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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; 172 years ago (1852-02-24)
Named for	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 km (957 sq mi)
• Land	2,500 km (950 sq mi)
• Water	17 km (6.7 sq mi)
• percentage	2 km (0.7 sq mi)
Population
• Total	13,755
• Density	5.5/km (14/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code	318
Congressional district	5th

Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,755. The parish seat and largest city is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. 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.

History

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

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.

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. 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.

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.

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. 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.

Geography

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

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
• Tannehill
• Wheeling

Demographics

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.

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.

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.

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.

Notable people

• O.K. Allen, governor of Louisiana
• Huey Long, governor of Louisiana
• Earl Kemp Long, governor of Louisiana

See also

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

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Winn Parish, Louisiana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. ^ "Winn Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
4. King, William Henry, 1828–1903. (2006). No pardons to ask, nor apologies to make : the journal of William Henry King, Gray's 28th Louisiana Infantry Regiment. Joiner, Gary D., Joiner, Marilyn S., Cardin, Clifton D. (Clifton Dale), 1957– (1st ed.). Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. ISBN 1-57233-461-4. OCLC 61204291.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
5. John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN 0-8071-0834-0, pp. 164, 310
6. LeJeune, Keagan (2016). Legendary Louisiana Outlaws: The Villains and Heroes of Folk Justice. Baton Rouge: LSU Press. pp. 48–49. ISBN 9780807162590.
7. Keith, Leeanna, The Colfax Massacre: The Untold Story of Black Power, White Terror, & The Death of Reconstruction, New York: Oxford University Press, 2007
8. Lane, Charles (2008). The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction. New York: Henry Holt & Company. ISBN 9780805083422.
9. Buddy Jordan obituary, Alexandria Daily Town Talk, February 23, 2012
10. Louisiana Secretary of State, General election returns, November 17, 2007
11. ""Former Sheriff of Winn Parish Found Guilty: Federal Jury Convicts A. D. "Bodie" Little of Drug Charges Tonight," February 24, 2012" (PDF). justice.gov. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 14, 2012. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
12. "Tom Kelly, "Third Sheriff Jordan elected in Winn Parish," 2011". thepineywoods.com. Retrieved March 4, 2012.
13. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
14. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Packton
15. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
16. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
17. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
18. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
19. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
20. "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
21. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Winn Parish, LA" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 31, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2022. - Text list
22. "Winn Corr. Center Archived 2008-09-15 at the Wayback Machine." Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Accessed September 14, 2008.
23. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.

v t e Places adjacent to Winn Parish, Louisiana
Bienville Parish Jackson Parish Caldwell Parish Natchitoches Parish Winn Parish, Louisiana Grant Parish La Salle Parish

v t e Municipalities and communities of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States
Parish seat: Winnfield
City	Winnfield
Town	Tullos‡
Villages	Atlanta Calvin Dodson Sikes
CDPs	Jordan Hill Joyce Saint Maurice
Other communities	Bethlehem Tannehill
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes
Louisiana portal United States portal

v t e Parishes of Louisiana
Current	Acadia Allen Ascension Assumption Avoyelles Beauregard Bienville Bossier Caddo Calcasieu Caldwell Cameron Catahoula Claiborne Concordia DeSoto East Baton Rouge East Carroll East Feliciana Evangeline Franklin Grant Iberia Iberville Jackson Jefferson Jefferson Davis LaSalle Lafayette Lafourche Lincoln Livingston Madison Morehouse Natchitoches Orleans Ouachita Plaquemines Pointe Coupee Rapides Red River Richland Sabine St. Bernard St. Charles St. Helena St. James St. John the Baptist St. Landry St. Martin St. Mary St. Tammany Tangipahoa Tensas Terrebonne Union Vermilion Vernon Washington Webster West Baton Rouge West Carroll West Feliciana Winn
Former	Counties Acadia Attakapas Biloxi Concordia German Coast Iberville LaFourche Natchitoches Opelousas Orleans Ouachita Pascagoula Pointe Coupée Rapides Warren Split Carroll Feliciana

31°57′N 92°38′W / 31.95°N 92.64°W / 31.95; -92.64

• Winn Parish, Louisiana
• Louisiana parishes
• 1852 establishments in Louisiana
• Populated places established in 1852