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Lake Providence, Louisiana: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 32°48′19″N 91°10′46″W / 32.80528°N 91.17944°W / 32.80528; -91.17944
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{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox settlement
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Lake Providence, Louisiana
| name = Lake Providence, Louisiana
Line 75: Line 76:
| leader_party =
| leader_party =
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Jerry Bell (No Party)<br>
| leader_name = Bobby Amacker
(unseated in runoff election on December 8, 2018, Democrat Robert "Bobby" Amacker)
| total_type =
| total_type =
| unit_pref = Imperial
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_22.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=July 25, 2020}}</ref>
| area_footnotes = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_22.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 20, 2022}}</ref>
| area_total_km2 = 9.36
| area_total_km2 = 9.36
| area_total_sq_mi = 3.61
| area_total_sq_mi = 3.62
| area_land_km2 = 9.31
| area_land_km2 = 9.31
| area_land_sq_mi = 3.59
| area_land_sq_mi = 3.60
| area_water_km2 = 0.05
| area_water_km2 = 0.05
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.02
| area_water_sq_mi = 0.02
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| elevation_min_point =
| elevation_min_point =
| elevation_min_rank =
| elevation_min_rank =
| population_as_of = [[2010 United States Census|2010]]
| population_as_of = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes =
| population_footnotes =
| population_total = 3991
| population_total = 3587
| pop_est_as_of = 2019
| pop_est_as_of =
| pop_est_footnotes = <ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse"/>
| pop_est_footnotes =
| population_est = 3429
| population_est =
| population_rank =
| population_rank =
| population_density_km2 = 368.42
| population_density_km2 = 385.28
| population_density_sq_mi = 954.09
| population_density_sq_mi = 997.77
| population_metro_footnotes =
| population_metro_footnotes =
| population_metro =
| population_metro =
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}}
}}


'''Lake Providence''' is a town in, and the [[parish seat]] of, [[East Carroll Parish, Louisiana|East Carroll Parish]] in northeastern [[Louisiana]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=2011-06-07|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The population was 5,104 at the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] and declined by 21.8 percent to 3,991 in [[2010 United States Census|2010]]. The town's poverty rate is approximately 55 percent; the average median household income is $16,500, and the average age is 31.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.louisiana-demographics.com/lake-providence-demographics|title=Quick Facts|publisher=louisiana-demographics.com|access-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref>
'''Lake Providence''' is a town in, and the [[parish seat]] of, [[East Carroll Parish, Louisiana|East Carroll Parish]] in northeastern [[Louisiana]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The population was 5,104 at the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]] and declined by 21.8 percent to 3,991 in [[2010 United States Census|2010]]. The town's poverty rate is approximately 55 percent; the average median household income is $16,500, and the average age is 31.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.louisiana-demographics.com/lake-providence-demographics|title=Quick Facts|publisher=louisiana-demographics.com|access-date=May 20, 2013}}</ref>


The town shares its name with the [[oxbow lake]] of the [[Mississippi River]], also called Lake Providence. This area was historically developed as cotton plantations before and after the Civil War, and remains largely rural. The Union Army developed a supply depot near the lake during the Civil War, and its camp was crowded with refugee slaves seeking their freedom. The town grew larger at this site.
The town shares its name with the [[oxbow lake]] of the [[Mississippi River]], also called Lake Providence. This area was historically developed as cotton plantations before and after the Civil War, and remains largely rural. The Union Army developed a supply depot near the lake during the Civil War, and its camp was crowded with refugee slaves seeking their freedom. The town grew larger at this site.
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By the time [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] fell to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in 1863, most [[Plantations in the American South#Planter (plantation owner)|planters]] in the Lake Providence area had fled, and their plantations lay empty. The Union Army determined that they should be productive again.
By the time [[Vicksburg, Mississippi]] fell to the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] in 1863, most [[Plantations in the American South#Planter (plantation owner)|planters]] in the Lake Providence area had fled, and their plantations lay empty. The Union Army determined that they should be productive again.

