Harrisonburg, Louisiana

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Village of Harrisonburg
Village
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Catahoula
Area	1.0 sq mi (2.6 km²)
- land	0.9 sq mi (2.3 km²)
- water	0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²), 10%
Center
- coordinates	31°46′20″N 91°49′39″W / 31.77222, -91.8275Coordinates: 31°46′20″N 91°49′39″W / 31.77222, -91.8275
- elevation	79 ft (24.1 m)
Population	746 (2000)
Density	792.5 /sq mi (306 /km²)
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code	318
Location of Harrisonburg in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

The village of Harrisonburg is the parish seat of Catahoula Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. The population was 746 at the 2000 census.

Harrisonburg was once a trade capital because of its location on the Ouachita River, with easy access to the Mississippi River and New Orleans. The Harrisonburg Road or the Natchez Trace ran through the area as it crossed Louisiana into Texas to connect with the El Camino Real.

Harrisonburg was considered for the new site of the Louisiana state capital when the legislature decided to leave New Orleans.^[1]

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demographics
4 References

[edit] Geography

Harrisonburg is located at 31°46′20″N, 91°49′39″W (31.772177, -91.827403)^[2].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.7 km² (1.0 mi²). 2.4 km² (0.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (10.48%) is water.

[edit] History

Fort Beauregard, which is located .25 miles outside the village, was a Confederate stronghold during the American Civil War. It successfully defended Harrisonburg from the attack of four Union gunboats on the Ouachita River.

The village of Harrisonburg organized renactments at Fort Beauregard, also known as Fort Hill, but those ceremonies ended early in the new 21st century.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 746 people, 142 households, and 91 families residing in the village. The population density was 306.4/km² (792.5/mi²). There were 157 housing units at an average density of 64.5/km² (166.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 43.43% White, 54.83% African American, 1.47% Asian, and 0.27% from two or more races.

There were 142 households out of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 34.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 22.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.24.

In the village the population was spread out with 13.4% under the age of 18, 22.4% from 18 to 24, 42.5% from 25 to 44, 12.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 273.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 316.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $21,786, and the median income for a family was $31,250. Males had a median income of $15,000 versus $14,167 for females. The per capita income for the village was $6,242, making it the poorest census-designated place in the state. About 17.1% of families and 27.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.2% of those under age 18 and 25.7% of those age 65 or over.