Forest 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 in northeastern

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 275 at the 2000 census. Forest Police Chief James Robert "Bob" Smith (

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

; born June 1931), with service since 1998 is the oldest elected official in the State of Louisiana, as of 2017. After thirty years as a mechanic for the

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 ...

, Smith began a civilian career with International Oil Company, based in

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. A

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

native, he retired to Forest, where his wife had formerly resided.

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

As of the census of 2000, there were 275 people, 95 households, and 83 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 108 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.27%

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 ...

, 1.82%

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 ...

, 2.91% from other 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 4.00% of the population. There were 95 households, out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 76.8% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 12.6% were non-families. 10.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.3% 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 3.10. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.5% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $35,000, and the median income for a family was $36,875. Males had a median income of $26,786 versus $13,750 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 $13,191. About 6.0% of families and 10.5% 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 16.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 6.9% of those 65 or over.

Education

Public schools are operated by the West Carroll Parish School Board. The village of Forest is zoned to Forest High Schoolbr>
(Grades PK-12), which is located off the main highway at 158 Clover Street adjacent to the Forest

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 ...

Church. In May 2013, the Forest High School Bulldogs baseball team was ranked first in the state among the Class B schools.

Vance McAllister Vance Michael McAllister Sr. (born January 7, 1974) is an American businessman and Republican former member of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 5th congressional district. He won a special runoff election held on Nov ...

, who represented

Louisiana's 5th congressional district Louisiana's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 5th district encompasses rural northeastern Louisiana and much of central Louisiana, as well as the northern part of Louisiana's Florida paris ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from 2013 to 2014, graduated from Forest High School.James Ronald Skains, "Riser, McAllister placed in runoff for Congress seat", ''The Piney Woods Journal'', November 2013, pp. 1, 2, 4

References

External links

Forest Progress
Community Progress Site for Forest, Louisiana {{authority control Villages in Louisiana Villages in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana