Greenwood is a
suburban town in southern
Caddo Parish, which is located in the northwest corner 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 ...
of
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 ...
. With a population of 3,166 at 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 ...
,
it is the third most populous incorporated municipality in Caddo Parish after
Shreveport and
Blanchard
Blanchard is a French family name. It is also used as a given name. It derives from the Old French word ''blanchart'' which meant "whitish, bordering upon white". It is also an obsolete term for a white horse.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, ...
. Part of the
Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan statistical area, it is located 15 miles west of downtown Shreveport.
History
Greenwood was established by
European Americans
European Americans (also referred to as Euro-Americans) are Americans of European ancestry. This term includes people who are descended from the first European settlers in the United States as well as people who are descended from more recent E ...
in 1839 after the forced
Indian Removal
Indian removal was the United States government policy of forced displacement of self-governing tribes of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands in the eastern United States to lands west of the Mississippi Riverspecifically, to a de ...
of the
Caddo people
The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language.
The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, who ...
to
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
(now
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
) west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
.
![Dunn Home, Greenwood, LA IMG 2893](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Dunn_Home%2C_Greenwood%2C_LA_IMG_2893.JPG)
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 th ...
Battle of Mansfield
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
in April 1864,
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 ...
wounded were treated at the historic Dunn House built in the 1840s. It is now located next to the Greenwood Town Hall on Highway 80. Several other historic houses located in Greenwood, including the Trosper House, have been added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
As in the rest of Louisiana, most Black or African Americans were disenfranchised from the turn of the 20th century into the 1960s, and the state was dominated by white
Democrats; Caddo Parish
Sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
J. Howell Flournoy, who served a record 26 years in office from 1940 to 1966, was born in Greenwood in 1891 and was part of the political Flournoy dynasty.
On March 3, 1964, Owen Dickson Adams (January 13, 1926 – April 18, 2017) of Greenwood and
B. F. O'Neal, Jr., of Shreveport, later a
state representative, were elected as Republicans to the historically Democratic-dominated Caddo Parish Commission. It was then known as the police jury, equivalent to the
county commission in other states. This was in a period of considerable cultural change as the
Civil Rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
was underway; the federal
Civil Rights Act
Civil Rights Act may refer to several acts of the United States Congress, including:
* Civil Rights Act of 1866, extending the rights of emancipated slaves by stating that any person born in the United States regardless of race is an American ci ...
was passed later in 1964 and the
Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
in 1965. Blacks had been
disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
in Louisiana since the turn of the century, when passage of a new
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
included barriers to voter registration. White Democrats then began to join the
Republican Party.
Adams served on the police jury until 1976; O'Neal until 1968, when Adams won his second term. He was the only Republican in Caddo Parish that year to win an election. An engineer with
Spectra Energy
Spectra Energy Corp, headquartered in Houston, Texas, operated in three key areas of the natural gas industry: transmission and storage, distribution, and gathering and processing. Spectra was formed in late 2006 from the spin-off from Duke ...
, then known as Texas Eastern, Adams relocated to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. On retirement, he returned to Greenwood and subsequently served twelve years as
mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
and three terms on the city council. He died at the age of ninety-one and is interred at Forest Park West Cemetery in Shreveport.
Earnest Lampkins (1928-2018), a native of Shreveport, earned a PhD and had a career as a music educator. He taught music at all levels, becoming supervisor of music for
Caddo Parish. He founded the Louisiana School of Professions. In 2004, Lampkins was elected as the first black mayor of Greenwood, where he had long been active in the community. Against running for a second term, Lampkins ceased any intentions due to gunshots fired into his house, alongside continued threats and racism.
Geography
Greenwood is located in western Caddo Parish at (32.436051, -93.963902).
Greenwood Road (U.S. Routes
80 and
79) is the main route through the center of town.
Interstate 20 passes through the northern part of the town, with access from exits 3 and 5. Downtown
Shreveport is to the east, and
Waskom
Waskom is a city in the U.S. state of Texas with a 2020 census-tabulated population of 1,910, down from 2,160 residents in 2010. It is located in Harrison County and lies approximately east of the county seat, Marshall, on U.S. Route 80 and ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, is to the west.
