Bienville Parish (french: link=no, Paroisse de Bienville, ) is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

located in the northwestern portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,981. The

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. The highest natural point in Louisiana, a hill known as Mt. Driskill, in elevation, is located in north central Bienville Parish. The mountain is located on private land with public access by walking trail. It is named for James Christopher Driskill, a 19th-century landowner. Nearby is Jordan Mountain, with an elevation of . Lake Bistineau and

Lake Bistineau State Park Lake Bistineau State Park is one of twenty-two state parks in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in Doyline in Webster Parish, about a half hour east of Shreveport. History Lake Bistineau was created by a flood after a log jam in 18 ...

embrace parts of Bienville and neighboring Webster and Bossier parishes.

History

In the 1830s, Ruben Drake moved his family from

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

to what he named Mount Lebanon, the first permanent settlement in the parish. As the Drakes were devout

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

s, they established a church and school, which evolved into Mount Lebanon University, the forerunner of

Louisiana Christian University Louisiana Christian University (LCU) is a private Baptist university in Pineville, Louisiana. It enrolls 1,100 to 1,200 students. It is affiliated with the Louisiana Baptist Convention (Southern Baptist Convention). Louisiana Christia ...

in Pineville in

Rapides Parish Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides ...

Central Louisiana Central Louisiana (Cenla), also known as the Crossroads, is a region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The largest communities in the region as of the 2010 Census were Alexandria (47,893), Natchitoches (18,323) and Pineville (14,555). Central ...

. On March 14, 1848, the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 repres ...

created Bienville Parish from the lower portion of Claiborne Parish. Bienville Parish was named in honor of the French Canadian explorer

Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (; ; February 23, 1680 – March 7, 1767), also known as Sieur de Bienville, was a French colonial administrator in New France. Born in Montreal, he was an early governor of French Louisiana, appointed four ...

, Sieur de Bienville, who was governor of French Louisiana for a total of thirty years. The original parish seat was Sparta, a defunct community located between Bienville and Ringgold. All that remains of Sparta are two cemeteries. Among the early settlers of Sparta were the brothers Green and James Huckaby, ancestors of later

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Jerry Huckaby Thomas Jerald Huckaby (born July 19, 1941) is an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, ...

Louisiana's 5th congressional district Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida paris ...

. The courthouse was moved to Arcadia in 1893. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Bienville Parish was strongly

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

but was spared fighting in its immediate area. Instead parish residents participated in the building of fortifications on the nearby Red River. Much of this work was done by slaves hired out by planters. In 1864,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Henry Watkins Allen Henry Watkins Allen (April 29, 1820April 22, 1866) was a member of the Confederate States Army and the Texian Army as a soldier, also serving as a military leader, politician, writer, slave owner, and sugar cane planter. He had made it to the ...

named Dr. Bartholomew Egan of Bienville Parish to establish a laboratory for the manufacture of medicines. Egan bought out the former Mount Lebanon Female Academy and nearly a hundred acres of land to turn out

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a spec ...

and medicinal

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

. He also produced

castor oil Castor oil is a vegetable oil pressed from castor beans. It is a colourless or pale yellow liquid with a distinct taste and odor. Its boiling point is and its density is 0.961 g/cm3. It includes a mixture of triglycerides in which about ...

and a quantity of opium. Winters explains that the "native wild white

poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug o ...

produced an opium equal in strength and effectiveness to the imported product." The notorious bandits Bonnie and Clyde were shot dead in Bienville Parish on May 23, 1934.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (1.3%) is water. The highest natural point in Louisiana, Driskill Mountain (535 ft), is located in Bienville Parish. Driskill Mountain is south of Arcadia at Latitude 32 degree, 25 minutes North; Longitude 92 degree 54 minutes West. Loggy Bayou flows south from

Lake Bistineau A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and traverses Bienville Parish west of Ringgold before it enters Red River Parish and thereafter joins the Red River.

Major highways

Interstates

* Interstate 20 * U.S. Highway 80 * U.S. Highway 371 * Louisiana Highway 4 * Louisiana Highway 9 * Claiborne Parish (north) * Lincoln Parish (northeast) *

Jackson Parish Jackson Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Jackson'') is a parish in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,031. The parish seat is Jonesboro. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Clai ...

(east) *

Winn Parish Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,313. Its seat is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's sixty-four parishe ...

(southeast) *

Natchitoches Parish Natchitoches Parish (french: Paroisse des Natchitoches or ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 39,566. The parish seat is Natchitoches. The parish was formed in 1805. The Natchito ...

(south) * Red River Parish (southwest) * Bossier Parish (west) *

Webster Parish Webster Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Webster'') is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is Minden. As of the 2010 census, the Webster Parish population was 41,207. In 2018, the p ...

(northwest)

Communities

Towns

(parish seat and largest municipality) * Gibsland * Mount Lebanon * Ringgold

Villages

* Bienville * Bryceland * Castor * Jamestown * Lucky * Saline

Unincorporated communities

Brown Brown is a color. It can be considered a composite color, but it is mainly a darker shade of orange. In the CMYK color model used in printing or painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors orange and black. In the RGB color model us ...

* Fryeburg * Pine Grove * Pleasant Hill *

Roy Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise to ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

Taylor Taylor, Taylors or Taylor's may refer to: People * Taylor (surname) ** List of people with surname Taylor * Taylor (given name), including Tayla and Taylah * Taylor sept, a branch of Scottish clan Cameron * Justice Taylor (disambiguation) Pl ...

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 12,981 people, 5,812 households, and 3,586 families residing in the parish. At the census of 2000, there were 15,752 people, 6,108 households, and 4,214 families residing in the parish. The population density was 19 people per square mile (8/km²). There were 7,830 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile (4/km²). In 2000, the racial makeup of the parish was 54.92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 43.78%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.27% Native American, 0.15%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.32% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. At the 2020 census, the racial makeup was 53.16% non-Hispanic white, 40.62% Black or African American, 0.47% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.92% multiracial, and 1.63% Hispanic or Latino of any race. At the 2000 census, were 6,108 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.70% were married couples living together, 17.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.00% were non-families. 28.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09. A tabulated 27.30% of the population were under the age of 18, 8.00% were 18 to 24, 24.60% were 25 to 44, 22.50% were 45 to 64, and 17.60% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.80 males. The median income for a household in the parish was $23,663, and the median income for a family was $30,241. Males had a median income of $28,022 versus $18,682 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $12,471. About 21.80% of families and 26.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.00% of those under age 18 and 23.20% of those age 65 or over. Religiously, Bienville Parish has various Christian churches, mostly of the

denomination. Many are in rural areas and often have cemeteries adjacent to the sanctuaries. For instance, the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church and Cemetery is located south of Ringgold off Louisiana State Highway 4. The

Louisiana Baptist Convention The Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC) is an association of Baptist churches in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Convention is composed of approximately 1,595 member congregations representing 620 ...

was founded in 1848 at historic Mount Lebanon Baptist Church in the community of Mount Lebanon, originally settled by pioneers from

. The First Baptist Church and the First

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelic ...

Church in Arcadia are particularly impressive structures for a smaller community.

Politics

Bienville Parish is a traditional Democratic stronghold though it supported the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

presidential nominees Barry M. Goldwater in 1964 and Richard M. Nixon in 1972. It is one of three parishes—the others are neighboring Red River and St. Bernard near

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

– to have rejected the successful

GOP The Republican Party, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. The GOP was founded in 1854 by Abolitionism in the United Stat ...

gubernatorial candidate,

Bobby Jindal in the

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan blanket primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of the political party. Partisan elections are, on the other hand, segregated by political party. ...

held on October 20, 2007. One of Jindal's opponents,

Louisiana Public Service Commission The Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) is an independent regulatory agency which manages public utilities and motor carriers in Louisiana. The commission has five elected members chosen in single-member districts for staggered six-year te ...

Foster Campbell Foster Lonnie Campbell Jr. (born January 6, 1947) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party from the U.S. state of Louisiana. Since 2003, he has been a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He served in the Louis ...

of neighboring Bossier Parish, led in Bienville Parish with 38.6 percent of the ballots cast. However, the Republican presidential nominees have won narrow victories in Bienville Parish in the past three general elections. In 2004, President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

polled 3,612 votes (50 percent) to 3,399 (47 percent) for Democrat John F. Kerry of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. In 2008, John McCain of

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

won in Bienville Parish by a 187-vote margin over the Democrat

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, 3,776 to 3,589. In 2012, the partisan breakdown for president was nearly identical to 2008.

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...

won in Bienville Parish by 151 votes over President Obama, 3,641 votes (50.6 percent) to 3,490 (48.5 percent). Bienville Parish was represented in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

from 1948 to 1960 by

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

and unsuccessful 1959 Democratic gubernatorial candidate

William M. Rainach William Monroe Rainach Sr. (July 31, 1913 – January 26, 1978) was an American segregationist politician and businessman. A Democrat, he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and the State Senate. Early life William Odom was bo ...

of neighboring Claiborne Parish. Lorris M. Wimberly, a Speaker of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 repr ...

, was a native and resident of Arcadia. Wimberly served in the House from 1928 to 1940 and again from 1948 to 1956; he was Speaker from 1936 to 1940, 1950 to 1952, and briefly in 1956. His father, Joseph Rush Wimberly, I, served in the legislature from 1900 to 1908 and was thereafter a judge. The last state representative whose district included only Bienville Parish was

Len Lacy Len or LEN may refer to: People and fictional characters * Len (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lén, a character from Irish mythology * Alex Len (born 1993), Ukrainian basketball player * Mr. Len, American hip hop DJ * L ...

of Castor, who served a single term from 1964 to 1968 and had been a member of the

Bienville Parish School Board Bienville Parish School Board (BPSB) is a school district headquartered in Arcadia, Louisiana, United States. The district serves Bienville Parish. In 2012 the superintendent replaced the principals of five of the district's eight schools aft ...

for thirty-two years.

