Lake Providence, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Lake Providence is a town in and the parish seat of East Carroll Parish
, Louisiana
, United States
. The population was 5,104 at the 2000 census.
. New settlers drained the cypress swamps and cleared the land for cultivation. By 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, the region consisted entirely of large cotton
plantations worked by thousands of slave laborers.
The town of Lake Providence got its start with the arrival of the Union Army in the spring of 1862. Under the direction of General Ulysses S. Grant
, Lake Providence was established as a supply depot and base of operations for the Vicksburg Campaign
. As freed or runaway slaves swarmed into the camp 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 of negroe refugees," also called contraband
.
By the time Vicksburg fell to the Union
in 1863, most planters
in the Lake Providence area had fled, leaving behind their vacant estates. The historian
John D. Winters
, who was reared in Lake Providence, wrote in the mid-20th century about this period:
Winters wrote:
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 Indian
mound; they seized 200 prisoners. The Rangers burned cotton gin
s, plantation houses, and Negro quarters on the estates along the river and in the back country which were occupied by federal lessees and scalawags, the term heaped on those southerners who pledged loyalty to the Union.
In June 1864, some Confederate troops raided the area south of Lake Providence and seized mules and horses and some of the Negroes. Winters writes that these raids "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. . . . "
, based in Lake Charles
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish
, personally registered some two dozen African-American citizens under a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1960
.
With its large African-American electorate, Lake Providence today remains a stronghold of the Democratic Party
, after many of the conservative whites have switched to the Republican Party. In the 2008 presidential election, East Carroll Parish cast 2,267 votes (63.7 percent) for the successful Democrat Barack Obama
of Illinois
to 1,254 votes (35.2 percent) for the Republican
nominee, John S. McCain of Arizona
.
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) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.55%) is water.
The existing boundaries of the town are the 3rd location of the community. Lake Providence is located adjacent to the Mississippi River; and prior to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
building the current levee
system, the meandering river would overflow its bank and take valuable lands. It was during these movements that the lake of Lake Providence was created and the town succumbed to the river. Each time the town was taken by the river, the citizens would move.
In the late 18th century as goods like animal pelts, indigo and cotton were transported up and down the Mississippi River by people commonly known as longboat men, named after the type of craft that carried the goods. These were eventually replaced by steamboats. Thieves and pirates would raid the boats carrying these products, kill the longboat men, and then sell the goods. There is a bend in the river called Bunch's Bend where a pirate named Bunch would raid the boats. If the longboat men made it past Bunch's Bend without being robbed, they would say they, "made it to Providence." This is where the trading town of Providence was located. It later became Lake Providence when the town was moved to its current location surrounding a natural oxbow lake
.
The 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.
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/km²). There were 1,878 housing units at an average density of 522.1 per square mile (201.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 19.61% White, 79.51% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.16% from other races
, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 1,707 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were 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.
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.
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.
East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
East Carroll Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Providence and as of 2010, the population was 7,759.-Law and government:In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the George W. Bush - Richard B...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,104 at the 2000 census.
Civil War
The Lake Providence area was first opened for European-American settlement in the late 1830s, after Indian RemovalIndian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
. New settlers drained the cypress swamps and cleared the land for cultivation. By 1861, at the start of the American Civil War, the region consisted entirely of large cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
plantations worked by thousands of slave laborers.
The town of Lake Providence got its start with the arrival of the Union Army in the spring of 1862. Under the direction of General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, Lake Providence was established as a supply depot and base of operations for the Vicksburg Campaign
Vicksburg Campaign
The Vicksburg Campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi River. The Union Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen....
. As freed or runaway slaves swarmed into the camp 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 of negroe refugees," also called contraband
Contraband
The word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
.
By the time Vicksburg fell to the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
in 1863, most planters
Plantations in the American South
Plantations were an important aspect of the history of the American South, particularly the antebellum .-Planter :The owner of a plantation was called a planter...
in the Lake Providence area had fled, leaving behind their vacant estates. The historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
John D. Winters
John D. Winters
John David Winters was a historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, best known for his definitive and award-winning study, The Civil War in Louisiana, still in print, published in 1963 and released in paperback in 1991.-Background:Winters was born to John David Winters, Sr...