[[Historian]] [[John D. Winters]], who was reared in Lake Providence, wrote in the mid-20th century about this period:

<blockquote>The long line of abandoned plantations was then leased by the army and treasury agents to [[carpetbagger]]s and to southerners who took the oath of allegiance (known as [[scalawag]]s). Since the necessary [[Negro]] labor, farming implements, and mules were provided by the army, lessees were responsible only for feeding and clothing the Negroes until the harvest, when they paid off their obligations to the army and to the laborers, Yearly expenses ran between $5,000 and $30,000 on a plantation of a thousand acres, while profits might run higher than $200,000. There was little trouble finding lessees for the plantations.<ref>[[John D. Winters]], ''The Civil War in Louisiana'', Baton Rouge: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1963, {{ISBN|0-8071-0834-0}}, p. 310</ref></blockquote>

Winters also stated:

<blockquote>Many of the white lessees showed far less regard for their hired Negro laborers than the most negligent planter had shown for his slave. Negroes old, or infirm, or too young were weeded out and sent to Federal [[contraband]] villages and camps located along the river, where they had to be cared for by the [[provost marshal]]s. In 1863 few lessees paid their labor except in food and clothing. For these items they often charged the Negroes five times the actual value, and at the end of the year the Negro was told that nothing was due him. Some lessees realized up to $80,000 profits, paid their labor nothing, and then boasted of their ability to swindle the Negro. A few lessees used their plantations for shipping out stolen cotton or for illegal trade. Provost marshals and labor agents often were bribed to shut their eyes to malpractices carried on by the lessees.<ref name="Winters, p. 311">Winters (1963), p. 311</ref></blockquote>

On July 29, 1863, at Goodrich's Landing south of Lake Providence, Confederate partisan Rangers surprised two companies of black troops in a small fort located on an [[Native Americans in the United States|Indian]] earthwork mound. They seized 200 prisoners. The Rangers burned [[cotton gin]]s, plantation houses, and quarters on the plantations along the river and in the back country which were occupied by federal lessees.<ref>Winters, p. 301</ref> In June 1864, some Confederate troops raided the area south of Lake Providence, taking mules and horses, and African Americans.

Winters writes that these raids

<blockquote>during the critical growing season greatly disrupted affairs, and many plantations grew up in weeds before new laborers and mules could be found. During the Union occupation, lessees rarely made as much as half of the pre-war cotton crop and most made less. ...<ref name="Winters, p. 311"/></blockquote>


===20th century===
===20th century===
[[File:African American's tenant's home beside the Mississippi River levee. Near Lake Providence, Louisiana, June 1940.jpg|thumb|right|Residence of African-American [[tenant farmer]] beside the [[Mississippi River]] levee near Lake Providence (June 1940)]]
[[File:African American's tenant's home beside the Mississippi River levee. Near Lake Providence, Louisiana, June 1940.jpg|thumb|right|Residence of African-American [[tenant farmer]] beside the [[Mississippi River]] levee near Lake Providence (June 1940)]]
[[File:Map_from_U.S._Post_Office_Dept._archives_of_East_Carroll_Parish_and_vicinity_showing_post_office_locations_01.jpg|thumb|Street map of Lake Providence {{Circa|1945}}]]
After white Democrats regained power in the state legislature after the [[Reconstruction Era]], they worked to reimpose [[white supremacy]]. Many blacks worked as [[sharecropper]]s or [[tenant farmer]]s in the region. In 1898, Louisiana, like other southern states, enacted a new constitution, designed to maintain Democratic Party dominance and forestall any alliances such as the Populist-Republican alliance that had won seats in the 1890s. They included provisions that raised barriers to voter registration and elections, effectively [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchising]] most blacks despite their constitutional [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|15th Amendment]] right to vote. Their exclusion from the political system made them second-class citizens.
After white Democrats regained power in the state legislature after the [[Reconstruction Era]], they worked to reimpose [[white supremacy]]. Many blacks worked as [[sharecropper]]s or [[tenant farmer]]s in the region. In 1898, Louisiana, like other southern states, enacted a new constitution, designed to maintain Democratic Party dominance and forestall any alliances such as the Populist-Republican alliance that had won seats in the 1890s. They included provisions that raised barriers to voter registration and elections, effectively [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disfranchising]] most blacks despite their constitutional [[Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|15th Amendment]] right to vote. Their exclusion from the political system made them second-class citizens.


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Historian John D. Winters describes Lake Providence as "a beautiful oxbow lake some six miles (10&nbsp;km) long, an old Mississippi river bed with an outlet through Baxter Bayou into Bayou Macon and thus into the [[Tensas River|Tensas]], [[Ouachita River|Ouachita]], [[Black River (Louisiana)|Black]], and [[Red River of the South|Red]] rivers.<ref>Winters, p. 176</ref>
Historian John D. Winters describes Lake Providence as "a beautiful oxbow lake some six miles (10&nbsp;km) long, an old Mississippi river bed with an outlet through Baxter Bayou into Bayou Macon and thus into the [[Tensas River|Tensas]], [[Ouachita River|Ouachita]], [[Black River (Louisiana)|Black]], and [[Red River of the South|Red]] rivers.<ref>Winters, p. 176</ref>

