DeQuincy is the northernmost city in

Calcasieu Parish Calcasieu Parish (; french: Paroisse de Calcasieu) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish located on the southwestern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 216,785. The p ...

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 ...

, United States. The population was 3,235 at the 2010 census. DeQuincy is part of the Lake Charles

metropolitan statistical area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

History

DeQuincy was founded in 1897 as a railroad town with the Calcasieu, Vernon & Shreveport Railway Company (CV&S) having been completed and Arthur Stilwell's Kansas City, Shreveport & Gulf Railway Company (KCS&G), that was owned by the

Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad The Kansas City, Pittsburg and Gulf Railroad was a railway company that began operations in the 1890s and owned a main-line between Kansas City, Missouri, and Port Arthur, Texas. It was led by Arthur Stilwell before being thrown into receivership ...

(KCP&G), completed in 1897. On 8 March 1944, two Air Force aircraft from nearby

Barksdale Air Force Base Barksdale Air Force Base (Barksdale AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in northwest Louisiana, United States, in Bossier Parish. It is contiguous to Bossier City, Louisiana, along the base's western and northwestern edge. Barksdale AFB ...

collided overhead killing seven people.

Geography

DeQuincy is located in northern Calcasieu Parish at (30.450915, -93.435613). Louisiana Highways 12 and 27 pass through the center of town: LA 12 leads east to Kinder and southwest to

Deweyville, Texas Deweyville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Newton County, on the central eastern border of Texas, United States. The population was 571 at the 2020 census, down from 1,023 at the 2010 census. Geography Deweyville is located at (30.296478 ...

, while LA 27 leads north to DeRidder and south to

Sulphur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

, west of Lake Charles. According to the

United States 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 ...

, DeQuincy has a total area of , all land.

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 3,144 people, 972 households, and 720 families residing in the city.

Economy

DeQuincy was founded as a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

settlement, and the Kansas City Southern and Union Pacific railroads remain principal employers for area citizens. The timber industry has long been a vital part of the local economy. DeQuincy is home to

Temple-Inland Temple-Inland, Inc. was an American corrugated packaging and building products company. It was acquired by International Paper in 2012. History Inland Container Corporation was founded by Herman C. Krannert as Anderson Box Company in Anderson ...

's Southwest Louisiana Lumber Operation. The DeQuincy Industrial Airpark houses facilities for Thermoplastic Services, Recycle Inc., United Oilfield Services, and Paragon Plastic Sheet. In 2002,

Calgon Carbon Calgon Carbon Corporation is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based company that manufactures and markets products that remove contaminants and odors from liquids and gases, both for industrial, municipal, and consumer markets. Calgon Carbon's product l ...

Corporation planned to construct a carbon reactivation plant in the airpark, though those plans have been delayed due to

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

concerns.

Government and infrastructure

The former Grand Avenue High School was the site of the highest scoring boys high school basketball game on January 29, 1964, when Grand Avenue beat Cameron, Louisiana's Audrey Memorial High School by a score of 211 to 29. The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

operates the DeQuincy Post Office. The

Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections The Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DPS&C) (French: ) is a state law enforcement agency responsible for the incarceration of inmates and management of facilities at state prisons within the state of Louisiana. The agency is headquart ...

formerly operated the

C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center C. Paul Phelps Correctional Center (PCC) was a Louisiana Department of Public Safety & Corrections prison for men, located in unincorporated Beauregard Parish, Louisiana, about north of DeQuincy and northwest of Lake Charles. The center was loca ...

in unincorporated

Beauregard Parish Beauregard Parish (french: Paroisse de Beauregard) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,654. The parish seat is DeRidder. The parish was formed on January 1, 1913. Beauregard Parish ...

, about north of DeQuincy. The facility closed in November 2012

Education

Calcasieu Parish Public Schools operates public schools: *

DeQuincy High School DeQuincy High School is a senior high school in DeQuincy, Louisiana, United States. It is a part of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools. History A man named Mr. D. D. Hereford began teaching in DeQuincy in 1899. In 1910 a dedicated brick school build ...