, who was reared in Lake Providence, wrote in the mid-20th century about this period:
"The long line of abandoned plantations was then leased by the army and treasury agents to carpetbaggerCarpetbaggerCarpetbaggers was a pejorative term Southerners gave to Northerners who moved to the South during the Reconstruction era, between 1865 and 1877....
s and to southerners who took the oath of allegiance (known as scalawagScalawagIn United States history, scalawag was a derogatory nickname for southern whites who supported Reconstruction following the Civil War.-History:...
s). Since the necessary NegroNegroThe word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
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."
Winters wrote:
"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 marshalProvost MarshalThe Provost Marshal is the officer in the armed forces who is in charge of the military police .There may be a Provost Marshal serving at many levels of the hierarchy and he may also be the public safety officer of a military installation, responsible for the provision of fire, gate security, and...
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."
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 Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
mound; they seized 200 prisoners. The Rangers burned cotton gin
Cotton gin
A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...
s, plantation houses, and Negro quarters on the estates along the river and in the back country which were occupied by federal lessees and scalawags, the term heaped on those southerners who pledged loyalty to the Union.
In June 1864, some Confederate troops raided the area south of Lake Providence and seized mules and horses and some of the Negroes. Winters writes that these raids "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. . . . "
20th century
After white Democrats regained power in the late nineteenth century, like other southern states, Louisiana passed a new constitution and laws that controlled voter registration and electoral rules, effectively disfranchising blacks despite their constitutional right to vote. This situation persisted until the 1960s; until 1962, no African Americans were allowed to register to vote in Lake Providence. That year the U.S. District Judge Edwin Ford Hunter, Jr.Edwin F. Hunter
Edwin Ford Hunter, Jr. was the longest-sitting U.S. District Court judge in the nation, having served the Western District of Louisiana for forty-eight years. Hunter was based in Lake Charles in the southwestern portion of the state, from 1954 until his death, four days after his 91st birthday....
, based in Lake Charles
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...
, the seat of Calcasieu Parish
Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana
Calcasieu Parish[p] is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Charles. As of 2010, the parish population was 192,768...
, personally registered some two dozen African-American citizens under a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1960
Civil Rights Act of 1960
The Civil Rights Act of 1960 was a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration rolls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote or to vote...
.
With its large African-American electorate, Lake Providence today remains a stronghold of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, after many of the conservative whites have switched to the Republican Party. In the 2008 presidential election, East Carroll Parish cast 2,267 votes (63.7 percent) for the successful Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
to 1,254 votes (35.2 percent) for the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, John S. McCain of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
.
Geography
Lake Providence is located at 32°48′19"N 91°10′46"W (32.805200, -91.179459).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the town has a total area of 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²), of which, 3.6 square miles (9.3 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) of it (0.55%) is water.
The existing boundaries of the town are the 3rd location of the community. Lake Providence is located adjacent to the Mississippi River; and prior to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
building the current levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
system, the meandering river would overflow its bank and take valuable lands. It was during these movements that the lake of Lake Providence was created and the town succumbed to the river. Each time the town was taken by the river, the citizens would move.
In the late 18th century as goods like animal pelts, indigo and cotton were transported up and down the Mississippi River by people commonly known as longboat men, named after the type of craft that carried the goods. These were eventually replaced by steamboats. Thieves and pirates would raid the boats carrying these products, kill the longboat men, and then sell the goods. There is a bend in the river called Bunch's Bend where a pirate named Bunch would raid the boats. If the longboat men made it past Bunch's Bend without being robbed, they would say they, "made it to Providence." This is where the trading town of Providence was located. It later became Lake Providence when the town was moved to its current location surrounding a natural oxbow lake
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
.
The 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
Tensas River
The Tensas River is a river in Louisiana in the United States. The river, known as Tensas Bayou in its upper reaches, begins in East Carroll Parish in the northeast corner of the state and runs roughly southwest for more or less in parallel with the Mississippi River...
