Newellton, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Newellton is a town
in northern Tensas Parish
in the northeastern part of the U.S. state
of Louisiana
. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American
. It is just west of the Mississippi River
on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake. Further south toward St. Joseph
is Lake Bruin
, another ox-bow lake, a part of which is the popular Lake Bruin State Park
.
explorer La Salle
passed through the Newellton area in 1682 as he followed the Mississippi River to its mouth near the future New Orleans.
Newellton itself was founded in the early 19th century by the Routh family, for whom the defunct Routhwood Elementary School was named. John David Stokes Newell, Sr.
(1837–1899), a planter and lawyer
in St. Joseph, the seat of Tensas Parish, named the settlement for his father, Edward D. Newell
(1810–1888), a native of North Carolina
who relocated to Tensas Parish in 1834.
John Newell was a Confederate
veteran who joined the Tensas Cavalry
and fought in 1862 in both Shiloh, Tennessee
, and Corinth
, Mississippi
. In 1864, he married Nannie Newell, a first cousin, and they had four sons. After the Civil War
, he returned to cotton
planting on the Cypress Plantation and resumed his legal practice. He promoted public education
and was named president of the Tensas Parish School Board in 1866 and again in 1892. He died in St. Joseph and is interred at Vicksburg
.
The Newell Cemetery on State Highway 575 offers the history of the Newell family on a marble
archway at the entrance.
led by Major Isaac F. Harrison attacked a Negro
camp of instruction on Lake St. Joseph, killed the white captain and twelve blacks, and captured 875 others. Harrison retrieved a supply of arms, medicine, and other supplies left behind by the Union
.
South of Newellton is the restored Winter Quarters State Historic Site
plantation
home, where troops under Union General
U.S. Grant spent the winter of 1862-1863, prior to embarking on the blockade of Vicksburg the following spring and summer. Winter Quarters is not mentioned by the historian
John D. Winters
in his 1963 work, The Civil War in Louisiana, but he does cover several wartime experiences in Tensas Parish as a whole.
, where teen-agers would gather. "In the days of growing up in Newellton, there were love songs and soft music. Then came rock and roll
, and Elvis Presley
. . . It was a time to live and have fun, for life was ever changing."
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Newellton was the home on U.S. Route 65
(known as "River Road") of Dutch Gardens, a 13-acre tulip
field which offered a Dutch-style windmill, cheese, wooden shoes, and other items associated with the Netherlands
. There were also marigold
s and gladioli in bloom. More than 100,000 visited Dutch Gardens in 1965 alone. There was no admission; the snack bar and curio shop sought to finance the operation. Dutch Gardens was owned by businessman Edwin Randolph McDonald, Sr. (1899–1976), a native of Gainesville
, Florida
. Dutch Gardens was razed after McDonald's death.
Prior to the 1970s, many people came from miles away on Saturdays to downtown Newellton, when the town still had multiple businesses. Newellton High School
alumnus Robert Patt recalls the town was "like living in Mayberry with Andy Griffith
and Barney Fife
. The people were great, no crime and loads of fun. The town on Saturday evening was full, and most of the people were like family."
Similarly, Jerry Kelly recalls that Newellton people were not respecters of persons: "You were judged by your actions and not by your social standing. I loved my years at Newellton High School and wouldn't trade them for anything. Playing football probably gave me more character, not to mention 'bad knees' and 'a crooked nose' than anything I did."
Ronald Ray Graves recalls his growing up in Newellton as "a great experience, and I feel like part of me has always stayed there. It is a sad feeling when I go back now and see that the town has all but dried up. In the 1960s, Newellton was a really active place, especially on Saturday nights. I worked at Camey Arnold’s grocery store, and at 10 p.m. on Saturday we had to go out into the street to tell people to come pick up their groceries. Everyone in Newellton was caring and friendly. I don't remember anyone that wasn't actively part of the town. The people there cared about one another and supported the activities, especially those that were for the youth . . . "
Alice Hull Andrey recalls the safety of the Newellton of the past: "We never locked our doors or car. We could leave our bicycles out with no fear they would be taken. [After basketball games] we could walk home late at night. This could never be done today. . . .
. On April 4, 1951, under the Lawrason Act
, Newellton was upgraded to a town.
The mayor
is the Democrat
Alex Davis. There are also five aldermen and a police chief, Johnny Gales, also a Democrat. Davis, an African American, unseated the 28-year incumbent Mayor Edwin G. Preis, Sr.
(1916-2011), a white businessman, in the primary
held on October 7, 2000. Davis received 366 votes (56.8 percent) to Preis' 184 (28.6 percent), and F.A. "Coonie" McVay's 94 votes (14.6 percent).
As of 2008, the Newellton clerk was Rhonda King, and there were three police officers who shared one patrol car and eighteen volunteer firefighter
s.
Prior to 1968, each parish regardless of population had at least one member in the Louisiana House of Representatives
. The last member to represent only Tensas Parish was then Democrat S. S. DeWitt
(1914–1998) of Newellton and later St. Joseph. DeWitt represented Tensas Parish from 1964–1968, and then from 1968–1972, he and Lantz Womack
of Winnsboro
, the seat of Franklin Parish, together represented Franklin, Tensas, and Madison
parishes. Womack defeated DeWitt in single-member District 20 in the 1971 party primary. DeWitt later switched to Republican
affiliation.
In 1995, a Baton Rouge
attorney, Democrat Phil Preis
, son of then Mayor Edwin Preis, was among sixteen gubernatorial candidates who sought to succeed Edwin Washington Edwards. He polled 133,271 (9 percent) of the votes statewide. In Tensas Parish, he received a plurality of the ballots, 1,233 votes (36.9 percent). The eventual winner of the election, Republican
Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
, polled only 232 votes (6.9 percent) in Tensas Parish in the primary. When Preis ran again for governor in 1999, he polled 144 votes (4.2 percent) in his own Tensas Parish.
, which served grades pre-kindergarten-12, had only seventy-four students at the close of the 2005-2006 academic year. The Tensas Parish School Board
first voted on May 18, 2006, by a four-to-three margin to keep Newellton High functioning for at least an additional year. Superintendent Carol Shipp Johnson had proposed that the school be closed and that all the Newellton students be bused to St. Joseph
, the parish seat. Under the superintendent's proposal, high schools students would have attended Joseph Moore Davidson High School, which serves only grades 7-12 and also had a low enrollment.
Ultimately, it was decided to consolidate Newellton and Davidson schools into Tensas High School
, with grades 7-12 at the Davidson campus in St. Joseph, where pupils from the zone of the former Waterproof High School in Waterproof
were already in attendance. Violence broke out at the consolidated school on November 2, 2006, when fourteen male students were arrested by the office of Tensas Parish Sheriff Rickey Jones.
Newellton High had a relatively new facility, and the board was reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition even though the enrollment numbers could not sustain continuation. The elementary grades continue to operate on the Newellton campus through grade eight. Seventh and eighth graders in Tensas Parish outside of Newellton attend Tensas High School.
In August 1970, Newellton High School was among the last of Louisiana public school to be desegregated under federal court orders. William Edward "Bill" Vosburg (born October 13, 1940), a native of New Roads
, the seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, was the principal during the early years of transition. The superintendent at the time was Charles Ed Thompson (1932–1993), a Tensas Parish native who later accepted a position with the Louisiana Department of Education in Baton Rouge
under Superintendent Louis J. Michot
.
After the desegregation of Newellton High School, numerous white pupils from throughout Tensas Parish then attended the private school
, Tensas Academy in St. Joseph
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²), of which, 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (12.64%) is water.
of 2000, there were 1,482 people, 536 households, and 376 families residing in the town. The population density
was 1,960.2 people per square mile (752.9/km²). There were 595 housing units at an average density of 787.0 per square mile (302.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 34.41% White, 64.71% African American, 0.07% Asian, 0.20% from other races
, and 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.96% of the population.
There were 536 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.5% were married couples
living together, 30.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 80.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $17,457, and the median income for a family was $21,029. Males had a median income of $23,333 versus $14,519 for females. The per capita income
for the town was $9,365. About 33.8% of families and 38.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.9% of those under age 18 and 31.9% of those age 65 or over.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in northern Tensas Parish
Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes....
in the northeastern part of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of 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...
. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
. It is just west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake. Further south toward St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Louisiana
St. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
is Lake Bruin
Lake Bruin
Lake Bruin is an ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. It consists of some of unusually clear water, particularly suited for swimming, boating, and fishing. Part of the lake is owned by the state, which operates Lake Bruin State Park, one of...
, another ox-bow lake, a part of which is the popular Lake Bruin State Park
Lake Bruin State Park
-External links:*...
.
Earliest years
The FrenchFrench people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
explorer La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...
passed through the Newellton area in 1682 as he followed the Mississippi River to its mouth near the future New Orleans.
Newellton itself was founded in the early 19th century by the Routh family, for whom the defunct Routhwood Elementary School was named. John David Stokes Newell, Sr.
John Newell
John David Stokes Newell, Sr. , was a Louisiana planter and lawyer who founded the Tensas Parish town of Newellton, which he named for his father, Edward D...
(1837–1899), a planter and lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in St. Joseph, the seat of Tensas Parish, named the settlement for his father, Edward D. Newell
Edward D. Newell
Edward Drumgould Newell was a pioneer planter in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. The town of Newellton was named in his honor by son, John David Stokes Newell ....
(1810–1888), a native of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
who relocated to Tensas Parish in 1834.
John Newell was a Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
veteran who joined the Tensas Cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
and fought in 1862 in both Shiloh, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, and Corinth
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,054 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alcorn County. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835.- History :...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. In 1864, he married Nannie Newell, a first cousin, and they had four sons. After the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, he returned to 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....
planting on the Cypress Plantation and resumed his legal practice. He promoted public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
and was named president of the Tensas Parish School Board in 1866 and again in 1892. He died in St. Joseph and is interred at Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
.
The Newell Cemetery on State Highway 575 offers the history of the Newell family on a marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
archway at the entrance.
Civil War
During the Civil War on June 4, 1863, Confederate cavalryCavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
led by Major Isaac F. Harrison attacked a Negro
Negro
The 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...
camp of instruction on Lake St. Joseph, killed the white captain and twelve blacks, and captured 875 others. Harrison retrieved a supply of arms, medicine, and other supplies left behind by 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...
.
South of Newellton is the restored Winter Quarters State Historic Site
Winter Quarters State Historic Site
Winter Quarters in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States, is a surviving example of an Antebellum cotton plantation. It is located south of Newellton on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake, or former bend in the Mississippi River. The main plantation home of the site began as a hunting lodge in 1805...
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
home, where troops under Union General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
U.S. Grant spent the winter of 1862-1863, prior to embarking on the blockade of Vicksburg the following spring and summer. Winter Quarters is not mentioned by 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...
in his 1963 work, The Civil War in Louisiana, but he does cover several wartime experiences in Tensas Parish as a whole.
20th century
Myrtis Jones Crawley recalls that Newellton at mid-century had several clothing stores, drug stores, grocery stores, a bus station, train station, and theater. The dime store, she remembers, had a soda fountainSoda fountain
A soda fountain is a device that dispenses carbonated drinks. They can be found in restaurants, concession stands and other locations such as convenience stores...
, where teen-agers would gather. "In the days of growing up in Newellton, there were love songs and soft music. Then came rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. . . It was a time to live and have fun, for life was ever changing."
During the 1960s and early 1970s, Newellton was the home on U.S. Route 65
U.S. Route 65
U.S. Route 65 is a north–south United States highway in the southern and midwestern United States. The southern terminus of the route is at U.S. Route 425 in Clayton, Louisiana. The northern terminus is at Interstate 35 just south of Interstate 90 in Albert Lea, Minnesota...
(known as "River Road") of Dutch Gardens, a 13-acre tulip
Tulip
The tulip is a perennial, bulbous plant with showy flowers in the genus Tulipa, which comprises 109 species and belongs to the family Liliaceae. The genus's native range extends from as far west as Southern Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, and Iran to the Northwest of China. The tulip's centre of...
field which offered a Dutch-style windmill, cheese, wooden shoes, and other items associated with the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. There were also marigold
Tagetes
Tagetes is a genus of 56 species of annual and perennial mostly herbaceous plants in the sunflower family . The genus is native to North and South America, but some species have become naturalized around the world. One species, T...
s and gladioli in bloom. More than 100,000 visited Dutch Gardens in 1965 alone. There was no admission; the snack bar and curio shop sought to finance the operation. Dutch Gardens was owned by businessman Edwin Randolph McDonald, Sr. (1899–1976), a native of Gainesville
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Dutch Gardens was razed after McDonald's death.
Prior to the 1970s, many people came from miles away on Saturdays to downtown Newellton, when the town still had multiple businesses. Newellton High School
Newellton High School
Newellton High School was a rural public high school in Newellton in northern Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006...
alumnus Robert Patt recalls the town was "like living in Mayberry with Andy Griffith
Andy Griffith
Andy Samuel Griffith is an American actor, director, producer, Grammy Award-winning Southern-gospel singer, and writer. He gained prominence in the starring role in director Elia Kazan's epic film A Face in the Crowd before he became better known for his television roles, playing the lead...
and Barney Fife
Barney Fife
Bernard "Barney" Fife is a fictional character in the American television program The Andy Griffith Show, portrayed by comic actor Don Knotts. Barney Fife is a deputy sheriff in the slow paced, sleepy southern community of Mayberry, North Carolina...
. The people were great, no crime and loads of fun. The town on Saturday evening was full, and most of the people were like family."
Similarly, Jerry Kelly recalls that Newellton people were not respecters of persons: "You were judged by your actions and not by your social standing. I loved my years at Newellton High School and wouldn't trade them for anything. Playing football probably gave me more character, not to mention 'bad knees' and 'a crooked nose' than anything I did."
Ronald Ray Graves recalls his growing up in Newellton as "a great experience, and I feel like part of me has always stayed there. It is a sad feeling when I go back now and see that the town has all but dried up. In the 1960s, Newellton was a really active place, especially on Saturday nights. I worked at Camey Arnold’s grocery store, and at 10 p.m. on Saturday we had to go out into the street to tell people to come pick up their groceries. Everyone in Newellton was caring and friendly. I don't remember anyone that wasn't actively part of the town. The people there cared about one another and supported the activities, especially those that were for the youth . . . "
Alice Hull Andrey recalls the safety of the Newellton of the past: "We never locked our doors or car. We could leave our bicycles out with no fear they would be taken. [After basketball games] we could walk home late at night. This could never be done today. . . .
Political matters
Founded in 1875, Newellton was in 1904 designated a villageVillage
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
. On April 4, 1951, under the Lawrason Act
Lawrason Act
The Lawrason Act is an 1898 measure of the Louisiana State Legislature which permits municipalities in the state to incorporate into towns or cities without specific clearance from the legislature....
, Newellton was upgraded to a town.
The mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
is the Democrat
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...
Alex Davis. There are also five aldermen and a police chief, Johnny Gales, also a Democrat. Davis, an African American, unseated the 28-year incumbent Mayor Edwin G. Preis, Sr.
Edwin G. Preis
Edwin Gustav Preis, Sr. , was a farmer and businessman who served from 1972 to 2000 as the Democratic mayor of the town of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana....
(1916-2011), a white businessman, in the primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
held on October 7, 2000. Davis received 366 votes (56.8 percent) to Preis' 184 (28.6 percent), and F.A. "Coonie" McVay's 94 votes (14.6 percent).
As of 2008, the Newellton clerk was Rhonda King, and there were three police officers who shared one patrol car and eighteen volunteer firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s.
Prior to 1968, each parish regardless of population had at least one member in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The 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...
. The last member to represent only Tensas Parish was then Democrat S. S. DeWitt
S. S. DeWitt
Sturgis Sprague DeWitt, known primarily as S.S. DeWitt was a farmer and businessman from Newellton and St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana who served as a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964–1972.In 1963, DeWitt unseated 20-year...
(1914–1998) of Newellton and later St. Joseph. DeWitt represented Tensas Parish from 1964–1968, and then from 1968–1972, he and Lantz Womack
Lantz Womack
Lantz Womack was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who served mostly Franklin Parish, from 1958, when he won a special election caused by the death of a freshman member, until his retirement in 1976...
of Winnsboro
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Winnsboro is a city in and the parish seat of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of July 2009, the estimated city population was 4,377...
, the seat of Franklin Parish, together represented Franklin, Tensas, and Madison
Madison Parish, Louisiana
-National protected areas:* Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge * Vicksburg National Military Park -Demographics:-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S...
parishes. Womack defeated DeWitt in single-member District 20 in the 1971 party primary. DeWitt later switched to 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...
affiliation.
