Winnfield is a small city in, and 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 five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

of,

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. The parish seat and largest city is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's s ...

, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield:

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

, Earl K. Long, and Oscar K. Allen.The City of Winnfield, Louisiana
Official website, Retrieved on February 10, 2009

History

When

Winn Parish Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,755. The parish seat and largest city is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's s ...

was officially formed by the state legislature in 1852, Winnfield was established as the parish seat. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, the area around Winnfield was the site of some minor skirmishes. Confederate forces defeated a Union detachment near Salsbury Bridge sent to destroy the Drake's Salt Works in the area. Many Civil War bandits made the region their home. Among these were the West and Kimbrel clan. Three Louisiana governors were Winnfield natives and grew up here:

, Oscar K. Allen and

Earl Long Earl Kemp Long (August 26, 1895 – September 5, 1960) was an American politician who served as the List of governors of Louisiana, 45th governor of Louisiana on three occasions (1939–1940, 1948–1952, and 1956–1960). A member of the ...

. Huey Long became governor, U.S. Senator. He was assassinated in 1935. Oscar K. Allen was elected governor in 1932. Earl Long, "the Louisiana Longshot," served in a variety of state positions, said to be more than other Louisianan, including elective office. He was elected governor in 1939, 1948 and 1956. He was elected to Congress in 1960 but died before he could assume office. Winnfield was a major producer of salt in the Civil War days; salt kettles used at Big Cedar and Drake's Salt Works furnished salt for the Confederate army. One still exists today in front of the

Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame is a museum and hall of fame located in Winnfield, Louisiana. Created by a 1987 act of the Louisiana State Legislature, it honors the best-known politicians and political journalists in the state. ...

, turned into a fountain. The salt works was located on

Saline Bayou Kisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, United States, is located in the forested piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It is part of the Cenozoic uplands (some of Louisiana's oldest ...

. Later the Cary Salt Works started an 840-foot deep mine west of Winnfield. The mine was used by the federal government in Project Coyboy

Plowshare Program Project Plowshare was the overall United States program for the development of techniques to use nuclear explosives for peaceful construction purposes. The program was organized in June 1957 as part of the worldwide Atoms for Peace efforts. As ...

, Cowboy Event. Between December 1959 and March 1960 a series of high explosives were set off inside the Carry Salt Works in an unused portion of the mine. The mine was later flooded by an underground river. The mine and all equipment inside were abandoned. The rock quarry operated near or on top of the salt mine and produced limestone and gravel still operates today as Winn Rock.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.6 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,153 people, 1,967 households, and 1,173 families residing in the city.

Economy

, according to Bauer,

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

Winn Correctional Center Winn Correctional Center (WCC) is a state prison for men, part of the Louisiana Department of Corrections prison system, located about Bauer, Shane.My four months as a private prison guard. '' Mother Jones''. July/August 2016. Retrieved on Jun ...

, and the area lumber mill offer the majority of the jobs in the Winnfield area; because of the poverty in the area, residents are willing to take low-paying jobs at Winn Correctional Center despite the danger present there.My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard: Part One
" '' Mother Jones''. June 23, 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2016. About 2:50 through 3:20 of 4:30.

Arts and culture

Museums

Annual events

* Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trialsa yearly

bay dog A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

event * Louisiana Forest Festival

Education

Public schools

Winn Parish School Board operates local public schools, which include: * Winnfield Senior High School (912) * Winnfield Middle School (58) * Winnfield Primary School (K4)

Higher education

Central Louisiana Technical Community College Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

— Huey P. Long campus

Media

Newspapers

* ''The Piney Woods Journal'' * ''Winn Parish Enterprise'' * ''Winn Parish Journal''

TV

* KCDH-LP, cable only

Radio

* KVCL-FM - country music

Infrastructure

Health Care

Winn Parish Medical Center is a 30-bed facility. it was founded in 1948.

Notable people

* A. Leonard Allen, U. S. Congressman * Oscar K. Allen, governor of Louisiana * George Washington Bolton, businessman and patriarch of the Bolton family of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

* Harley Bozeman, tree farmer, politician, historian, confidant of Huey and Earl Long * P. J. Brown, professional basketball player * John Burrows, professional baseball player *

Randy Fenoli Randy Fenoli is an American television presenter and fashion designer who is mainly known for his work on wedding dresses and his own TV show '' Randy to the Rescue'' and '' Say Yes to the Dress''. He was the fashion director for the wedding dr ...

, fashion designer, star of ''

Say Yes to the Dress ''Say Yes to the Dress'' is an American reality television series on TLC which follows events at Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan. The series shows the progress of individual sales associates, managers, and fitters at the store, along with profili ...

'' and''

Randy to the Rescue ''Randy to the Rescue'' is an American reality television series that aired on the TLC cable network, starting June 15, 2012. Each episode of the series shows Randy Fenoli as he helps brides pick out the perfect wedding dress for their special da ...

'' * Earl K. Long, governor of Louisiana *

Gillis William Long Gillis William Long (May 4, 1923 – January 20, 1985) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. representative from Louisiana. He was a member of the Long family and cousin of Speedy Long. Early life Long was born on May 4, 1 ...

, U. S. Congressman *

Huey Pierce Long Jr. Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

, governor of Louisiana, senator from Louisiana *

Speedy Long Speedy Oteria Long (June 16, 1928 – October 5, 2006) was an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for Louisiana's 8th congressional district from January 3, 1965, until January 3, 1973. He was a member of ...

, U. S. Congressman, attended high school in Winnfield *

Dick Merrill Henry Tyndall "Dick" Merrill (February 1, 1894 – October 31, 1982) was an early aviation pioneer. Among his feats he was the highest-paid air mail pilot, flew the first round-trip transatlantic flight in 1936, was Dwight D. Eisenhower's persona ...

, aviator *

Thomas D. Milling Thomas DeWitt Milling (July 31, 1887 – November 26, 1960) was a pioneer of military aviation and a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the first rated pilot in the history of the United States Air Force. He received his flig ...

, brigadier general,

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Preston Powell Preston J. Powell (September 23, 1936 – August 23, 2020) was an American professional football fullback. He played for the Cleveland Browns in 1961. He died on August 23, 2020, in Cleveland, Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in t ...

, professional football player *

William Jay Smith William Jay Smith (April 22, 1918 – August 18, 2015) was an American poet. He was appointed the nineteenth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1968 to 1970. Life William Jay Smith was born in Winnfield, Louisi ...

Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress The poet laureate consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress, commonly referred to as the United States poet laureate, serves as the official poet of the United States. During their term, the poet laureate seeks to raise the national consc ...

1968–1970 * Anthony Thomas, professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player * Jack Wallace, professional baseball player, minor league manager

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cities in Louisiana Cities in Winn Parish, Louisiana Parish seats in Louisiana Cities in the Ark-La-Tex Cities in the Central Louisiana County seats in the Ark-La-Tex