===Climate===
{{Weather box
| width = auto
| collapsed =
| single line = yes
| location = Lake Providence, Louisiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–1903, 1926–2019)

| Jan record high F = 86
| Feb record high F = 89
| Mar record high F = 93
| Apr record high F = 95
| May record high F = 99
| Jun record high F = 108
| Jul record high F = 109
| Aug record high F = 109
| Sep record high F = 110
| Oct record high F = 98
| Nov record high F = 98
| Dec record high F = 88

| Jan high F = 53.7
| Feb high F = 58.2
| Mar high F = 66.4
| Apr high F = 74.4
| May high F = 81.9
| Jun high F = 88.4
| Jul high F = 91.2
| Aug high F = 91.1
| Sep high F = 86.8
| Oct high F = 77.1
| Nov high F = 65.2
| Dec high F = 56.3
| year high F = 74.2

| Jan mean F = 44.8
| Feb mean F = 48.6
| Mar mean F = 56.2
| Apr mean F = 64.2
| May mean F = 72.6
| Jun mean F = 79.5
| Jul mean F = 82.3
| Aug mean F = 81.8
| Sep mean F = 76.7
| Oct mean F = 66.1
| Nov mean F = 54.7
| Dec mean F = 47.3
| year mean F = 64.6

| Jan low F = 35.8
| Feb low F = 39.0
| Mar low F = 45.9
| Apr low F = 54.0
| May low F = 63.4
| Jun low F = 70.6
| Jul low F = 73.4
| Aug low F = 72.5
| Sep low F = 66.5
| Oct low F = 55.0
| Nov low F = 44.3
| Dec low F = 38.4
| year low F = 54.9

| Jan record low F = -5
| Feb record low F = -8
| Mar record low F = 16
| Apr record low F = 32
| May record low F = 40
| Jun record low F = 50
| Jul record low F = 41
| Aug record low F = 55
| Sep record low F = 35
| Oct record low F = 29
| Nov record low F = 18
| Dec record low F = 3

| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation inch = 5.61
| Feb precipitation inch = 5.49
| Mar precipitation inch = 5.16
| Apr precipitation inch = 6.59
| May precipitation inch = 4.98
| Jun precipitation inch = 4.26
| Jul precipitation inch = 3.93
| Aug precipitation inch = 4.03
| Sep precipitation inch = 3.29
| Oct precipitation inch = 4.99
| Nov precipitation inch = 4.72
| Dec precipitation inch = 5.74
| year precipitation inch = 58.79

| Jan snow inch = 0.2
| Feb snow inch = 0.2
| Mar snow inch = trace
| Apr snow inch = 0.0
| May snow inch = 0.0
| Jun snow inch = 0.0
| Jul snow inch = 0.0
| Aug snow inch = 0.0
| Sep snow inch = 0.0
| Oct snow inch = 0.0
| Nov snow inch = 0.0
| Dec snow inch = 0.1
| year snow inch = 0.5

| unit precipitation days = 0.01 in
| Jan precipitation days = 9.6
| Feb precipitation days = 9.0
| Mar precipitation days = 9.2
| Apr precipitation days = 8.0
| May precipitation days = 8.6
| Jun precipitation days = 8.2
| Jul precipitation days = 8.1
| Aug precipitation days = 7.5
| Sep precipitation days = 5.5
| Oct precipitation days = 6.5
| Nov precipitation days = 8.4
| Dec precipitation days = 10.1
| year precipitation days = 98.7

| unit snow days = 0.1 in
| Jan snow days = 0.1
| Feb snow days = 0.2
| Mar snow days = 0.1
| Apr snow days = 0.0
| May snow days = 0.0
| Jun snow days = 0.0
| Jul snow days = 0.0
| Aug snow days = 0.0
| Sep snow days = 0.0
| Oct snow days = 0.0
| Nov snow days = 0.0
| Dec snow days = 0.0
| year snow days = 0.4

| source = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]<ref name="NOWData">{{cite web
|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/Climate?wfo=jan
|title = NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = October 18, 2023}}</ref><ref name="NCEI">{{cite web
|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USC00165090&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL
|title = Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020
|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
|access-date = October 18, 2023}}</ref>
}}


==Demographics==
==Demographics==
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|2000= 5104
|2000= 5104
|2010= 3991
|2010= 3991
|2020= 3587
|estyear=2019
|estimate=3429
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2019CenPopScriptOnlyDirtyFixDoNotUse">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/data/tables.2019.html|date=May 24, 2020|title=Population and Housing Unit Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=May 27, 2020}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
}}
}}
[[Image:U.S. Post Office in Lake Providence, LA IMG 7407.JPG|thumb|right|U.S. Post Office in Lake Providence contains a 1942 mural by [[Ethel Edwards]] titled ''Life on the Lake'']]
[[Image:U.S. Post Office in Lake Providence, LA IMG 7407.JPG|thumb|right|U.S. Post Office in Lake Providence contains a 1942 mural by [[Ethel Edwards]] titled ''Life on the Lake'']]