In 1995, a Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
attorney, Democrat Phil Preis
Phil Preis
Phillip Wesley Preis, Sr., known as Phil Preis , is a Democratic politician and attorney, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who specializes in mergers and acquisitions. A native of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, Preis is the son of Patricia M. Preis of Newellton and Edwin...
, son of then Mayor Edwin Preis, was among sixteen gubernatorial candidates who sought to succeed Edwin Washington Edwards. He polled 133,271 (9 percent) of the votes statewide. In Tensas Parish, he received a plurality of the ballots, 1,233 votes (36.9 percent). The eventual winner of the election, 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...
Murphy J. "Mike" Foster, Jr.
Murphy J. Foster, Jr.
Murphy James "Mike" Foster, Jr. served as 53rd Governor of Louisiana from January 1996 until January 2004. Foster's father was Murphy J. Foster, Jr., but Mike Foster uses "Jr." even though he is technically Murphy J. Foster, III. Foster is a businessman, landowner, and sportsman in St...
, polled only 232 votes (6.9 percent) in Tensas Parish in the primary. When Preis ran again for governor in 1999, he polled 144 votes (4.2 percent) in his own Tensas Parish.
The former Newellton High School
Newellton High SchoolNewellton High School
Newellton High School was a rural public high school in Newellton in northern Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006...
, which served grades pre-kindergarten-12, had only seventy-four students at the close of the 2005-2006 academic year. The Tensas Parish School Board
Tensas Parish School Board
The Tensas Parish School Board is an entity responsible for the operation of public schools in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is headquartered in the town of St. Joseph....
first voted on May 18, 2006, by a four-to-three margin to keep Newellton High functioning for at least an additional year. Superintendent Carol Shipp Johnson had proposed that the school be closed and that all the Newellton students be bused to St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Louisiana
St. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
, the parish seat. Under the superintendent's proposal, high schools students would have attended Joseph Moore Davidson High School, which serves only grades 7-12 and also had a low enrollment.
Ultimately, it was decided to consolidate Newellton and Davidson schools into Tensas High School
Tensas High School
Tensas High School is the public secondary school which services all of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. Tensas High School, a term coined in 2006, was formerly known as Joseph Moore Davidson High School. It is located in the parish seat of St. Joseph. Pupils in grades 7-12 from throughout...
, with grades 7-12 at the Davidson campus in St. Joseph, where pupils from the zone of the former Waterproof High School in Waterproof
Waterproof, Louisiana
Waterproof is a town in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States with a population of 834 as of 2000 census. Waterproof is approximately seventeen miles north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish...
were already in attendance. Violence broke out at the consolidated school on November 2, 2006, when fourteen male students were arrested by the office of Tensas Parish Sheriff Rickey Jones.
Newellton High had a relatively new facility, and the board was reluctant to abandon a structure still in good condition even though the enrollment numbers could not sustain continuation. The elementary grades continue to operate on the Newellton campus through grade eight. Seventh and eighth graders in Tensas Parish outside of Newellton attend Tensas High School.
In August 1970, Newellton High School was among the last of Louisiana public school to be desegregated under federal court orders. William Edward "Bill" Vosburg (born October 13, 1940), a native of New Roads
New Roads, Louisiana
New Roads is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana is located in New Roads . The population was 4,996 at the 2000 census. The city's ZIP code is 70760...
, the seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, was the principal during the early years of transition. The superintendent at the time was Charles Ed Thompson (1932–1993), a Tensas Parish native who later accepted a position with the Louisiana Department of Education in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
under Superintendent Louis J. Michot
Louis J. Michot
Louis Joseph Michot, Jr. , is a prominent Lafayette, Louisiana, businessman, entrepreneur of the former Burger Chef restaurant chain, philanthropist, and a former Democratic state representative , member of the Louisiana Board of Education , and Louisiana State Education Superintendent...
.
After the desegregation of Newellton High School, numerous white pupils from throughout Tensas Parish then attended the private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, Tensas Academy in St. Joseph
Geography
Newellton is located at 32°4′22"N 91°14′21"W (32.072740, -91.239230).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 0.9 square miles (2.3 km²), of which, 0.8 square miles (2.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (12.64%) is water.
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 1,482 people, 536 households, and 376 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 1,960.2 people per square mile (752.9/km²). There were 595 housing units at an average density of 787.0 per square mile (302.3/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 34.41% White, 64.71% African American, 0.07% Asian, 0.20% 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 0.61% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.96% of the population.
