Simmesport is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,239 at the 2000 census.
Norma McCorvey, a.k.a, "Jane Roe", the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, was born in Simmesport in 1947.
Demographics
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 2,239 people, 751 households, and 510 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,036.5 people per square mile (400.2/km²). There were 830 housing units at an average density of 384.2/sq mi (148.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 52.08% White, 46.67% African American, 0.22% American Indian, 0.22% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races. Hispanic of any race were 0.76% of the population.
There were 751 households out of which 37.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 23.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.18.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 10.0% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 34 years. For every 100 females there were 70.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 59.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $15,455, and the median income for a family was $19,115. Males had a median income of $22,153 versus $15,938 for females. The per capita income for the town is $8,061. About 33.0% of families and 35.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.5% of those under age 18 and 28.6% of those age 65 or over.
The cusp of tributaries and distributaries
Simmesport sits very near the end of the Red River and the beginning of the Atchafalaya River, where formerly water from the Mississippi flowed freely into the Atchafalaya. Early in this century, a control structure was contructed on the Mississippi to regulate the division of flow between the two. Some advocates for wetland renewal recommend increasing the flow of water into the Atchafalaya basin in the interest of replenishing land lost to coastal subsidence.
References
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
See also
