Logansport, Louisiana

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Town of Logansport
Town
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	De Soto
Area	3.4 sq mi (8.8 km²)
- land	3.2 sq mi (8.3 km²)
- water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km²), 5.88%
Center
- coordinates	31°58′29″N 93°59′51″W / 31.97472, -93.9975Coordinates: 31°58′29″N 93°59′51″W / 31.97472, -93.9975
- elevation	213 ft (64.9 m)
Population	1,630 (2000)
Density	506.4 /sq mi (195.5 /km²)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code	318
Location of Logansport in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Logansport is a town in De Soto Parish adjacent to the Sabine River in northwestern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,630 at the 2000 census. The Logansport riverfront is a welcoming entrance off U.S. Highway 84 into Louisiana from Texas. It has a terraced landscape, veteran's memorial, walking paths, gazebo, picnic tables, and a pavilion.

Georgia Pacific, the largest employer in Logansport, is closing its local plywood operation. The decision is expected to cause serious economic woes in the community.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Media 4 Politics 5 References

[edit] Geography

Logansport is located at 31°58′29″N, 93°59′51″W (31.974785, -93.997471)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.7 km²), of which, 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.4 km²) of it (4.45%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 1,630 people, 656 households, and 440 families residing in the town. The population density was 506.4 people per square mile (195.4/km²). There were 787 housing units at an average density of 244.5/sq mi (94.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 57.42% White, 41.17% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.31% from other races, and 0.49% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.10% of the population.

There were 656 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.0% were married couples living together, 20.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the town the population was spread out with 31.9% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 23.3% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 82.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $22,546, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $31,339 versus $22,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,695. About 28.0% of families and 31.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 43.9% of those under age 18 and 27.1% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Media

Logansport is home to one radio station, KORI-FM, although the station is actually licensed to Mansfield, LA The station was originally put on the air on May 10, 1993 by General Manager, Gene Fields of Toledo Broadcasting Corporation. The station was sold to Metropolitan Radio Group in 1997.

Logansport has one newspaper

[edit] Politics

Dennis Freeman served as mayor of Logansport from 1984 until his death in 2007. He worked to procure grants for water, streets, sewerage, parks, and local government and to establish the first De Soto Parish fire and ambulance districts. An independent insurance agent, Freeman was an officer of the Louisiana Municipal Association and a board member of the Sabine River Authority. Prior to his death and despite failing health, Freeman was seeking solutions to the pending displacement of Georgia Pacific workers.^[3] He was also working with the Department of Transportation and Development in Louisiana and Texas to build new bridges and highways between the two states. He was a director for the Bank of Logansport. Freeman, who was Methodist, died of cancer at the age of sixty-seven.^[4]

In 2004, Freeman was unopposed for his sixth term as mayor. In his last contested election in 2000, he narrowly defeated his fellow Republican Joe C. Liles, 303 votes (51 percent) to 295 (49 perent).^[5]Freeman won his first three terms as a Democrat, but he had switched to the Republican Party, when he secured his fourth term in the 1996 general election over a Democrat, Andrew D. McGlathery, Jr., 437 (62 percent) to 271 (38 percent).^[6]

Freeman was an unsuccessful candidate for the District 7 seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives in the jungle primary held on October 20, 2007. He received 1,427 votes (11 percent), having finished last in a five-candidate field. The seat, which covers all of De Soto and ten precincts of southern Caddo Parish, went to a Republican, Richard "Richie" Burford, the easy winner of the November 17 general election.^[7]

[edit] References

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of De Soto Parish, Louisiana Parish seat: Mansfield Cities Mansfield Towns Keachi | Logansport | Stonewall Villages Grand Cane | Longstreet | South Mansfield | Stanley