There were 536 households out of which 37.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.5% 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, 30.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 26.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.19.
In the town the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 80.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $17,457, and the median income for a family was $21,029. Males had a median income of $23,333 versus $14,519 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 $9,365. About 33.8% of families and 38.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.9% of those under age 18 and 31.9% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
- Ray R. AllenRay R. AllenRay Robert Allen was a municipal public official and banker in Alexandria, Louisiana, who served in 1977 as secretary-treasurer and then finance director when his city converted from the commissioner to the mayor-council form of government.-Background:Allen was born in Yell County near Danville in...
, public official in AlexandriaAlexandria, LouisianaAlexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, Louisiana, was reared in Tensas Parish and graduated from Newelloton High School, ca. 1937.
- Sarah DorseySarah DorseySarah Dorsey was an American novelist and historian.-Biography:Born Sarah Anne Ellis to Thomas George Percy Ellis and Mary Malvina Routh in Natchez, Mississippi, she became a novelist and historian. She was known as the "companion" of Jefferson Davis, to whom she proved a great boon in his...
, author, historian, and benefactor of Jefferson DavisJefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, lived at the Routh Plantation near Newellton in the early 1850s.
- Emmitt DouglasEmmitt DouglasEmmitt James Douglas was an African-American businessman from New Roads, Louisiana, who served as president of his state's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1966 until his death....
, president of the Louisiana NAACP from 1966 until his death in 1981, was born in Newellton and educated in Tensas Parish public schools before he entered Xavier UniversityXavier University of LouisianaXavier University of Louisiana , located in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the United States, is a private, coeducational, liberal arts college with the distinction of being the only historically black Roman Catholic institution of higher education...
in New OrleansNew Orleans, LouisianaNew Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
.
- C.B. ForgotstonC.B. ForgotstonCharlton Bath Forgotston, Jr., known as C.B. Forgotston , is an attorney, political pundit, and state government watchdog who resides in Hammond, the principal city of Tangipahoa Parish, a part of the Florida Parishes east of Baton Rouge in southeastern Louisiana...
(born in Newellton in 1945) is a lawyerLawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in HammondHammond, LouisianaHammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
and a state governmentGovernmentGovernment refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
watchdog and political activist. Forgotston graduated from Newellton High School in 1962.
- James E. Paxton (born December 19, 1963) of Newellton is the district attorneyDistrict attorneyIn many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
for the 6th Judicial District based in TallulahTallulah, LouisianaTallulah is a city in and the parish seat of Madison Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 9,189 at the 2000 census...
. He succeeded Buddy CaldwellBuddy CaldwellJames David Caldwell, Sr., or Buddy Caldwell , is the Republican attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Prior to serving as attorney general, Caldwell was the district attorney for Madison, East Carroll, and Tensas parishes from 1979 to 2008...
after the latter's election in 2007 as Louisiana Attorney General.
- Leon "Pee Wee" WhittakerLeon "Pee Wee" WhittakerLeon "Pee Wee" Whittaker was an African American musician from the Mississippi River delta country of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas who was particularly known as a trombonist of jazz, blues, and rock music. From 1919 until his death, Whittaker performed with minstrel shows, carnival bands,...
, African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
trombonist, was born near Newellton. He is among the honorees of the Delta Music MuseumDelta Music MuseumThe Delta Music Museum is a museum located in Ferriday, Louisiana. It offers exhibits on sixteen rock and roll and blues musicians from the Mississippi River delta country. The museum opened with a grant from the State of Louisiana and is operated by local volunteers. There is no admission charge;...
in FerridayFerriday, LouisianaFerriday is a town in Concordia Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population, which is three-fourths African American, was 3,723 at the 2000 census....
in Concordia Parish. His career took him as far as CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
as well as all along the Mississippi River deltaRiver deltaA delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
country.
- Christy Oldham (born September 14, 1972) of Newellton is the co-owner of Mercury Rishing Films in Hollywood, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. She wrote the screen play and produced, directed, and starred in the full feature 2010 film Barracuda.
Further reading
- "John ... and Edward Newell", A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, Vol. 2 (1988), p. 600
External links
- Newellton Progress Community Progress Site for Newellton, LA
- http://www.thenewsstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060520/NEWS01/605200312/1002