Keithville, Louisiana

Keithville is an unincorporated community in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies to the south of Shreveport along U.S. Route 171. Although unincorporated, it has a post office, with the ZIP code of 71047.^[2]

Keithville
Unincorporated community
Hamlet of Keithville
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Coordinates: 32°20′00″N 93°50′11″W[1]
Country	United States
States	Louisiana
Parish	Caddo Parish
Elevation [1]	197 ft (60 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	71047
Area code(s)	318
GNIS feature ID	536151[1]

History

Keithville came into existence when two railroads, the Southern Pacific and the Houston-Shreveport, met on properties of the Keith brothers in the early 1880s.^[3] One of the Keith brothers was State Representative Perry Polk Keith, who served four terms from 1912 to 1928.^[4] A Methodist, Keith donated the land for construction of what is now the Keithville United Methodist in Keithville. Construction was begun in 1904 by Tom Hudnall, and the first service was held on October 4 of that year. The dedication took place in December 1905. The church installed a brass bell in its steeple. Originally used on a locomotive, the bell came from a plantation in Coushatta in Red River Parish.^[5]

Economy

Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operated the Forcht-Wade Correctional Center in Keithville,^[6] located in the Eddie D. Jones Nature Park.^[7] It closed in July 2012.^[8]

Education

The Caddo Parish School Board operates public schools.

• Keithville Elementary/Middle School

Infrastructure

Major highways

• Interstate 49
• U.S. Route 171
• Louisiana Highway 169
• Louisiana Highway 525
• Louisiana Highway 789

Notable people

• Sherri Smith Buffington, former state senator
• Claude King, country music singer and songwriter known for "Wolverton Mountain"
• Lenton Malry, first African American to serve in the New Mexico House of Representatives