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, is to the southwest down U.S. 79. Greenwood is approximately 165 miles east of
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and about 290 miles northwest of
.
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 ...
, Greenwood has a total area of , of which , or 0.19%, is water.
Demographics
Since the establishment of Greenwood, its population was overshadowed by the larger and nearby Shreveport to its east, and Waskom, Texas to the west; at the
1970 United States census, the town of Greenwood had a population of 212. In 2020, the U.S. Census Bureau tabulated a population of 3,166,
down from the historic high of 3,219 at the
2010 United States census
The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...
. At the publication of the 2020 census, Greenwood remained the third largest community in Caddo Parish, while Blanchard overtook
Vivian as the second-largest.
There were 1,351 households at the 2020
American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
's 5 year estimates program, among which 755 were married-couple households.
The average family size was 2.80, and the average household size was 2.34; in 2000, the average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.00. Among its population, 92.3% have attained a
high school diploma
A high school diploma or high school degree is a North American academic school leaving qualification awarded upon high school graduation. The high school diploma is typically obtained after a course of study lasting four years, from grade 9 to gra ...
or higher, and 27.2% of residents attained a
bachelor's degree or higher
Bachelor's degree or higher is a commonly used term by the United States Census Bureau and other U.S. government agencies on the federal as well as state and local level. The term describes the portion of the population that has either a bachelo ...
.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $40,408, and the median income for a family was $52,955. Males had a median income of $38,750 versus $26,622 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the town was $19,374. About 9.3% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 19.3% of those under age 18 and 20.9% of those age 65 or over. In 2018, the American Community Survey determined the median income was $60,809; the mean income was $91,984, making Greenwood one of the wealthiest communities within the
Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area. During the American Community Survey's 2020 census estimates, its median household income was $55,034; the mean income also slightly declined to $86,979.
For a majority of Greenwood's history, the town has been predominantly non-Hispanic white, though diversification has broadened the racial and ethnic makeup of the suburban community alongside much of the United States.
According to the
2000 U.S. census
The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...
,
the racial and ethnic makeup of Greenwood was 77.01%
White American
White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
, 20.63%
Black or African American, 0.41%
American Indian and Alaska Native
Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United States are ...
, 0.33%
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 ...
, 0.16%
Native Hawaiian
Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, First Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians) ( haw, kānaka, , , and ), are the indigenous ethnic group of Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii ...
or
other Pacific Islander, 0.45% from
other races and ethnicities, and 1.02% from
two or more races
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
.
Hispanic or Latino Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as ...
of any race were 1.79% of the population. By the 2020 census, its racial and ethnic makeup was 60.27%
non-Hispanic white, 27.13% Black or African American, 0.69% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.76% Asian, 6.1% multiracial or of another race or ethnicity, and 5.05% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.
The growing Hispanic or Latino American population reflected nationwide demographic trends following the 2014 to 2019 census estimates and 2020 census.
According to ''
Sperling's BestPlaces
Bertrand T. Sperling (born 1950 in Brooklyn, New York) is an author and researcher. His books and studies on quality of life in America have made him "an internationally recognized expert on cities."
Work Studies
Sperling is commissioned to c ...
'' in 2020, the population of Greenwood has remained primarily
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
.
Dominated by
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
as most of
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
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 ...
,
Baptists
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 ...
were the largest Christian tradition by adherence. Baptists in Greenwood are mainly served by the
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
, though the
predominantly Black or African American National Baptist Convention of America
The National Baptist Convention of America International, Inc., (NBCA Intl or NBCA) more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention of America or sometimes the Boyd Convention, is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is ...
and
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is a primarily African American Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Ce ...
have congregations throughout the area. Following,
Methodists and
Pentecostals
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement dominated the religious landscape, with
Catholic Christians
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
served by the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Shreveport
The Diocese of Shreveport ( la, Dioecesis Sreveportuensis in Louisiana) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church covering the parishes of northern Louisiana. The largest cities in the diocese are Shreveport, ...
.
References
External links
Town of Greenwood official website
{{authority control
Towns in Caddo Parish, Louisiana
Towns in Louisiana
Towns in Shreveport – Bossier City metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1839