{| class="wikitable"
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref> of 2000, there were 5,104 people, 1,707 households, and 1,191 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 1,418.8 people per square mile (547.4/km{{sup|2}}). There were 1,878 housing units at an average density of 522.1 per square mile (201.4/km{{sup|2}}). The racial makeup of the town was 19.61% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 79.51% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.18% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.16% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.33% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.69% of the population.
|+Lake Providence racial composition as of 2020<ref>{{Cite web|title=Explore Census Data|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US2241400&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|access-date=December 19, 2021|website=data.census.gov}}</ref>

!Race
There were 1,707 households, out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 34.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.2% were non-families. 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.84 and the average family size was 3.49.
!Num.

!Perc.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 35.3% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 16.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.
|-

|[[White (U.S. Census)|White]] (non-Hispanic)
The median income for a household in the town was $16,896, and the median income for a family was $20,139. Males had a median income of $19,900 versus $17,135 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $8,447. About 42.2% of families and 49.3% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 67.3% of those under age 18 and 33.0% of those age 65 or over.
|597
|16.64%
|-
|[[African American (U.S. Census)|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)
|2,883
|80.37%
|-
|[[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]]
|4
|0.11%
|-
|[[Race (United States Census)|Other/Mixed]]
|73
|2.04%
|-
|[[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]]
|30
|0.84%
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 3,587 people, 1,221 households, and 695 families residing in the town.


==Education==
==Education==
Public schools operated by the [[East Carroll Parish School Board]] include Southside Elementary School (PK-5), Lake Providence Junior High School (grades 6-8), and Lake Providence Senior High School (9-12). The private school [[Briarfield Academy]] is grades PK to 12.
Public schools operated by the [[East Carroll Parish School Board]] include Southside Elementary School (PK-5), Lake Providence Junior High School (grades 6–8), and Lake Providence Senior High School (9-12). The private school [[Briarfield Academy]] is grades PK to 12.


