trade, Service By Design. Retrieved September 20, 2024</ref>

Notable people

• Marcus Fizer, professional basketball player, former collegiate All-American
• Patrick O. Jefferson, African-American member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Dub Jones (1924–2024), American football player
• Henderson Jordan (1896–1958), Bienville Parish sheriff who participated in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde.
• Philip H. Mecom (1889–1969), United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.
• Danny Roy Moore (1925–c. 2020), State senator from Bienville and Claiborne parishes.
• Prentiss Oakley (1905–1957), Jordan's successor as sheriff
• Pol Perritt, MLB player, pitched for New York Giants
• Bettye Swann, soul singer best known for the 1967 hit "Make Me Yours".
• Lorris M. Wimberly, former four-time Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Rush Wimberly, lawyer in Arcadia and Shreveport, member of both houses of the Louisiana legislature<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Town of Arcadia official website