kids encyclopedia robot

Minden, Louisiana facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Minden
Minden City Hall and Convention Center
Minden City Hall and Convention Center
Location of Minden in Webster Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Minden in Webster Parish, Louisiana.
Minden is located in Louisiana
Minden
Minden
Location in Louisiana
Country  United States
States  Louisiana
Founded 1836 (188 years ago) (1836)
Area
 • Total 15.21 sq mi (39.39 km2)
 • Land 15.04 sq mi (38.95 km2)
 • Water 0.17 sq mi (0.44 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total 11,928
 • Density 793.24/sq mi (306.27/km2)
Time zone UTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code
71055
Area code(s) 318
FIPS code 22-50885

Minden is a small city and the parish seat of Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 11,928. The Main Street district of Minden is recognized as a Louisiana Main Street Community, a Louisiana Cultural Products District, and is sited on the National Register of Historic Places. Minden is the core and principal city of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area, consisting of all of Webster Parish, which is included in the Shreveport–Bossier City–Minden CSA.

History

Louisiana - Miden - NARA - 23940429 (cropped)
Aerial view of Minden, 1935
Louisiana - Miden - NARA - 23940431 (cropped)
Aftermath of the 1933 tornado
Louisiana - Miden - NARA - 23940433 (cropped)
Aftermath of the 1933 tornado

Minden was established in 1836 by Charles Veeder. Native sons include Gene Austin and Louis Dunbar.

The town's name is derived from the German city of Minden.

The city of Minden was used as a blueprint for the fictional city of Bon Temps, the setting of the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris.

During the Civil War, a large Confederate encampment was located inside of Minden. It housed about 15,000 Confederate soldiers. The town served as a supply depot for the Confederate Army. Close to thirty Confederate soldiers who died in the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill are buried in the Old Minden Cemetery.

In the Great Blizzard of 1899, Minden experienced the coldest temperature ever recorded in Louisiana, when the temperature fell on February 13, 1899 to −16 °F or −26.7 °C.

During the Great Depression, one of the two Minden banks failed and a fire destroyed a major section of the downtown area (1931).

On May 1, 1933, a tornado occurred in the town, destroying 20% of the homes.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.0 km² (12.0 mi²). 30.8 km2 (11.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km2 (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 0.75% water.

Climate

Climate data for Minden, Louisiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–2021)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 85
(29)
92
(33)
92
(33)
95
(35)
99
(37)
106
(41)
111
(44)
112
(44)
110
(43)
100
(38)
94
(34)
88
(31)
112
(44)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 75.2
(24.0)
78.3
(25.7)
83.4
(28.6)
87.0
(30.6)
91.2
(32.9)
95.5
(35.3)
99.4
(37.4)
100.4
(38.0)
96.5
(35.8)
90.4
(32.4)
82.0
(27.8)
76.8
(24.9)
101.5
(38.6)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 57.9
(14.4)
61.9
(16.6)
69.9
(21.1)
77.4
(25.2)
84.3
(29.1)
90.9
(32.7)
94.2
(34.6)
94.7
(34.8)
89.3
(31.8)
79.2
(26.2)
68.1
(20.1)
59.8
(15.4)
77.3
(25.2)
Daily mean °F (°C) 46.0
(7.8)
49.5
(9.7)
57.1
(13.9)
64.5
(18.1)
73.0
(22.8)
80.3
(26.8)
83.5
(28.6)
83.3
(28.5)
77.3
(25.2)
66.0
(18.9)
55.4
(13.0)
48.1
(8.9)
65.3
(18.5)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 34.2
(1.2)
37.2
(2.9)
44.3
(6.8)
51.5
(10.8)
61.7
(16.5)
69.7
(20.9)
72.9
(22.7)
71.9
(22.2)
65.4
(18.6)
52.9
(11.6)
42.7
(5.9)
36.3
(2.4)
53.4
(11.9)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 19.5
(−6.9)
24.4
(−4.2)
28.0
(−2.2)
36.8
(2.7)
47.4
(8.6)
60.8
(16.0)
66.8
(19.3)
64.7
(18.2)
52.7
(11.5)
37.1
(2.8)
27.8
(−2.3)
22.8
(−5.1)
17.9
(−7.8)
Record low °F (°C) 0
(−18)
−16
(−27)
14
(−10)
25
(−4)
34
(1)
48
(9)
50
(10)
52
(11)
37
(3)
22
(−6)
12
(−11)
2
(−17)
−16
(−27)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 5.27
(134)
5.01
(127)
5.66
(144)
6.45
(164)
4.89
(124)
4.93
(125)
3.68
(93)
3.24
(82)
3.69
(94)
4.68
(119)
4.36
(111)
5.73
(146)
57.59
(1,463)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.1
(0.25)
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)
0.0
(0.0)
0.4
(1.0)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 9.0 8.8 9.4 7.5 7.9 8.2 7.4 6.7 6.1 6.8 7.9 9.0 94.7
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.1 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.4
Source: NOAA

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1850 533
1860 1,144 114.6%
1870 1,100 −3.8%
1880 1,113 1.2%
1890 1,298 16.6%
1900 1,561 20.3%
1910 3,002 92.3%
1920 6,105 103.4%
1930 5,623 −7.9%
1940 6,677 18.7%
1950 9,787 46.6%
1960 12,785 30.6%
1970 13,996 9.5%
1980 15,084 7.8%
1990 13,661 −9.4%
2000 13,027 −4.6%
2010 13,082 0.4%
2020 11,928 −8.8%
U.S. Decennial Census
Minden racial composition as of 2020
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 4,966 41.63%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,352 53.25%
Native American 25 0.21%
Asian 60 0.5%
Pacific Islander 7 0.06%
Other/Mixed 334 2.8%
Hispanic or Latino 184 1.54%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 11,928 people, 5,189 households, and 3,126 families residing in the city.

Notable people

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Minden (Luisiana) para niños

kids search engine
Minden, Louisiana Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.