Rayville, Louisiana

Rayville is a town in and the parish seat of Richland Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States.^[3] The population was 3,347 in the 2020 census, down nearly 21 percent from 4,234 in 2000.^[4]

Rayville, Louisiana
Town
Town of Rayville
Bodock tree, the oldest in Rayville, is located between the Civic Center and the Rhymes Memorial Library.
Location of Rayville in Richland Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 32°28′12″N 91°45′27″W[1]
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Richland
Area [2]
• Total	2.34 sq mi (6.06 km2)
• Land	2.31 sq mi (5.98 km2)
• Water	0.03 sq mi (0.08 km2)
Elevation [1]	82 ft (25 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,347
• Density	1,448.92/sq mi (559.52/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code	71269
Area code	318
FIPS code	22-63680
GNIS feature ID	2407181[1]
Website	www.townofrayville.com

The City Hall, located next to the U.S. Post Office across from U.S. Highway 80, is named for former Rayville Mayor Joe Kalil (1922–1996).

History

Rayville was named for John Ray.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 2.3 square miles (5.9 km²), of which 2.2 square miles (5.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1 km²) (1.32%) is water.

Climate

Climate data for Rayville, Louisiana (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °F (°C)	57.4 (14.1)	61.6 (16.4)	69.8 (21.0)	77.6 (25.3)	84.0 (28.9)	90.1 (32.3)	92.7 (33.7)	93.6 (34.2)	88.5 (31.4)	80.1 (26.7)	68.3 (20.2)	59.7 (15.4)	77.0 (25.0)
Daily mean °F (°C)	47.7 (8.7)	51.3 (10.7)	59.0 (15.0)	66.6 (19.2)	74.0 (23.3)	80.7 (27.1)	83.5 (28.6)	83.6 (28.7)	77.9 (25.5)	68.0 (20.0)	57.0 (13.9)	49.8 (9.9)	66.6 (19.2)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C)	38.0 (3.3)	41.0 (5.0)	48.2 (9.0)	55.6 (13.1)	64.1 (17.8)	71.4 (21.9)	74.3 (23.5)	73.6 (23.1)	67.2 (19.6)	56.0 (13.3)	45.7 (7.6)	40.0 (4.4)	56.3 (13.5)
Average precipitation inches (mm)	5.54 (141)	5.11 (130)	5.65 (144)	6.70 (170)	5.25 (133)	4.75 (121)	4.16 (106)	3.88 (99)	3.82 (97)	4.63 (118)	4.73 (120)	5.78 (147)	60 (1,526)
Average snowfall inches (cm)	0.3 (0.76)	0.4 (1.0)	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)	0.7 (1.76)
Source: NOAA[5]

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1870	106		—
1880	316		198.1%
1890	366		15.8%
1910	1,079		—
1920	1,499		38.9%
1930	2,976		98.5%
1940	2,412		−19.0%
1950	3,138		30.1%
1960	4,052		29.1%
1970	3,962		−2.2%
1980	4,610		16.4%
1990	4,411		−4.3%
2000	4,234		−4.0%
2010	3,695		−12.7%
2020	3,347		−9.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

Rayville racial composition as of 2020^[7]

Race	Num.	Perc.
White (non-Hispanic)	727	21.72%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	2,424	72.42%
Native American	8	0.24%
Asian	19	0.57%
Other/Mixed	108	3.23%
Hispanic or Latino	61	1.82%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,347 people, 1,248 households, and 892 families residing in the town.

Education

Public schools in Richland Parish are operated by the Richland Parish School Board. Three campuses serve the town of Rayville - Rayville Elementary School (Grades PK-6), Rayville Junior High School (Grades 7-8), and Rayville High School (Grades 9-12). Rayville is also served by Riverfield Academy (Grades PK-12) a non-denominational private school.

Notable people

• Ralph Abraham, politician
• Garland Boyette, football player
• Reggie Burnette, football player
• Charles "Bubba" Chaney, state representative from Rayville
• Bunny Greenhouse, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers whistleblower
• Elvin Hayes, Hall of Fame basketball player
• Edgar Jones, Baltimore Ravens football player
• Ernie Ladd, professional wrestler and football player
• Roosevelt Potts, Indianapolis Colts football player
• Stanley Williams, one of the early leaders of the Crips.

Gallery

• 
  Rayville welcome sign
• 
  Kalil Municipal Building
• 
  Rayville Civic Center
• 
  U.S. Post Office in Rayville
• 
  Abandoned Joy Theater in Rayville
• 
  First Baptist Church of Rayville
• 
  Rayville Presbyterian Church

See also

• Poplar Chapel AME Church
• St. David's Episcopal Church (Rayville, Louisiana)