* DeQuincy Middle School * DeQuincy Elementary School * DeQuincy Primary School

Subject of multiple hoaxes

The town has been the subject of numerous hoaxes by satirical writer

Paul Horner Paul Horner (November 5, 1978 – September 18, 2017) was an American writer, comedian and contributor to fake news websites. The Associated Press, ''The Chicago Tribune'', PolitiFact and ''The Washington Post'' all called Horner a "hoax artis ...

, widely spread on the Internet. The hoaxes claim the town enacted bizarre legislation such as banning those of Korean descent, issuing handguns to school children, permitting

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. I ...

, banning twerking, and the city being completely eradicated by

zombies A zombie (Haitian French: , ht, zonbi) is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. Zombies are most commonly found in horror and fantasy genre works. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in whic ...

on bath salts. DeQuincy Mayor Lawrence Henagan, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, was falsely targeted in 2016 by an

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

hoax that he had jailed a volunteer fire chief for thirty days and then dismissed the man after the chief had prayed at the scene of a fire. The story identified the mayor as "Lawana Jones, an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

" and the fire chief as "39-year-old Ronnie Edwards." Henagan, the chairman of the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

board at the First

Baptist Church 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 compete ...

of DeQuincy, said that the chief is free to pray while

firefighting Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter. Firefighters typically ...

. Henagan said he would join the fire chief in prayer. Henagan said that he has no knowledge why he was singled out for a fake news article but noted that he could take no legal action because the reports used fictitious names.

Notable people

* Burl Cain, warden of Louisiana State Penitentiary since 1995, formerly resided in DeQuincy. *

Johnny Dowers John Wayne "Johnny" Dowers (born March 16, 1971, in DeQuincy, Louisiana) is an American actor, writer, and musician best known for his role as Detective Tim Cooper on FX's drama, '' The Bridge''. He co-wrote and starred in the 2010 comedy Pickin' ...

, actor, writer, composer and musician who has appeared on the TV series '' GCB'' and ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

''. He has been cast as Detective Tim Cooper in the police drama series ''

The Bridge The Bridge may refer to: Art, entertainment and media Art * ''The Bridge'' (sculpture), a 1997 sculpture in Atlanta, Georgia, US * Die Brücke (''The Bridge''), a group of German expressionist artists * ''The Bridge'' (M. C. Escher), a lithograph ...

''. *

Tina Girouard Cynthia Marie "Tina" Girouard (May 26, 1946 – April 21, 2020) was an American video and performance artist best known for her work and involvement in the SoHo art scene of the 1960s and early 1970s. Early life and education Cynthia Marie Girou ...

, award-winning video and performance artist whose work is in the collections of museums such as the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New Orleans Museum of Art, and

Museo Rufino Tamayo Museo Rufino Tamayo is a public contemporary art museum located in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park, that produces contemporary art exhibitions, using its collection of modern and contemporary art, as well as artworks from the collection of its fo ...

, was born in DeQuincy. *

Smiley Lewis A smiley, sometimes referred to as a smiley face, is a basic ideogram that represents a smiling face. Since the 1950s it has become part of popular culture worldwide, used either as a standalone ideogram, or as a form of communication, such a ...

, rhythm and blues musician whose songs have been covered by Fats Domino,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has alwa ...

, and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

* Hanna Nicole and Ashley Grance from the American duo Ha*Ash, singers * Anthony Pullard,

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

player for the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

. *Craig Stark is an actor and filmmaker who has appeared on the TV series '' Empty Nest'', '' Guns of Paradise'', '' Booker'', ''

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

'', and '' Sleepy Hollow''. He film roles have included parts in '' Homefront'', '' Honey Boy'', and the ''

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, Black comedy, dark humor, Nonlinear narrative, non-lin ...

'' films ''

Django Unchained ''Django Unchained'' () is a 2012 American revisionist Western film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, and Samuel L. Jackson, with Walton Goggins, Dennis Chri ...

'' and '' The Hateful Eight''. He currently resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. *

Scott Brown Scott Brown may refer to: Sportsmen *Scott Brown (American football), American college football coach of Kentucky State * Scott Brown (baseball) (born 1956), former Major League Baseball pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds *Scott Brown (footballer, bor ...

, retired major league baseball pitcher.

References

External links

City of DeQuincy official websiteThe ''DeQuincy News''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dequincy, Louisiana Cities in Louisiana Cities in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Cities in Lake Charles metropolitan area