==Representation in other media==
==Representation in other media==
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==Notable people==
==Notable people==
[[Image:Revised, First Baptist Ch., Lake Providence, LA IMG 7415 1.jpg|thumb|right|First Baptist Church at 304 Davis Street in Lake Providence]]
[[Image:Revised, First Baptist Ch., Lake Providence, LA IMG 7415 1.jpg|thumb|right|First Baptist Church at 304 Davis Street in Lake Providence]]
* [[Clifford Cleveland Brooks]], planter in [[St. Joseph, Louisiana|St. Joseph]], represented East Carroll Parish in the [[Louisiana State Senate|state senate]] from 1924 to 1932.<ref>[[Henry E. Chambers]], ''History of Louisiana'', Vol. 2 ([[Chicago]] and [[New York City]]: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, p. 71)</ref>
* [[Clifford Cleveland Brooks]], planter in [[St. Joseph, Louisiana|St. Joseph]], represented East Carroll Parish in the [[Louisiana State Senate|state senate]] from 1924 to 1932.<ref>[[Henry E. Chambers]], ''History of Louisiana'', Vol. 2 ([[Chicago]] and [[New York City]]: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, p. 71)</ref>
* [[William Denis Brown, III]], attorney, businessman, and [[Louisiana State Senate|state senator]] from [[Ouachita Parish, Louisiana|Ouachita Parish]]; floor leader in first term of [[governor of Louisiana|Governor]] [[Edwin Washington Edwards]]; reared on plantation north of Lake Providence.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?pid=156381763#fbLoggedOut|title=William Denis Brown, III|newspaper=Monroe News-Star, March 9, 2012|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref>
* [[William Denis Brown, III]], attorney, businessman, and [[Louisiana State Senate|state senator]] from [[Ouachita Parish, Louisiana|Ouachita Parish]]; floor leader in first term of [[governor of Louisiana|Governor]] [[Edwin Washington Edwards]]; reared on plantation north of Lake Providence.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/thenewsstar/obituary.aspx?pid=156381763#fbLoggedOut|title=William Denis Brown, III|newspaper=Monroe News-Star, March 9, 2012|access-date=July 13, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Vail M. Delony]], [[Louisiana State Legislature|state representative]] from East Carroll Parish, 1940–1967; [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the Louisiana House, 1964–1967.
* [[Vail M. Delony]], [[Louisiana State Legislature|state representative]] from East Carroll Parish, 1940–1967; [[Speaker (politics)|Speaker]] of the Louisiana House, 1964–1967.
* [[Leonard Griffin (American football)|Leonard Griffin]], NFL player
* [[John Martin Hamley]] (or John Martian Hamley), state representative, 1912–1924; clerk of the state House, 1924–1931; elected parish tax assessor, 1933.
* [[John Martin Hamley]] (or John Martian Hamley), state representative, 1912–1924; clerk of the state House, 1924–1931; elected parish tax assessor, 1933.
* [[William J. Jefferson]], former U.S. representative from [[Louisiana's 2nd congressional district]]; convicted felon.
* [[William J. Jefferson]], former U.S. representative from [[Louisiana's 2nd congressional district]]; convicted felon.
* [[Joseph Kerr]], U.S. Senator; moved to Lake Providence as an adult.<ref>{{cite dictionary | title = KERR, Joseph, (1765 - 1837) | dictionary = Biographical Directory of the United States Congress | url = http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000141 | access-date = March 7, 2014}}</ref> Kerr's son, Joseph Kerr Jr., was born at Lake Providence, and died in the [[Battle of the Alamo]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Groneman | first = Bill | title = KERR, JOSEPH | publisher = Texas State Historical Association | date = June 15, 2010 | url = http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fke71}}</ref>
* [[Joseph Kerr]], U.S. Senator; moved to Lake Providence as an adult.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | title = KERR, Joseph, (1765 - 1837) | dictionary = Biographical Directory of the United States Congress | url = http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000141 | access-date = March 7, 2014}}</ref> Kerr's son, Joseph Kerr Jr., was born at Lake Providence, and died in the [[Battle of the Alamo]].<ref>{{cite web | last = Groneman | first = Bill | title = KERR, JOSEPH | publisher = Texas State Historical Association | date = June 15, 2010 | url = http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fke71}}</ref>
* Francis Xavier Ransdell, judge of the Louisiana 6th Judicial District from 1900 to 1936.
* Francis Xavier Ransdell, judge of the Louisiana 6th Judicial District from 1900 to 1936.
* [[Joseph E. Ransdell]], Lake Providence lawyer and planter; former member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] and three-term [[U.S. Senator]].
* [[Joseph E. Ransdell]], Lake Providence lawyer and planter; former member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] and three-term [[U.S. Senator]].
* [[John Henry Scott]], native of Lake Providence who worked for voting and civil rights for African Americans in Louisiana<ref>John Henry Scott, with Cleo Scott Brown, ''Witness to the Truth: My Struggle for Human Rights in Louisiana'', University of South Carolina Press, 2003</ref>
* [[John Henry Scott]], native of Lake Providence who worked for voting and civil rights for African Americans in Louisiana<ref>John Henry Scott, with Cleo Scott Brown, ''Witness to the Truth: My Struggle for Human Rights in Louisiana'', University of South Carolina Press, 2003</ref>
* [[Vivien Theodore Thomas]], an American laboratory supervisor who developed a procedure used to treat blue baby syndrome (now known as cyanotic heart disease) in the 1940s. The successful performance of the blue baby operation placed Johns Hopkins on the global map and opened the door for cardiac surgery, nationally and internationally. [[Something the Lord Made]] is a 2004 American made-for-television biographical drama film about cardiac pioneer Vivien Thomas.
* [[Aaron "Rudy" Threats]], the longest serving Chief of Police in the history of [[Lake Providence]], the parish seat of [[East Carroll Parish]].
* [[David Voelker|David Ransdell Voelker]], Lake Providence native, entrepreneur and philanthropist in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/david_voelker_lra_chairman_and.h|title=David Voelker, 'one of the great saints of the recovery,' dies at 60|newspaper=[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|access-date=June 2, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620194906/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/david_voelker_lra_chairman_and.h|archive-date=June 20, 2013}}</ref>
* [[David Voelker|David Ransdell Voelker]], Lake Providence native, entrepreneur and philanthropist in [[New Orleans, Louisiana|New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/david_voelker_lra_chairman_and.h|title=David Voelker, 'one of the great saints of the recovery,' dies at 60|newspaper=[[New Orleans Times-Picayune]]|access-date=June 2, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130620194906/http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/05/david_voelker_lra_chairman_and.h|archive-date=June 20, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Frank Voelker, Jr.]], Lake Providence city attorney, 1950–1962; chairman of the [[Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission]], 1962–1963; candidate for governor in [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1963-64|1963]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eastcarrollparishlouisianagenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/s-t-u-v-surnames.html|title=East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, Genealogy, August 24, 2010|publisher=eastcarrollparishlouisianagenealogy.blogspot.com|access-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Frank Voelker, Jr.]], Lake Providence city attorney, 1950–1962; chairman of the [[Louisiana State Sovereignty Commission]], 1962–1963; candidate for governor in [[Louisiana gubernatorial election, 1963-64|1963]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eastcarrollparishlouisianagenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/s-t-u-v-surnames.html|title=East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, Genealogy, August 24, 2010|publisher=eastcarrollparishlouisianagenealogy.blogspot.com|access-date=May 31, 2013}}</ref>
* Frank Voelker Sr., attorney and 6th Judicial District Court judge, 1937–1963
* Frank Voelker Sr., attorney and 6th Judicial District Court judge, 1937–1963
* [[Norris C. Williamson]], state senator from the Delta parishes from 1916 to 1932<ref>Frederick W. Williamson and George T. Goodman, eds. ''Eastern Louisiana: A History of the Watershed of the Ouachita River and the Florida Parishes'', 3 vols. ([[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]: Historical Record Association, 1939), pp. 770–773</ref>
* [[Norris C. Williamson]], state senator from the Delta parishes from 1916 to 1932<ref>Frederick W. Williamson and George T. Goodman, eds. ''Eastern Louisiana: A History of the Watershed of the Ouachita River and the Florida Parishes'', 3 vols. ([[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]: Historical Record Association, 1939), pp. 770–773</ref>
* [[Edith Wilmans]], first woman elected to the [[Texas State Legislature]]<ref name="tshaonline.org">{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwi48|title=WILMANS, EDITH EUNICE THERREL|work=tshaonline.org|access-date=14 September 2015}}</ref>
* [[Edith Wilmans]], first woman elected to the [[Texas State Legislature]]<ref name="tshaonline.org">{{cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fwi48|title=WILMANS, EDITH EUNICE THERREL|work=tshaonline.org|access-date=September 14, 2015}}</ref>
*[[John D. Winters]], Civil War historian
*[[John D. Winters]], Civil War historian
* Captan Jack Wyly, Democratic politician and Lake Providence lawyer; convicted felon.
* Captan Jack Wyly, Democratic politician and Lake Providence lawyer; convicted felon.
* [[Charles Wyly|Charles]] and [[Sam Wyly]] , billionaire entrepreneur brothers, founders of [[Uccel]], [[Sterling Software]], and [[Green Mountain Energy]]; the Tower of Learning at [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] is named in honor of Charles Wyly.
* [[Charles Wyly|Charles]] and [[Sam Wyly]], billionaire entrepreneur brothers, founders of [[Uccel]], [[Sterling Software]], and [[Green Mountain Energy]]; the Tower of Learning at [[Louisiana Tech University]] in [[Ruston, Louisiana|Ruston]] is named in honor of Charles Wyly.
* [[Aaron "Rudy" Threats]], the longest serving Chief of Police in the history of [[Lake Providence]], the parish seat of [[East Carroll Parish]].


