Simmesport, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Simmesport, Louisiana
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Town
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Location of Simmesport in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana.
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Avoyelles |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.37 sq mi (6.15 km2) |
| • Land | 2.19 sq mi (5.66 km2) |
| • Water | 0.19 sq mi (0.49 km2) |
| Elevation | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 1,468 |
| • Density | 671.85/sq mi (259.43/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
71369
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| Area code(s) | 318 |
| FIPS code | 22-70525 |
Simmesport is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,161 at the 2010 census. It is the northernmost town on the Atchafalaya River, located near the Old River which connects the Red and Atchafalaya rivers with the Mississippi River.
Contents
History
The town was founded by Bennet Barton Simmes (1811–1888), one-time owner of White Hall Plantation, which was located on the opposite bank of the Atchafalaya River.
In December 2005 industrialist Frank Stronach founded a new community just south of Simmesport along the Atchafalaya River levee, known as Canadaville, a place intended to house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Geography
Simmesport is located in eastern Avoyelles Parish on the west bank of the Atchafalaya River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.4 square miles (6.1 km2), of which 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2) is land and 0.19 square miles (0.5 km2), or 7.93%, is water.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 638 | — | |
| 1940 | 1,215 | 90.4% | |
| 1950 | 1,510 | 24.3% | |
| 1960 | 2,125 | 40.7% | |
| 1970 | 2,027 | −4.6% | |
| 1980 | 2,293 | 13.1% | |
| 1990 | 2,092 | −8.8% | |
| 2000 | 2,239 | 7.0% | |
| 2010 | 2,161 | −3.5% | |
| 2020 | 1,468 | −32.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 528 | 36.0% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 858 | 58.5% |
| Native American | 8 | 0.5% |
| Asian | 5 | 0.3% |
| Other/Mixed | 49 | 3.3% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 20 | 1.4% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 1,468 people, 627 households, and 379 families residing in the town.
The cusp of tributaries and distributaries
Simmesport sits very near the end of the Red River and the beginning of the Atchafalaya River, into which water from the Mississippi once flowed freely. In the 1960s, the Old River Control Structure was constructed on the Mississippi to regulate the division of flow between the two. Some advocates for wetland renewal recommend increasing the flow of water into the Atchafalaya basin in the interest of replenishing land lost to coastal subsidence.
Notable people
- Norma McCorvey, a.k.a. "Jane Roe", the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, was born in Simmesport in 1947.
- Joe Simon, the soul musician, was born in Simmesport in 1943.
See also
In Spanish: Simmesport para niños
