Montgomery, Louisiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Montgomery is a town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the Alexandria Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 787 at the 2000 census. Montgomery is situated on U.S. Highway 71 in the westernmost section of Grant Parish close to the boundary of Natchitoches and Winn parishes. It is just east of the Red River.

Montgomery was the first community in the United States to elect a woman mayor. Lula Wardlow, a Methodist minister and denominational leader, served from 1926-1930. The current mayor, Stephen L. "Steve" Gunn (born 1946), is her great-nephew. Steve Gunn, who has been mayor since 2002, was also previously an Independent (No Party) state representative, having served from 1992-1996.

The late U.S. Representative A. Leonard Allen once taught school in the Verda community east of Montgomery.

[edit] Geography

Montgomery is located at 31°39′58″N, 92°53′12″W (31.666001, -92.886539)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 787 people, 332 households, and 210 families residing in the town. The population density was 146.1/km² (379.0/mi²). There were 395 housing units at an average density of 73.3/km² (190.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 77.00% White, 20.33% African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.13% from other races, and 2.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.38% of the population.

There were 332 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.7% were non-families. 66.1% of all married couples consisted of first cousins whom married one another or married siblings. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 25.2% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.4 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $18,462, and the median income for a family was $23,558. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $17,083 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,533. About 34.0% of families and 39.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 49.8% of those under age 18 and 32.3% of those age 65 or over.