Jena, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jena, Louisiana
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| Town of Jena | |
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Location of Jena in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana.
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | La Salle |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.53 sq mi (14.32 km2) |
| • Land | 5.50 sq mi (14.24 km2) |
| • Water | 0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2) |
| Elevation | 167 ft (51 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4,155 |
| • Density | 755.73/sq mi (291.80/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
71342
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| Area code(s) | 318 |
| FIPS code | 22-38285 |
Jena (/ˈdʒiːnə/) is a town in, and the parish seat of, La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,155 at the 2020 census.
Contents
History
The site where Jena stands today began to attract settlers in 1802. The Hemphills family entered a considerable block of land and settled about two miles below the present town of Jena. Hemps Creek and post office were named after this family. This beautiful ever-running creek had fertile bottom and hammock lands for cultivation and was an excellent range for both cattle and hogs, with wild game and fish being very abundant.
Later, in the middle 1850s, Benjamin Baker, assisted by his father, a native of Pennsylvania, built a watermill on Hemps Creek, about three miles below the present town of Jena. The mill was equipped to make corn meal and to gin cotton. This area soon became a favorite trading stop for the area farmers, and was the site of two general stores and a post office.
Hemps Creek post office was established in the late 1850s with Isaac L. Baker as the first postmaster. The mail rider boarded with Mr. Baker and made alternate weekly trips to Harrisonburg and Alexandria on horseback. In 1869, the first school house was built, and in 1892, the Jena Seminary opened, marking the beginning of secondary education in what is now LaSalle Parish. Mr. James Forsythe who came to Hemps Creek in 1861 having subsequently served with distinction in the Confederate Army returned in 1865 and established his home here. Being an educated man and having fine qualities of leadership, he was chosen as teacher of Hemps Creek School, a position he held until 1871.
In the year of 1871, it was requested from the post office department that “Creek” and “Bayou” be removed from the names of all post offices. Mr. Andrew Forsythe visiting his brother, James Forsythe from Jena, Illinois suggested Jena, his hometown, which was named for Jena, Germany. Mr. James Forsythe submitted this name to the post office department and it was accepted. Thus, the name Jena came from Germany by way of Illinois.
The Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad operated its first train into Jena on December 31, 1893, and on May 1, 1904, the first passenger train arrived. A small hotel was operated nearby, and in 1905, the “Jena Times” newspaper was founded.
On October 2, 1918, Mrs. Lula V. Coleman was made a Deputy Sheriff. It was her opinion that she was the first female sheriff in the United States. On March 28, 1920, she was appointed to head the town administration as mayor, by Governor John M. Parker. Mrs. Coleman has the distinction of being the only woman ever to serve as mayor of Jena, and was the first female to hold the office of mayor in Louisiana and possibly even the United States.
In September 2006, Jena became the focus of national news stories in the United States for a racial controversy involving its school system and a group of students known as the Jena Six.
Geography
Jena is at 31°41′24″N 92°7′29″W / 31.69000°N 92.12472°W (31.689993, -92.124781) and has an elevation of 167 feet (50.9 m).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 5.4 square miles (14 km2), all land.
Surrounding communities
Residents of these rural communities frequent Jena for school, work, and shopping.
- Midway
- Olla, Louisiana
- Jonesville, Louisiana
- Trout, Louisiana
- Nebo
- Summerville
- Good Pine
- Possum Point
- Belah
- Fellowship
- White Sulphur Spring
- Searcy
- Whitehall
- Rhinehart
Climate
This region experiences hot summers with rainy days, with no average monthly temperatures above 92 °F. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Jena has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
There are mild winters during which intense rainfall occurs. It has hot, rainy summers with moderate rainfall through all year months.
Snow in Jena is possible in winter months.
Average annual precipitation is 59.4 inches (1,510 mm). There are on annual average 76 days with measurable precipitation.
