Winn Parish, Louisiana

Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,755.^[1] The parish seat and largest city is Winnfield.^[2] The parish was founded in 1852.^[3] It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's sixty-four parishes. Winn is separated from Natchitoches Parish along U.S. Highway 71 by Saline Bayou, the first blackwater protected waterway in the American South.

Winn Parish, Louisiana
Parish
Parish of Winn
Winn Parish Courthouse in Winnfield
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the US
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Region	North Louisiana
Founded	February 24, 1852; 173 years ago (1852-02-24)
Named after	Walter Winn or Winfield Scott
Parish seat (and largest city)	Winnfield
Incorporated municipalities	6 (total) 1 city, 1 town, and 4 villages (located entirely or partially within parish boundaries)
Area
• Total	2,480 km2 (957 sq mi)
• Land	2,500 km2 (950 sq mi)
• Water	17 km2 (6.7 sq mi)
• percentage	2 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
Population  (2020)
• Total	13,755
• Density	5.5/km2 (14/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	318
Congressional district	5th

History

Saline Bayou

Backwater flooding in Winn Parish led temporarily in June 2015 to a detour around U.S. Highway 71 at St. Maurice, Louisiana.

Winn Parish was established in 1852 from lands which had belonged to the parishes of Catahoula, Natchitoches, and Rapides.^[3]

During the Civil War, David Pierson, a young attorney, was elected to represent the parish at the Secession Convention called in January 1861 in Baton Rouge by Governor Thomas Overton Moore. Pierson voted against secession and refused, along with several others, to change his "no" vote at the end of the process when asked to do so to make the final tally unanimous.^{[citation needed]}

That these conscripts refused to fight for the Confederacy is understandable considering that Union support was higher in north Louisiana, and especially high in Winn Parish.^[4] The Confederate States Army defeated a Union detachment sent to destroy a salt works in the parish. Winn Parish contributed to the $80,000 raised to build fortifications on the nearby Red River.^[5]

After the war, bandits roamed the Natchez Trace or Harrisonburg Road that ran through the lower part of the parish. Among the worst were the West and Kimbrell clan. For seven years they preyed especially on travelers and migrants passing through the area.^[6]

In April 1873, white Democrats forming a militia from Winn Parish joined with ex-Confederate veterans from Rapides and Grant parishes against Republican blacks in the Colfax massacre in neighboring Grant Parish.^[7][8] They attacked freedmen defending the parish courthouse and two Republican officeholders in the aftermath to the disputed gubernatorial election of 1872. Among the 80–150 blacks killed were at least 50 who had surrendered; a total of three white men were killed in the confrontation.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 957 square miles (2,480 km²), of which 950 square miles (2,500 km²) is land and 6.7 square miles (17 km²) (0.7%) is water.^[13]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 71
• U.S. Highway 84
• U.S. Highway 167
• Louisiana Highway 34
• Louisiana Highway 126
• Louisiana Highway 127
• Louisiana Highway 156
• Louisiana Highway 471
• Louisiana Highway 499
• Louisiana Highway 500
• Louisiana Highway 501
• Louisiana Highway 505
• Louisiana Highway 1228

Adjacent parishes

• Jackson Parish (north)
• Caldwell Parish (northeast)
• La Salle Parish (southeast)
• Grant Parish (south)
• Natchitoches Parish (west)
• Bienville Parish (northwest)

National protected area

• Kisatchie National Forest (part)
• Saline Bayou

Communities

City

• Winnfield (parish seat and largest municipality)

Town

• Tullos (partial)

