Dry Prong is a village in central

Grant Parish Grant Parish is a parish located in the North Central portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,169. The parish seat is Colfax. The parish was founded in 1869 during the Reconstruction era. ...

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 ...

, United States. It is part of the

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat and largest city of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River of the South, Red River ...

Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 436 at the 2010 census.

History

Dry Prong was incorporated as a village in 1945. According to tradition, the village received its name when a family moved to the region in the 1870s to build a sawmill. To power the mill, they built a

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the kinetic energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a large wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with numerous b ...

, only to discover that the creek over which they had built it went dry every summer: the creek was a "dry prong". The mill was soon rebuilt over a nearby creek which flowed all year, but the name stuck. The creek is now outside the city limits, on Highway 123. Shane Davis is the current mayor of the village.

Geography

Dry Prong is located at the center of Grant Parish.

U.S. Route 167 U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louis ...

passes through the village, leading north to

Winnfield Winnfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield: Huey Long, Earl K. Long, ...

and south to

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 ...

. The village is within

Kisatchie National Forest 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 ...

. 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 village has a total area of , of which , or 0.65%, is water.

Major highways

* Louisiana Highway 122 * Louisiana Highway 123

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 421 people, 176 households, and 124 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 195 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.25%

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 ...

, 0.95%

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 ...

, 0.24% Native American, 1.66% from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races.

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 were 2.61% of the population. There were 176 households, out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.5% were non-families. 28.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.91. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.4 males. The median income for a household in the village was $32,917, and the median income for a family was $43,214. Males had a median income of $36,944 versus $18,864 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the village was $13,978. About 12.9% of families and 19.0% 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 ...

, including 25.0% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Dry Prong residents are zoned to

Grant Parish School Board The Grant Parish School Board is an entity responsible for the operation of public schools in all of Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. Text list/ref> It is headquartered in the town of Colfax. The parish is named for Ulysses S. Grant (18 ...

schools.

Media

KVDP (FM) KVDP may refer to: * Kevin van der Perren Kevin van der Perren (born 6 August 1982) is a Belgian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2007 & 2009 European Figure Skating Championships, European bronze medalist, a three-time Grand Prix me ...

, a radio station (89.1 FM)

Notable people

* W. K. Brown,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

from 1960 to 1972, was reared in Dry Prong. * Billy Chandler, state representative from Grant, La Salle, and

Winn Winn may refer to: Places In the United States: * Winn, Maine, a town in Penobscot County * Winn, Michigan, an unincorporated community * Winn Parish, Louisiana Other uses * Winn (surname) (including a list of people with the name) * WINN, an Ame ...

parishes

References

{{authority control Villages in Grant Parish, Louisiana Villages in Louisiana Alexandria metropolitan area, Louisiana Populated places established in 1945