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:Lake Providence, Louisiana|*]]
[[Category:Towns in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Towns in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Towns in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Towns in Louisiana]]

Latest revision as of 17:31, 2 October 2024

Lake Providence, Louisiana
Town
Louisiana State Cotton Museum in 2013
Louisiana State Cotton Museum in 2013
Location of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana.
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Location of Louisiana in the United States
Coordinates: 32°48′19″N 91°10′46″W / 32.80528°N 91.17944°W / 32.80528; -91.17944
CountryUnited States
StateLouisiana
ParishEast Carroll
Government
 • MayorBobby Amacker
Area
[1]
 • Total
3.62 sq mi (9.36 km2)
 • Land3.60 sq mi (9.31 km2)
 • Water0.02 sq mi (0.05 km2)
Elevation
105 ft (32 m)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total
3,587
 • Density997.77/sq mi (385.28/km2)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP Code
71254
Area code318
FIPS code22-41400
WebsiteTown of Lake Providence

Lake Providence is a town in, and the parish seat of, East Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana.[2] The population was 5,104 at the 2000 census and declined by 21.8 percent to 3,991 in 2010. The town's poverty rate is approximately 55 percent; the average median household income is $16,500, and the average age is 31.[3]

The town shares its name with the oxbow lake of the Mississippi River, also called Lake Providence. This area was historically developed as cotton plantations before and after the Civil War, and remains largely rural. The Union Army developed a supply depot near the lake during the Civil War, and its camp was crowded with refugee slaves seeking their freedom. The town grew larger at this site.

History

[edit]

In the late 18th century goods such as animal pelts, indigo, and cotton were transported on the Mississippi River by people commonly known as longboat men, named for the type of craft that carried the goods. These were eventually replaced by steamboats. Thieves and pirates raided the longboats, killing the crew and selling the goods. Bunch's Bend is named for a pirate who would raid the boats at this place, where they had to maneuver the bend in the river. If the longboat men made it past Bunch's Bend without being robbed, they would say they, "made it to Providence."

The trading town of Providence developed at the bend. It later was renamed as Lake Providence when the town was moved to its current location surrounding a natural oxbow lake. The Lake Providence area first opened for European-American settlement in the late 1830s, after the federal government enforced Indian Removal to Indian Territory further west of the Mississippi River, and extinguished their land titles. Settlers drained the cypress swamps along the Mississippi River and used enslaved African Americans to clear the land for cultivation.

Civil War

[edit]

By the start of the American Civil War in 1861, the region consisted mostly of large cotton plantations along the river, which were worked by thousands of slave laborers.

The town of Lake Providence developed after the arrival of the Union Army in the spring of 1862. Under the direction of General Ulysses S. Grant, the area by Lake Providence was established as a supply depot and base of operations for the Vicksburg Campaign. The soldiers dug a canal between the Mississippi River and Lake Providence. The area was called "Soldiers' Rest". Grant subsequently moved his troops south for temporary residence at Winter Quarters south of Newellton in Tensas Parish. As slaves crowded into the camp at Lake Providence to gain freedom from surrounding plantations, the population quickly soared from a few hundred to several thousand. What began as a simple military supply camp quickly transformed into a city with a large population of African-American refugees.

By the time Vicksburg, Mississippi fell to the Union in 1863, most planters in the Lake Providence area had fled, and their plantations lay empty. The Union Army determined that they should be productive again.

20th century

[edit]
Residence of African-American tenant farmer beside the Mississippi River levee near Lake Providence (June 1940)
Street map of Lake Providence c. 1945

After white Democrats regained power in the state legislature after the Reconstruction Era, they worked to reimpose white supremacy. Many blacks worked as sharecroppers or tenant farmers in the region. In 1898, Louisiana, like other southern states, enacted a new constitution, designed to maintain Democratic Party dominance and forestall any alliances such as the Populist-Republican alliance that had won seats in the 1890s. They included provisions that raised barriers to voter registration and elections, effectively disfranchising most blacks despite their constitutional 15th Amendment right to vote. Their exclusion from the political system made them second-class citizens.

The civil rights movement of the post-World War II period from the 1940s through the 1960s brought efforts of a new generation to make constitutional rights more equitable. Until 1962, no African Americans had been allowed to register to vote in Lake Providence or East Carroll Parish in forty years when U.S. District Judge Edwin Ford Hunter, Jr., based in Lake Charles in the far southwestern corner of the state, personally registered twenty-eight African Americans in Lake Providence under a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which had been signed into law by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Hunter was challenged by Louisiana 6th Judicial District Judge Frank Voelker Sr., who was based in Lake Providence, in a dispute over the powers of the national government. The case attracted national attention, as the civil rights movement highlighted the constitutional infringement of the rights of African Americans in the South.[4]

Following national Democratic support for the passage of civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s, most African Americans allied with that party. With a majority African-American electorate, Lake Providence voters in the 21st century continue to support Democratic Party candidates. Conservative whites tended to leave the Democratic Party after the 1960s, and have overwhelmingly joined the Republican Party. In the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, East Carroll Parish voted handily for Democrat Barack H. Obama of Illinois, rather than his Republican opponents, John McCain of Arizona and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts.[5][6]

Geography

[edit]
Lake Providence City Hall is located across from the U.S. Post Office.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2), of which 3.6 square miles (9.3 km2) is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km2) (0.55%) is water.

The existing boundaries of the town constitute the third location of the community. Lake Providence is located adjacent to the Mississippi River. Prior to the building of the current levee system by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the meandering river would overflow its bank and take valuable lands. It was such flooding that the lake of Lake Providence was created and the town was washed away by the river. Each time the town was taken by the river, the citizens moved.

Historian John D. Winters describes Lake Providence as "a beautiful oxbow lake some six miles (10 km) long, an old Mississippi river bed with an outlet through Baxter Bayou into Bayou Macon and thus into the Tensas, Ouachita, Black, and Red rivers.[7]

