Epps is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in West Carroll Parish,

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. The population was 358 at the 2020 census.

History

Very little is known about the early days of the town, but it is thought the settlement began as steamboat traffic carying cotton and timber increased on Bayou Macon in the 1850s. Though not confirmed, it is believed that the town was named after Edwin Epps. Epps owned a cotton plantation in Avoyelles Parish and he is known as one of the enslavers of the famous abolitionist Solomon Northup. The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 affected Epps less severely then other towns within the

Mississippi embayment The Mississippi embayment is a physiographic feature in the south-central United States, part of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain. It is essentially a northward continuation of the fluvial sediments of the Mississippi River Delta to its conflu ...

, even serving as a Red Cross Relief Camp. Epps was incorporated as a village in 1939. Poverty Point Aerial HRoe 2014

Poverty Point and the Late Archaic mounds of the Poverty Point culture, located five miles northeast of the village, were declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

on June 13, 1962. It later became a State Historic Site and opened to the public in 1976. In 1988, Congress designated the site as a U.S. National Monument. The 2,700-acre, man-made lake of the Poverty Point Reservoir State Park is also located five miles south of the village within Richland Parish.

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 village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2020 census

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 1,153 people, 209 households, and 156 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 237 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 36.17%

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 ...

, 63.05%

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 ...

, 0.09% Asian, and 0.69% 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 1.30% of the population. There were 209 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% 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, 21.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.9% were non-families. 23.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.41. In the village, the population was spread out, with 17.4% under the age of 18, 22.3% from 18 to 24, 40.5% from 25 to 44, 14.0% from 45 to 64, and 5.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 268.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 338.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $20,956, and the median income for a family was $23,125. Males had a median income of $20,000 versus $15,804 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 $6,486. About 29.7% of families and 38.3% 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 ...

, including 50.8% of those under age 18 and 48.5% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools are operated by the West Carroll Parish School Board. Epps High School closed in 2022https://www.myarklamiss.com/news/west-carroll-parish-school-board-votes-to-close-epps-high-school/#:~:text=Members%20of%20the%20school%20board%20voted%20to%20close%20Epps%20High and is now Epps Elementary. High school age students are now zoned for Oak Grove High School.

Notable people

* Jake Jones, a major league baseball player from 1941 to 1948, was born in Epps.

References

External links

Epps Progress
Community Progress Site for Epps, Louisiana {{West Carroll Parish, Louisiana Villages in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana