Castor, Louisiana









Castor is a village in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, United States. The population was 209 at the 2000 census but increased 23 percent to 258 in 2010. The median age is 32.2 years. The village was established in 1900. The name "Castor" refers to the genus Castoridae beaver.

Castor's Zip Code is 71016, and its telephone numbers start with 544. Both of these numbers are also used in the adjacent communities of Alberta, Roy, New Ramah, Ashland, and New Hope. Although not all these communities are recognized as townships, they are on Bienville Parish maps. People living adjacent to Castor, but not within the city limits, often file information as being "from Castor." The Castor Zip Code which rests against Jamestown, Kepler Lake, and Ashland is a more accurate representation of Castor's actual self-proclaimed population.

History
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.

Dr. Dempsey Sullivan was a physician who saw patients from horseback. His daughter, Willie Sullivan, married Sam Smith, and the couple had twenty-one children. All but one of the children who died are interred at the New Ebenezer Cemetery. Mrs. Bonnie Daniel and Mrs. Merlene Young lived the furthest away in Weatherford and Kerrville, Texas, respectively, but they too are buried at Ebenezer.

The Sam and Willie Sullivan Smith family, one of the oldest in Castor, lost six members in a tornado in 1950. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Elaine Smith, Celia Sullivan (Mrs. Smith's sister), Dottie Jo Knotts, and Prentice Little were all killed. The homestead was wiped clean except for a bucket on the water well which remained undisturbed. The Smith family sold most of its land to Jerry "Cotton" Guin, an employee of Libbey Glass in Shreveport, who raised bees there until 2009.

The Louisiana rails to trails project, which extends from Sibley to Winnfield, deconstructed the once Kansas City Southern Railway track to make a recreational nature trail that, on completion, runs through the center of Castor

The first school in Castor was located in the former Masonic lodge building near the site of the present United Methodist Church. By 1912, Castor State Bank joined a small group of businesses on North Front Street. The bank and other buildings burned in 1929. A new bank building, a two-story brick structure opened, with the upper floor reserved for the Masonic lodge. This bank closed in 1933, but the top floor was still maintained by the lodge and the Order of the Eastern Star, which had been chartered in Castor on June 6, 1912. In the winter of 1983, fire destroyed this building, and the lodge records were lost. A new lodge hall was constructed in 1985 across from the Methodist Church.

In the late evening of April 23, 2000, Castor was struck by a tornado with a half-mile-wide path of destruction, which caused massive damage. There were no injuries, but the infrastructure damage caused the closure of business and public buildings for an extended period of time.

Discovered in 2007-2008, the Haynesville Shale, one of the largest natural gas deposits in the United States, sits underneath northwest Louisiana, including Castor.

Geography
Castor is located at 32.25278°N, -93.165°W (32.252757, -93.164933).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.2 sqmi, all land.

Landscape
At ground level, Castor seems flat and surrounded by trees; however, in reality it sets in a valley which makes it a dead-area for cell phone coverage.

The so-called "town" area or center of Castor is the 4-way stop caution light, but the city limits extend from the light for about a quarter mile in all directions.

Castor Creek is a branch of Black Lake Bayou, which flows about four miles southwest of Castor.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 209 people, 88 households, and 52 families residing in the village. The population density was 174.6 inhabitants per square mile (67.2/km²). There were 101 housing units at an average density of 84.4 per square mile (32.5/km²). 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.

Religion










Castor has two churches within the immediate village: The United Methodist on Louisiana Highway 507 and First Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist affiliate on Front Street adjacent to the Castor School Complex. South on Louisiana Route 153 is the New Ebenezer Baptist Church, also a Southern Baptist congregation.

Castor has three cemeteries: the Old Castor Cemetery east of the downtown area toward the village of Lucky, the Page Family Cemetery located directly behind the New Ebenezer Baptist Church, and the New Ebenezer Cemetery affiliated with the New Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Castor government
Myrtis Lucille Gregory Methvin was the first woman mayor of Castor, having served from 1933-1945. She was also one of the first women mayors in Louisiana, but Lula Wardlow of Montgomery in Grant Parish, preceded her as a woman mayor, having served from 1926-1930.

Current Castor Mayor Victoria Pickett assumed office early in 2009 following the illness and subsequent death of former Mayor Sally Gray.

Education
Castor has one school located on Front Street. The complex contains a Pre-K and Kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school buildings. The current principal is Dr. James Guin.

Public transportation
Council on Aging works in the area to give elderly and disabled means of transportation.

Roads
Running through Castor are three main highways: Hwy 153 (known in Castor as Front Street), Hwy 507 and Hwy 4 which intersect in the middle of Castor at a 4-way-stop caution light. Other roads include: The Ridge Rd, Elm St, Pardee St, Oak St, Watson Rd and Lodge St.

Water systems
Castor and the area around has two sources of water: the Castor Water System and Alberta Water System. The Alberta Water System was founded by local businessman Reginald A. Page.

Media
The primary source of news in Castor is the Shreveport Times. There are also the Ringgold Progress and the Bienville Democrat, which is published in Arcadia.

Cable television does not reach into Castor area. Viewers rely on antennas or satellites for coverage.

Economy
Castor has several businesses: The General Store, a gasoline station, flower shop, a cafe, a beauty shop, a laundromat, a branch of the Bank of Ringgold, United States Post Office, retirement homes, and a mobile home park.

Notable people

 * Jamie Fair, member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1980–1984
 * John Len Lacy, represented Bienville Parish in the Louisiana House from 1964–1968
 * J. Frank McInnis, Louisiana state court judge (1930–1953), based in Minden, was born in Castor.
 * E. R. Minchew, principal of Castor High School (1932–1964)
 * Enoch T. Nix, banker from Bossier City and 30-year member of the Louisiana State Board of Education and its replacement body, the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, was born in Jamestown but graduated from Castor High School.
 * Stephen Pate, Business and marketing operations manager for 2010 World Champion New Orleans Saints football team (2008–present)
 * Lee Smith, pitcher, awaiting his nomination to the Baseball Hall of Fame