Minden, Louisiana
Encyclopedia : M : MI : MIN : Minden, Louisiana
The small city of Minden is the parish seat of Webster Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. It is located twenty-eight miles east of Shreveport. The population, which has been remarkably stable since 1960, was 13,027 at the 2000 census.
History
Minden was established in 1836 by Charles H. Veeder. He named it for the town of Minden in Germany. Native sons of Minden include former Democratic Governor Robert F. Kennon, who served from 1952-1956, and Sweet Lou Dunbar.During the Civil War, a large Confederate encampment was located just east of Minden. It housed about 15,000 Confederate soldiers. The town served as a supply depot for the Confederate Army. Some thirty Confederate soldiers who died in the Battle of Mansfield and the battle of Pleasant Hill are buried in the Old Minden Cemetery.
During the Great Depression, one of the two Minden banks failed, and a fire destroyed a major section of the downtown area (1931).
On May 1, 1933, a tornado destroyed 20 percent of the homes in Minden.
In 1966, Minden became one of the first two cities in Louisiana to elect a Republican as mayor. Tom Colten (1922-2004) served from 1966-1974, and went on to head the Department of Transportation and Development under three governors of both parties. The city, however, is otherwise heavily Democratic. The other Louisiana community to elect a Republican mayor in 1966 was Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish.
A 1959 Minden High School graduate, Jerry Huckaby, served in Congress as a Democrat from 1977-1993. He represented the Fifth Congressional District, which did not include Minden.
Minden was also the home of a former Louisiana Democratic lieutenant governor, Coleman Lindsay, who served from 1939-1940, under Earl Kemp Long.
Geography
Minden is located at (32.616761, -93.283296)[Geographic references#1GR1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 31.0 km² (12.0 mi²). 30.8 km² (11.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.75%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 13,027 people, 5,166 households, and 3,430 families residing in the city. The population density was 423.0/km² (1,095.2/mi²). There were 5,795 housing units at an average density of 188.2/km² (487.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 46.34% White, 52.17% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.61% of the population.There were 5,166 households out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couples living together, 22.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 30.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.05.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 8.6% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 84.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,175, and the median income for a family was $31,477. Males had a median income of $28,401 versus $19,199 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,114. About 21.0% of families and 26.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.3% of those under age 18 and 20.1% of those age 65 or over.
External links
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