Coushatta, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Coushatta | |
 Location of Coushatta in Red River Parish, Louisiana. | |
.svg) Location of Louisiana in the contiguous United States | |
| Coordinates:32°01′23″N93°20′30″W / 32.02306°N 93.34167°W /32.02306; -93.34167 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Red River |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ashanti Cole (I) |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.44 sq mi (8.90 km2) |
| • Land | 3.34 sq mi (8.65 km2) |
| • Water | 0.097 sq mi (0.25 km2) |
| Elevation | 141 ft (43 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 1,752 |
| • Density | 524.5/sq mi (202.52/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Zip Code | 71019 |
| Area code | 318 |
| FIPS code | 22-18055 |
| Website | townofcoushatta |
Coushatta is a town in, and theparish seat of,ruralRed River Parish in northLouisiana, United States.[2] It is situated on the east bank of theRed River. The community is approximately 45 miles south ofShreveport onU.S. Highway 71. The population, 2,299 at the2000 census, is nearly two-thirdsAfrican American, most with long family histories in the area. The2010 census, however, reported 1,964 residents, a decline of 335 persons, or nearly 15 percent during the course of the preceding decade.[3] In 2020, its population was 1,752. The city is named after theCoushatta, aNative American nation indigenous to the region.
Red River Parish and the Red River Valley were areas of unrest and whiteparamilitary activity and violence after theCivil War, and especially during the 1870s ofReconstruction. The parish developed aroundcotton cultivation andenslavedAfrican Americans who far outnumbered the whites. After the war, white planters and farmers tried to reestablish dominance over a majority of the population. Withemancipation and being granted citizenship and suffrage, African Americans tried to create their own lives.
Formed in May 1874 from white militias, theWhite League in Louisiana was increasingly well-organized in rural areas like Red River Parish. It worked to turn out theDemocratic Party, as well as suppressfreedmen'scivil rights and voting rights. It used violence against officeholders, running some out of town and killing others, and acted near elections to suppress black and white Republican voter turnout.[4]
In one of the more flagrant examples of violence, the White League in August 1874 captured six Republican officials in Coushatta, made them sign a pledge to leave the state, and escorted them when they wereassassinated on their departure from the state. Victims included the brother and three brothers-in-law of the RepublicanState SenatorMarshall H. Twitchell. Twitchell's wife and her brothers were from a family with long ties in Red River Parish. One of Twitchell's severalbiographies is an unpublished 1969dissertation atMississippi State University inStarkville by thehistorianJimmy G. Shoalmire, aShreveport native and a specialist inReconstruction studies.[5]
The White League also killed five to twenty freedmen who had been escorting the Republicans and were witnesses to the assassinations.[6] The events became known as theCoushatta Massacre and contributed to the Republican governor's requesting more federal troops from presidentUlysses S. Grant to help control the state. Ordinary Southerners wrote to the White House describing the terrible conditions and fear they lived under during these years.[7]
With increased fraud, violence and intimidation, whiteRedeemer Democrats gained control of the state legislature in 1876 and established a new system of one-party rule. They passed laws making elections more complicated and a new constitution with provisions that effectively disenfranchised most African Americans and many poorer whites. This disenfranchisement persisted for decades into the 20th century before passage ofcivil rights legislation and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.
AfterWorld War II, Dr. Lawrence Edward L'Herisson Sr., a native ofBossier Parish, built a 23-bed regional rural hospital in Coushatta. He subsequently relocated toShreveport.[8] Coushatta is now served by the 25-bed Christus Coushatta Health Care Center.[9]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km2), of which 3.3 square miles (8.5 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (2.91%) is water.
North of Coushatta,Loggy Bayou, which flows fromLake Bistineau, joins the Red River.
Thisclimatic region is typified by relatively small seasonal temperature variations, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and mild winters. According to theKöppen Climate Classification system, Coushatta has ahumid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.[10]
| Climate data for Coushatta, Louisiana | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 61 (16) | 64 (18) | 71 (22) | 77 (25) | 84 (29) | 89 (32) | 91 (33) | 91 (33) | 88 (31) | 80 (27) | 71 (22) | 63 (17) | 78 (26) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 41 (5) | 44 (7) | 51 (11) | 57 (14) | 66 (19) | 72 (22) | 74 (23) | 74 (23) | 69 (21) | 59 (15) | 50 (10) | 43 (6) | 58 (14) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 5.5 (140) | 3.3 (84) | 3.5 (89) | 3.6 (91) | 6.1 (150) | 6.1 (150) | 5.1 (130) | 4.8 (120) | 6 (150) | 3.9 (99) | 4.6 (120) | 4.6 (120) | 57.2 (1,450) |
| Source: Weatherbase[11] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 488 | — | |
| 1890 | 619 | 26.8% | |
| 1900 | 600 | −3.1% | |
| 1910 | 564 | −6.0% | |
| 1920 | 962 | 70.6% | |
| 1930 | 959 | −0.3% | |
| 1940 | 1,289 | 34.4% | |
| 1950 | 1,788 | 38.7% | |
| 1960 | 1,663 | −7.0% | |
| 1970 | 1,492 | −10.3% | |
| 1980 | 2,084 | 39.7% | |
| 1990 | 1,845 | −11.5% | |
| 2000 | 2,299 | 24.6% | |
| 2010 | 1,964 | −14.6% | |
| 2020 | 1,752 | −10.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[12] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 465 | 26.54% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,175 | 67.07% |
| Native American | 6 | 0.34% |
| Other/Mixed | 51 | 2.91% |
| Hispanic orLatino | 55 | 3.14% |
As of the2020 United States census, there were 1,752 people, 856 households, and 541 families residing in the town.
Coushatta is the home of C Troop 2-108th Cavalry Squadron, a unit dating back to theConfederate Army during the Civil War under the nickname "the Wildbunch." This unit was formerly known as A Company 1-156 Armor Battalion and served recently in Iraq during 2004–2005 under the256th Infantry Brigade. This unit returned from its second deployment to Iraq in 2010.
Coushatta and all of Red River Parish are served by theRed River Parish School District. Zoned campuses include Red River Elementary School (grades PK–5), Red River Junior High School (grades 6–8), andRed River Senior High School (grades 9–12). Coushatta is also home to Magnolia Bend Academy (grades PK-12), a “homeschool service” with both in-person and at-home enrollment options.
Newspapers includeThe Coushatta Citizen andRed River Parish Journal. Radio station KRRP broadcasts gospel music.
Huell Babineaux, a fictional character from the American television showsBreaking Bad andBetter Call Saul, is from Coushatta. Coushatta plays a pivotal role in theBetter Call Saulepisode of the same name.[15]
Municipalities and communities ofRed River Parish, Louisiana,United States | ||
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| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
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