Bienville Parish (, ) is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 so ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

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

and most populous municipality is Arcadia. 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 .

History

In the 1830s, Ruben Drake moved his family from

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

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

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

s, they established a church and school, which evolved into Mount Lebanon University, the forerunner of Louisiana Christian University in Pineville in Rapides Parish in Central Louisiana. Bonnie and Clyde were shot dead in Bienville Parish on May 23, 1934.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 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.

Major highways

Interstates

* Interstate 20 * U.S. Highway 80 * U.S. Highway 371 * Louisiana Highway 4 * Louisiana Highway 9

Adjacent parishes

* Claiborne Parish (north) * Lincoln Parish (northeast) * Jackson Parish (east) * Winn Parish (southeast) * Natchitoches Parish (south) * Red River Parish (southwest) * Bossier Parish (west) * Webster Parish (northwest)

Communities

Towns

* Arcadia (parish seat and largest municipality) * Gibsland *

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...

* 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 and painting, brown is usually made by combining the colors Orange (colour), orange and black. In the ...

* Fryeburg * Roy *

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

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) ...

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 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 . There were 7,830 housing units at an average density of . In 2000, the racial makeup of the parish was 54.92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 43.78%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.27% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.32% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.95% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino 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.

Politics

Education

The Bienville Parish School Board operates area public schools.

Notable people

* Henry Newton Brown Jr., 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. It explores the history of American expansionism in the American West in the late nineteenth century and its de ...

, born in Alberta. * Bill DeMott, a professional

wrestler Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves diffe ...

, maintains a house in Bienville Parish. * Caroline Dormon (1888–1971), a Louisiana

botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

and preservationist, grew up in Bienville Parish. * Jamie Fair, member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) 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 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

from 1980 to 1984 * Charlie Hennigan,

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

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 List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

, 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 Christia ...

, was born in Bienville Parish and is interred at Ringgold. * Garnie W. McGinty (1900–1984), Louisiana historian * Danny Roy Moore (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, pitcher * Sam Smith (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 from 1974 to 1985;

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

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 Union ...

era state senator who helped to establish

Coushatta The Coushatta () are a Muskogean-speaking Native Americans in the United States, Native American people now living primarily in the United States, U.S. states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When the Coushatta first encountered Europeans, the ...

, the seat of neighboring Red River Parish * Rush Wimberly, 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