Ferriday is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Concordia Parish, which borders the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

and is located on the central eastern border of

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. With a population of 3,511 at the 2010 census, it is an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

majority town. The town claims to have produced more famous people per square mile than any other in America.

Elaine Dundy Elaine Rita Dundy (née Brimberg; August 1, 1921 – May 1, 2008) was an American novelist, biographer, journalist, actress and playwright. Early life She was born Elaine Rita Brimberg in New York City. Her Polish Jewish immigrant father, ...

explored both celebrities and townsfolk in her book, ''Ferriday, Louisiana'', published by

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 1, ...

in 1991. Churches of several major denominations are located here, including a large

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

congregation south of town on

Louisiana Highway 15 Louisiana Highway 15 (LA 15) is a state highway located in central and northern Louisiana. It runs in a north–south direction from the junction of LA 1 and LA 970 in Lettsworth to the concurrent U.S. Highways 63 and 167 ...

, as well as

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 ...

Assembly of God The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, Methodist, and Catholic.

Geography

Ferriday is situated on the west side of Lake Concordia and from Lake St. John,

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or stream pool, pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is meander cutoff, cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. The word "oxbow" can also refer to a U-shaped bend in a river or stream, whether ...

s noted for recreational and professional bass fishing. U.S. Routes 84 and 425 pass through the center of Ferriday. US 84 leads west to Jonesville, and US 425 leads north to Clayton. The two highways jointly lead southeast to

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the only city in and the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,520 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia, Louisiana, Natchez was ...

. 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 ...

, Ferriday has a total area of , all being land.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,189 people, 1,354 households, and 885 families residing in the town.

2000 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 3,723 people, 1,350 households, and 918 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,498 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 74.89%

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 ...

, 24.09%

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.19% from other races, and 0.35% 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 0.46% of the population. There were 1,350 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.7% 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, 33.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 29.3% 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 2.62 and the average family size was 3.27. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 76.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $14,732, and the median income for a family was $18,636. Males had a median income of $23,654 versus $16,725 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 town was $8,767. About 40.7% of families and 47.4% 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 70.2% of those under age 18 and 25.1% of those age 65 or over. In 2010, Ferriday had the 15th-lowest median household income of all places in the United States with a population over 1,000.

Education

The

Concordia Parish School Board Concordia Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The district serves residents of Concordia Parish, i.e. Vidalia, Ferriday, Ridgecrest, and Monterey. School uniforms The district r ...

serves Ferriday. Ferriday High School is located off LA 15. Its sports teams are known as the Trojans. To the right rear of the high school is the Concordia Parish Library. Central Louisiana Technical Community College has a campus located in Ferriday.

Notable people

* Andy Anders, former state representative for Concordia Parish * Campbell Brown,

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

and

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

news correspondent * Brenham C. Crothers, (1905-1984), state senator from 1948 to 1952 and 1956 to 1960 *

Mickey Gilley Mickey Leroy Gilley (March 9, 1936 – May 7, 2022) was an American country music singer, businessman, actor, and musician. Among his hits are " Room Full of Roses", " Don't the Girls All Get Prettier at Closing Time", and “ Lonely Nights”. ...

(1936-2022), country musician * Dale Houston (1940–2007), whose single " I'm Leaving It Up to You" reached No. 1 in 1963 *

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis m ...

(1935-2022),

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

pioneer, pianist *

Howard K. Smith Howard Kingsbury Smith (May 12, 1914 – February 15, 2002) was an American journalist, radio reporter, television anchorman, political commentator, and film actor. He was one of the original members of the team of war correspondents known as th ...

(1914-2002),

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

commentator and anchorman * Jimmy Lee Swaggart, evangelist * Jimmy Warren, college, professional football player and coach

Photo gallery

Image:Ferriday, LA sign IMG 1191.JPG, Ferriday welcoming sign on LA 15 File:Delta Music Museum, Ferriday, LA IMG_1184.JPG, Delta Music Museum Image:Concordia Parish Library IMG_1197.JPG, The Concordia Parish Library in Ferriday Image:Ferriday (LA) High School IMG 1205.jpg, "FHS" carved in shrubbery at Ferriday High School Image:Jerry Lee Lewis Drive in Ferriday IMG_1201.JPG, Jerry Lee Lewis Drive in Ferriday en route to Huntington School (now Delta Charter School).

References

External links

{{authority control * Towns in Concordia Parish, Louisiana Towns in Louisiana Towns in Natchez micropolitan area