Villages

• Atlanta
• Calvin
• Dodson
• Sikes

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

• Jordan Hill
• Joyce
• Saint Maurice

Other communities

• Packton^[14]
• Tannehill
• Wheeling

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1860	6,876		—
1870	4,954		−28.0%
1880	5,846		18.0%
1890	7,082		21.1%
1900	9,648		36.2%
1910	18,357		90.3%
1920	16,119		−12.2%
1930	14,766		−8.4%
1940	16,923		14.6%
1950	16,119		−4.8%
1960	16,034		−0.5%
1970	16,369		2.1%
1980	17,253		5.4%
1990	16,269		−5.7%
2000	16,894		3.8%
2010	15,313		−9.4%
2020	13,755		−10.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[15] 1790–1960[16] 1900–1990[17] 1990–2000[18] 2010[19]

Winn Parish racial composition as of 2020^[20]

Race	Number	Percentage
White (non-Hispanic)	8,498	61.78%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic)	3,518	25.58%
Native American	77	0.56%
Asian	172	1.25%
Pacific Islander	16	0.12%
Other/Mixed	451	3.28%
Hispanic or Latino	1,023	7.44%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 13,755 people, 5,483 households, and 3,661 families residing in the parish.

Education

Winn Parish School Board operates local public schools in all of the parish.^[21]

Corrections

Winn Correctional Center is in an unincorporated section of Winn Parish. Corrections Corporation of America, under contract with Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, once operated the prison.^[22]

National Guard

"A" Company of the Louisiana National Guard 199th Forward Support Battalion was previously located in Winnfield, Louisiana. The unit deployed twice to Iraq as part of the 256TH IBCT in 2004-5 and 2010. The unit's Winnfield Armory was closed.^{[citation needed]}

Politics

Winn Parish, Louisiana, has distinguished itself as a notable indicator of statewide electoral outcomes. This parish has consistently mirrored the state's choice for the presidential winner in 15 consecutive elections since 1964.

United States presidential election results for Winn Parish, Louisiana^[23]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	4,437	76.75%	1,292	22.35%	52	0.90%
2020	4,619	74.20%	1,543	24.79%	63	1.01%
2016	4,608	72.32%	1,644	25.80%	120	1.88%
2012	4,541	69.50%	1,919	29.37%	74	1.13%
2008	4,632	68.40%	2,047	30.23%	93	1.37%
2004	4,366	67.10%	2,056	31.60%	85	1.31%
2000	4,028	63.32%	2,167	34.07%	166	2.61%
1996	2,803	37.56%	3,779	50.64%	881	11.80%
1992	2,932	38.84%	3,537	46.85%	1,080	14.31%
1988	4,165	59.02%	2,699	38.25%	193	2.73%
1984	4,934	63.85%	2,633	34.08%	160	2.07%
1980	3,944	52.26%	3,411	45.20%	192	2.54%
1976	3,209	46.58%	3,543	51.43%	137	1.99%
1972	4,235	70.40%	1,490	24.77%	291	4.84%
1968	1,050	16.68%	1,230	19.54%	4,015	63.78%
1964	4,366	78.54%	1,193	21.46%	0	0.00%
1960	1,839	44.90%	1,108	27.05%	1,149	28.05%
1956	1,736	49.56%	1,225	34.97%	542	15.47%
1952	1,915	46.47%	2,206	53.53%	0	0.00%
1948	333	11.37%	940	32.08%	1,657	56.55%
1944	881	38.57%	1,403	61.43%	0	0.00%
1940	382	13.02%	2,552	86.98%	0	0.00%
1936	254	9.60%	2,393	90.40%	0	0.00%
1932	36	1.60%	2,172	96.71%	38	1.69%
1928	533	31.46%	1,161	68.54%	0	0.00%
1924	120	13.09%	797	86.91%	0	0.00%
1920	291	19.70%	963	65.20%	223	15.10%
1916	50	5.45%	868	94.55%	0	0.00%
1912	26	2.50%	600	57.75%	413	39.75%

Notable people

• O.K. Allen, governor of Louisiana
• T. C. Brister, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Huey Long, governor of Louisiana
• Earl Kemp Long, governor of Louisiana
• Jimmy D. Long, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives

See also

• Louisiana portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Winn Parish, Louisiana