Castor, Louisiana

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Village of Castor
Village
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Bienville
Area	1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²)
- land	1.2 sq mi (3.1 km²)
- water	0.0 sq mi (0 km²), 0%
Center
- coordinates	32°15′10″N 93°09′54″W / 32.25278, -93.165Coordinates: 32°15′10″N 93°09′54″W / 32.25278, -93.165
- elevation	174 ft (53 m)
Population	209 (2000)
Density	174.6 /sq mi (67.4 /km²)
Mayor	Sally P. Gray
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code	318
Location of Castor in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Castor is a village in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 209 at the 2000 census. It was established in 1900.

During the American Civil War, Castor supplied salt for the Confederate States of America. A salt works was operated west of Castor by Alfred P. King.

On April 23, 2000, Castor was struck by a tornado with a ½-mile-wide path in the late evening, which caused massive damage. There were no injuries, but the infrastructure damage caused by the tornado and the ensuing heavy rains caused many business and public buildings to close for an extended period.

From 1964-1968, Bienville Parish was represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives by the Democrat John Len Lacy (1900-1998), a Castor businessman, farmer, and cattleman. Earlier, Lacy had served thirty-three years on the Bienville Parish School Board.

Castor has two main cemeteries: the Old Castor Cemetery east of town and the New Ebenezer Cemetery south of Castor on the highway to Ashland. New Ebenezer is affiliated with the Ebenezer Baptist Church. There is also a small Page Cemetery immediately behind the church.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 Government
4 References

[edit] Geography

Castor is located at 32°15′10″N, 93°9′54″W (32.252757, -93.164933)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.1 km² (1.2 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 209 people, 88 households, and 52 families residing in the village. The population density was 67.2/km² (174.6/mi²). There were 101 housing units at an average density of 32.5/km² (84.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 85.17% White, 11.96% African American, 2.87% from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.83% of the population.

There were 88 households out of which 30.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 10.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 38.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 23.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.25.

In the village the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 5.3% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 14.8% from 45 to 64, and 19.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.2 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $23,125, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $23,750 versus $35,833 for females. The per capita income for the village was $11,963. About 17.3% of families and 20.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.8% of those under the age of eighteen and 15.7% of those sixty five or over.