, Ouachita
Ouachita River
The Ouachita River is a river that runs south and east through the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana, joining the Tensas River to form the Black River near Jonesville, Louisiana.-Course:...
, Black, and Red rivers.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,104 people, 1,707 households, and 1,191 families residing in the town. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 1,418.8 people per square mile (547.4/km²). There were 1,878 housing units at an average density of 522.1 per square mile (201.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 19.61% White, 79.51% African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.16% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 1,707 households out of which 39.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.2% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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.
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.
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Education
The schools dedicated to the educational enrichment of Lake Providence's youth are: Briafield Academy(PK-12), Griffin Middle Academy(6-8), Southside Elementary School(PK-5), and Lake Providence Sr. High School(9-12).Notable people
- Vail M. DelonyVail M. DelonyVail Montgomery Delony was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, having served from 1940 until his death in office...
, state representativeLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from East Carroll Parish, 1940–1967; SpeakerSpeaker (politics)The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...
of the Louisiana House, 1964–1967 - Mose JeffersonMose JeffersonMose Oliver Jefferson was a member of the New Orleans family that includes his younger brother, convicted felon and former U.S. Representative William J. Jefferson...
, born in Lake Providence, New Orleans politician and older brother of William J. Jefferson - William J. JeffersonWilliam J. JeffersonWilliam Jennings "Bill" Jefferson is a former American politician, and a published author from the U.S. state of Louisiana. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for nine terms from 1991 to 2009 as a member of the Democratic Party. He represented , which includes much of the...
, born in Lake Providence, member of the U.S. House of RepresentativesUnited States House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
representing Louisiana's 2nd congressional districtLouisiana's 2nd congressional districtLouisiana's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The district contains nearly all of the city of New Orleans , and some of its suburbs, including the West Bank portion of Jefferson Parish and South South Kenner.The district is currently represented...
from 1991 to 2009, younger brother of Mose Jefferson - Charles D. "C.D." Jones -- former member of the Louisiana State SenateLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
- Joseph E. RansdellJoseph E. RansdellJoseph Eugene Ransdell was a United States Representative and Senator from Louisiana. Born in Alexandria, the seat of Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, Ransdell attended public schools. In 1882, he graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York...
, former U.S. senator - Kenya Burks, Political Strategist, Statistician, Engineer and Communications Expert, Process and Policy Engineer http://www.ibm.com/ibm/responsibility/minijam/pdf/IBM_ServiceJam_WhitePaper_Final.pdf
- Captan Jack WylyCaptan Jack WylyCaptan Jack Wyly, Sr. , was a colorful attorney in Lake Providence, Louisiana, who in the 1960s and 1970s was a leader of conservatives within his state's dominant Democratic Party. He was known for his 1960s-style suits and hats...
(1917–2006), wealthy eccentric attorney and conservative political activist, Convicted Felon 1999 - Charles Wyly, Jr.Charles WylyCharles Wyly Jr. was an American entrepreneur and businessman, philanthropist, civic leader, and a major contributor to Republican causes and Dallas art projects. This included $20 million to build a performing arts center in Dallas. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1 billion...
, billionaire entrepreneur, brother of Sam Wyly - Sam WylySam WylySamuel "Sam" Wyly is an American entrepreneur and businessman, philanthropist, and major contributor to conservative campaigns and candidates. In 2006, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $1.1 billion...
, billionaire entrepreneur, brother of Charles Wyly - Fred L. Reed Jr., entrepreneur, doctor, and philanthropist
- Gladys Darden-Hensley (1939–1981), public school educator, first Black female elected Police Juror in East Carroll Parish, mother of Kofi(Hensley)Darden-Hawkins
- Kofi Darden-Hawkins, Quality Childcare Professional, Present Owner/Director of Wee Learners' Daycare Center, est.,1972
External links
- Lake Providence Progress Community Progress Site for Lake Providence, LA
- "The Poorest Place in America" article on Lake Providence, Louisiana
- City Data page for Lake Providence, LA