Education

The

operates area public schools.

Media

Bienville Parish is served by the weekly ''Bienville Democrat'' newspaper.

Notable people

Henry Newton Brown Jr. Henry Newton Brown Jr. (born December 30, 1941), is a former Louisiana appellate judge, legal lecturer, and former district attorney. He is serving his third 10-year elected term on the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal, based in Shrev ...

, judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals (1992-2012) and district attorney of Bossier and Webster parishes (1976-1991), was born in Bienville Parish in 1941. * Dee Brown, author of

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee ''Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West'' is a 1970 non-fiction book by American writer Dee Brown that covers the history of Native Americans in the American West in the late nineteenth century. The book expres ...

, born in Alberta. *

Bill DeMott William Charles DeMott II (born November 10, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler and road agent and trainer. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as Hugh Morrus and World Wrestling Federatio ...

, a professional

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

, maintains a house in Bienville Parish. *

Caroline Dormon Caroline Coroneos "Carrie" Dormon (19 July 1888 – 21 November 1971) was a naturalist, ethnographer, and writer in Louisiana. She was a pioneer conservationist and was involved in the establishment of the Kisatchie National Forest and was also th ...

(1888–1971), a Louisiana

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and

preservationist Preservationist is generally understood to mean ''historic preservationist'': one who advocates to preserve architecturally or historically significant buildings, structures, objects, or sites from demolition or degradation. Historic preservation us ...

, grew up in Bienville Parish. *

Jamie Fair James Hartwell Fair, Jr. (born December 18, 1945) is a former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Bienville Parish in north Louisiana. He served as a Democrat in the state House for a single term from 1980 to 1984 during the a ...

, member of the

from 1980 to 1984 *

Charlie Hennigan Charles Taylor Hennigan, Sr. (March 19, 1935 – December 20, 2017) was an American football player with the former Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL). Football career Hennigan attended LSU on a track scholarship but wanted to ...

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

player from the 1960s * Henderson Jordan (1896–1958), sheriff of Bienville Parish, 1932–1940; participated in the ambush and killing of Bonnie and Clyde on May 23, 1934; interred at Arcadia Cemetery * Billy McCormack (1928-2012), Baptist pastor from

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

, director and vice president of the

Christian Coalition of America The Christian Coalition of America (CCA), a 501(c)(4) organization, is the successor to the original Christian Coalition created in 1987 by religious broadcaster and former presidential candidate Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson. This US Christian ...

, was born in Bienville Parish and is interred at Ringgold. * C. L. McCrary (1905-1989), Arcadia businessman and state representative from Bienville Parish from 1960 to 1964 *

Garnie W. McGinty Garnie William McGinty (April 5, 1900 – April 22, 1984) was a historian whose career was principally based for thirty-five years at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. Biography McGinty was born in Bienville Parish in north Loui ...

(1900–1984), Louisiana historian *

Danny Roy Moore Danny Roy Moore (August 9, 1925 – c. 2020) was an American politician who was a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for one term, from 1964 until 1968. Moore was born in Haynesville, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, ...

(1925–c. 2020), represented Claiborne and Bienville parishes in the Louisiana Senate from 1964 to 1968; resided in Arcadia * Prentiss Oakley (1905–1957), one of six law-enforcement officials involved in the ambush and killing of Bonnie and Clyde; sheriff, 1940–1952 * W. C. Robinson, mathematics professor and second president of Louisiana Tech for the 1899 to 1900 academic year; Robinson Hall on campus is named in his honor; from the Mount Lebanon community. *

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction *Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor *Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer *Lee Smith ...

, pitcher *

Sam Smith Samuel Frederick Smith (born 19 May 1992) is an English singer and songwriter. After rising to prominence in October 2012 by featuring on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number eleven on the UK Singles Chart, they ...

(1922-1995), Member of the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

was born in Gibsland. * Jesse N. Stone, president of the

Southern University System The Southern University System is a system of public historically black universities in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its headquarters are at the Joseph Samuel Clark Administration Building on the Southern University campus in Baton Rouge. The So ...

from 1974 to 1985;

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

activist * Marshall H. Twitchell,

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

era state senator who helped to establish

Coushatta The Coushatta ( cku, Koasati, Kowassaati or Kowassa:ti) are a Muskogean-speaking Native American people now living primarily in the U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territor ...

, the seat of neighboring Red River Parish *

Rush Wimberly Joseph Rush Wimberly, I (December 30, 1873 – March 11, 1943), was at the turn of the 20th century successively a member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from Arcadia, the seat of Bienville Parish in North Louisiana. He se ...

, former member of both houses of the Louisiana legislature, lawyer in Arcadia and

References

External links

Official webpage for Bienville Parish
{{Coord, 32.35, -93.06, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-LA_source:UScensus1990 Louisiana parishes 1848 establishments in Louisiana Populated places established in 1848