Hessmer, Louisiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hessmer is a village in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 642 at the 2000 census.

The town was named by William Edenborn, railroad tycoon, who named the depot which came through the area, between the communities of Norma and Corner, in 1902. In 1955 the town was incorporated, according the book Hessmer Station, A Railroad Community turns 100 authored by Arlene Flanders and Randy DeCuir.

[edit] Geography

Hessmer is located at 31°3′17″N, 92°7′16″W (31.054727, -92.121076)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.9 km² (0.8 mi²), all land.

The village of Hessmer was incorporated in 1955, but the name was first noted for the community when William Edenborn named the depot there when building his railroad through the area in 1903.

Hessmer is the home town of David Smith a.k.a "Supa Dave", "Puddin".

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 642 people, 280 households, and 176 families residing in the village. The population density was 330.5/km² (855.1/mi²). There were 303 housing units at an average density of 156.0/km² (403.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 91.43% White, 6.70% African American, 1.56% Native American, and 0.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.16% of the population.

There were 280 households out of which 27.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 32.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the village the population was spread out with 23.8% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $24,659, and the median income for a family was $31,528. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $16,964 for females. The per capita income for the village was $12,449. About 15.3% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.1% of those under age 18 and 20.0% of those age 65 or over.