Climate

[edit]
Climate data for Lake Providence, Louisiana (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1893–1903, 1926–2019)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 86
(30) 		89
(32) 		93
(34) 		95
(35) 		99
(37) 		108
(42) 		109
(43) 		109
(43) 		110
(43) 		98
(37) 		98
(37) 		88
(31) 		110
(43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 53.7
(12.1) 		58.2
(14.6) 		66.4
(19.1) 		74.4
(23.6) 		81.9
(27.7) 		88.4
(31.3) 		91.2
(32.9) 		91.1
(32.8) 		86.8
(30.4) 		77.1
(25.1) 		65.2
(18.4) 		56.3
(13.5) 		74.2
(23.4)
Daily mean °F (°C) 44.8
(7.1) 		48.6
(9.2) 		56.2
(13.4) 		64.2
(17.9) 		72.6
(22.6) 		79.5
(26.4) 		82.3
(27.9) 		81.8
(27.7) 		76.7
(24.8) 		66.1
(18.9) 		54.7
(12.6) 		47.3
(8.5) 		64.6
(18.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 35.8
(2.1) 		39.0
(3.9) 		45.9
(7.7) 		54.0
(12.2) 		63.4
(17.4) 		70.6
(21.4) 		73.4
(23.0) 		72.5
(22.5) 		66.5
(19.2) 		55.0
(12.8) 		44.3
(6.8) 		38.4
(3.6) 		54.9
(12.7)
Record low °F (°C) −5
(−21) 		−8
(−22) 		16
(−9) 		32
(0) 		40
(4) 		50
(10) 		41
(5) 		55
(13) 		35
(2) 		29
(−2) 		18
(−8) 		3
(−16) 		−8
(−22)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 5.61
(142) 		5.49
(139) 		5.16
(131) 		6.59
(167) 		4.98
(126) 		4.26
(108) 		3.93
(100) 		4.03
(102) 		3.29
(84) 		4.99
(127) 		4.72
(120) 		5.74
(146) 		58.79
(1,493)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 0.2
(0.51) 		0.2
(0.51) 		trace 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) 		0.1
(0.25) 		0.5
(1.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 9.6 9.0 9.2 8.0 8.6 8.2 8.1 7.5 5.5 6.5 8.4 10.1 98.7
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.4
Source: NOAA[8][9]

Demographics

[edit]
Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
1860582—
1870320−45.0%
1890642—
19001,25695.6%
19101,56824.8%
19201,91722.3%
19302,86749.6%
19403,71129.4%
19504,12311.1%
19605,78140.2%
19706,1837.0%
19806,3612.9%
19905,380−15.4%
20005,104−5.1%
20103,991−21.8%
20203,587−10.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[10]
U.S. Post Office in Lake Providence contains a 1942 mural by Ethel Edwards titled Life on the Lake
Lake Providence racial composition as of 2020[11]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 597 16.64%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 2,883 80.37%
Asian 4 0.11%
Other/Mixed 73 2.04%
Hispanic or Latino 30 0.84%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,587 people, 1,221 households, and 695 families residing in the town.

Education

[edit]

Public schools operated by the East Carroll Parish School Board include Southside Elementary School (PK-5), Lake Providence Junior High School (grades 6–8), and Lake Providence Senior High School (9-12). The private school Briarfield Academy is grades PK to 12.

Representation in other media

[edit]

Several episodes of the 1959 NBC television series Riverboat, starring Darren McGavin, deal with pirates on the Mississippi River or the shipment of cotton. It is set in the middle 19th century, rather than the 18th.

Notable people

[edit]
First Baptist Church at 304 Davis Street in Lake Providence

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. ^ "Quick Facts". louisiana-demographics.com. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "State Judge Restrains Federal Judge's Order", Sumter Daily Item, Sumter, South Carolina, July 21, 1962, p. 1
  5. ^ "East Carroll Parish presidential election returns, November 4, 2008". staticresults.sos.la.govlaccessdate=November 19, 2012.
  6. ^ "East Carroll Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 19, 2012.
  7. ^ Winters, p. 176
  8. ^ "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  9. ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991-2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  10. ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  11. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  12. ^ Henry E. Chambers, History of Louisiana, Vol. 2 (Chicago and New York City: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, p. 71)
  13. ^ "William Denis Brown, III". Monroe News-Star, March 9, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  14. ^ "KERR, Joseph, (1765 - 1837)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
  15. ^ Groneman, Bill (June 15, 2010). "KERR, JOSEPH". Texas State Historical Association.
  16. ^ John Henry Scott, with Cleo Scott Brown, Witness to the Truth: My Struggle for Human Rights in Louisiana, University of South Carolina Press, 2003
  17. ^ "David Voelker, 'one of the great saints of the recovery,' dies at 60". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Archived from the original on June 20, 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  18. ^ "East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, Genealogy, August 24, 2010". eastcarrollparishlouisianagenealogy.blogspot.com. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
  19. ^ Frederick W. Williamson and George T. Goodman, eds. Eastern Louisiana: A History of the Watershed of the Ouachita River and the Florida Parishes, 3 vols. (Monroe: Historical Record Association, 1939), pp. 770–773
  20. ^ "WILMANS, EDITH EUNICE THERREL". tshaonline.org. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
[edit]
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