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) |
| 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.
Simmes' home was used as the military headquarters for the Union's Red River Campaign (1864) during the American Civil War. General Nathaniel P. Banks was superseded in command by E.R.S. Canby. General Ulysses S. Grant had sought Banks' removal for months, but President Lincoln would not dismiss Banks, who had strong political support in Congress. On May 18, 1864, Canby assumed command in Simmesport, but Banks retained the nominal title of commander of the Department of the Gulf. Historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana writes that the failure of the Union's Red River Campaign "could largely be laid at Banks' door, but there were many who shared in this failure."
In December 2005 industrialist Frank Stronach founded a new community just south of Simmesport known as Canadaville, a place intended to house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
Geography
Simmesport is located at 30°59′1″N 91°48′45″W / 30.98361°N 91.81250°W (30.983485, −91.812590).
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 | 35.97% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 858 | 58.45% |
| Native American | 8 | 0.54% |
| Asian | 5 | 0.34% |
| Other/Mixed | 49 | 3.34% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 20 | 1.36% |
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. Early in the 20th century, a 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