| Climate data for Jena, Louisiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1985–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 83 (28) |
84 (29) |
87 (31) |
95 (35) |
96 (36) |
103 (39) |
104 (40) |
109 (43) |
110 (43) |
96 (36) |
89 (32) |
83 (28) |
110 (43) |
| Mean maximum °F (°C) | 75.4 (24.1) |
78.5 (25.8) |
83.6 (28.7) |
86.5 (30.3) |
90.5 (32.5) |
94.6 (34.8) |
97.7 (36.5) |
98.6 (37.0) |
96.0 (35.6) |
90.2 (32.3) |
82.4 (28.0) |
77.6 (25.3) |
100.1 (37.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 57.1 (13.9) |
61.6 (16.4) |
69.2 (20.7) |
75.6 (24.2) |
82.8 (28.2) |
88.8 (31.6) |
91.3 (32.9) |
91.7 (33.2) |
87.5 (30.8) |
78.1 (25.6) |
67.0 (19.4) |
59.1 (15.1) |
75.8 (24.3) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 46.6 (8.1) |
50.6 (10.3) |
57.9 (14.4) |
64.4 (18.0) |
72.4 (22.4) |
78.8 (26.0) |
81.5 (27.5) |
81.2 (27.3) |
76.4 (24.7) |
65.8 (18.8) |
55.4 (13.0) |
48.8 (9.3) |
65.0 (18.3) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 36.2 (2.3) |
39.7 (4.3) |
46.6 (8.1) |
53.1 (11.7) |
61.9 (16.6) |
68.8 (20.4) |
71.7 (22.1) |
70.8 (21.6) |
65.3 (18.5) |
53.5 (11.9) |
43.8 (6.6) |
38.4 (3.6) |
54.1 (12.3) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 19.5 (−6.9) |
24.8 (−4.0) |
27.4 (−2.6) |
34.9 (1.6) |
46.7 (8.2) |
58.4 (14.7) |
64.9 (18.3) |
62.9 (17.2) |
50.7 (10.4) |
36.0 (2.2) |
27.1 (−2.7) |
23.1 (−4.9) |
18.4 (−7.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 11 (−12) |
9 (−13) |
16 (−9) |
26 (−3) |
38 (3) |
49 (9) |
57 (14) |
51 (11) |
41 (5) |
27 (−3) |
20 (−7) |
6 (−14) |
6 (−14) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 5.69 (145) |
5.53 (140) |
5.71 (145) |
5.38 (137) |
4.43 (113) |
4.86 (123) |
4.51 (115) |
3.80 (97) |
3.60 (91) |
4.72 (120) |
5.46 (139) |
5.82 (148) |
59.51 (1,512) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 0.0 (0.0) |
0.3 (0.76) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.2 (0.51) |
0.5 (1.3) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 8.6 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 8.4 | 8.8 | 7.1 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 6.6 | 8.0 | 89.2 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| Source: NOAA | |||||||||||||
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 689 | — | |
| 1920 | 620 | −10.0% | |
| 1930 | 1,007 | 62.4% | |
| 1940 | 946 | −6.1% | |
| 1950 | 1,438 | 52.0% | |
| 1960 | 2,098 | 45.9% | |
| 1970 | 2,431 | 15.9% | |
| 1980 | 4,375 | 80.0% | |
| 1990 | 2,626 | −40.0% | |
| 2000 | 2,971 | 13.1% | |
| 2010 | 3,398 | 14.4% | |
| 2020 | 4,155 | 22.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Num. | Perc. |
|---|---|---|
| White | 2,436 | 58.63% |
| Black or African American | 447 | 10.76% |
| Native American | 23 | 0.55% |
| Asian | 105 | 2.53% |
| Pacific Islander | 5 | 0.12% |
| Other/Mixed | 115 | 2.77% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,024 | 24.65% |
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 4,155 people, 1,169 households, and 884 families residing in the town.
Media
Newspaper
- The Jena Times
Radio
| Frequency | Callsign | Format | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 88.1 | KAYT | Urban/Christian | Black Media Works, Inc. |
| 102.7 | KJNA | Country | Cloessner News & Broadcasting LLC. |
Education
The La Salle Parish School Board is located in Jena.
The following schools serve Jena:
- Jena High School, 9–12 (Jena)
- Jena Junior High School, 6,7, & 8 (Jena)
- Goodpine Middle School, 3,4, & 5 (Trout/Goodpine)
- Jena Elementary School, PreK - 2 (Jena)
- Fellowship Elementary School, Pre-K-8 (Belah)
- Nebo Elementary School, PreK-8 (Nebo)
- Temple Christian Academy, Private PreK-8 (Jena)
Infrastructure
- Hospital Service District #2 of LaSalle Parish, also known as LaSalle General Hospital, is a 60-bed medical facility, with a 24-hour emergency department, a home health, a 101-bed nursing home, and physical therapy.
- Universal Plant Services built a 24,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Jena. The full-service machining plant represents a $3.9 million capital investment and provides welding, fabrication, equipment overhaul and repair services for pipeline distribution systems and petrochemical processing plants.
- LaSalle Detention Center is an immigration detention facility of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, operated by the GEO Group and located on 830 Pinehill Road, about two miles northwest of downtown Jena and it has a capacity of over 1160 detainees.
Notable people
- Woodie Flowers, MIT professor and co-founder of FIRST
- Mike Francis, prominent businessman and former Louisiana Republican state chairman; born in Jena
- Jason Hatcher, former NFL football player for the Washington Commanders
- Jay F. Honeycutt, former director of the Kennedy Space Center
- Speedy O. Long (1928–2006), a member of the Long political dynasty
- Thomas D. "Tommy" Wright, former state representative from Jena
See also
In Spanish: Jena (Luisiana) para niños
