Arcadia, Louisiana











Arcadia is a town in and the parish seat of Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,041 at the 2000 census.

Pilgrim's Pride, a poultry company, announced early in 2009 the closure of its feed mill in Arcadia as well as the ending of other operations in nearby Athens in Claiborne Parish, Choudrant in Lincoln Parish, and Farmerville in Union Parish. The impact cost North Louisiana a combined 1,300 jobs. Several weeks later, however, Pilgrim's Pride accepted an $80 million offer from Foster Farms of California to purchase the operations. In addition, to the 1,300 direct jobs, mostly in Farmerville, the purchase spares the small farms of some three hundred independent growers. Foster Farms put up $40 million and the State of Louisiana a matching $40 million. Foster Farms will further invest $10 million in capital improvements at the Farmerville plant, to be matched by the state, in an agreement announced by Governor Bobby Jindal.

In 1934, the corpses of the young fugitives Bonnie and Clyde were brought for embalming to the former Conger Funeral Home in Arcadia, the couple having been shot to death in a volley of bullets from six law-enforcement officers from both Bienville Parish and Dallas County, Texas. The bodies were then sent to Dallas for separate funerals and interments. The ambush occurred southwest of Arcadia on Louisiana State Highway 154 between Gibsland and Sailes. The focus of tourism regarding Bonnie and Clyde has been at Gibsland, where L.J. "Boots" Hinton, son of posse member Ted Hinton, operates the Bonnie and Clyde Ambush Museum.

Geography
Arcadia is located at 32.55194°N, -92.92417°W (32.551931, -92.924233) and has an elevation of 384 ft.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.0 sqmi, all of it land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,041 people, 1,071 households, and 737 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,025.6 people per square mile (395.3/km²). There were 1,231 housing units at an average density of 415.2 per square mile (160.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 37.98% White, 60.57% African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.26% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.

There were 1,071 households out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.0% were married couples living together, 27.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the town of Arcadia, the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 81.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $21,661, and the median income for a family was $26,250. Males had a median income of $25,885 versus $17,279 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,962. About 27.1% of families and 31.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.7% of those under age 18 and 20.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government
The Bienville Parish Courthouse is located in a residential section of Arcadia.

The weekly newspaper, the Bienville Democrat, is edited by Priscilla Smith, and published on Thursdays.

Education
Arcadia's two public schools are located in the Arcadia School Complex, which encompasses both Arcadia High School and Crawford Elementary.

Among the numerous churches in downtown Arcadia are First United Methodist Church and the First Baptist Church, both in large sanctuaries. The Louisiana Baptist Convention was founded in 1848 in nearby Mount Lebanon.

Transportation
The Arcadia-Bienville Parish Airport is located two nautical miles (2.3 mi, 3.7 km) southwest of Arcadia's central business district.

Notable people

 * H. Welborn Ayres, practiced law in Arcadia prior to becoming a Fourth Judicial District judge in 1942.
 * Marcus Fizer, Professional basketball player, former collegiate All-American at Iowa State University (1999–2000) and McDonald's All-American from Arcadia High School (1996–1997).
 * Berry Hinton, Louisiana Tech University baseball coach from 1943 to 1967; died in Arcadia in 2000.
 * Dub Jones - Retired Pro Bowler born in 1924.
 * Henderson Jordan (1896–1958), Bienville Parish sheriff who participated in the ambush of Bonnie and Clyde
 * Danny Roy Moore (born 1925), former state senator from Bienville and Claiborne parishes
 * Prentiss Oakley (1905–1957), Jordan's successor as sheriff; also part of the posse that brought down Bonnie and Clyde
 * Bob Reese, Republican political activist born in Arcadia
 * Bettye Swann - soul singer best known for the 1967 hit, "Make Me Yours."
 * Lorris M. Wimberly, former three-time Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
 * Rush Wimberly, former member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature
 * Frederick Tuiel, Graduate of Arcadia High School (1998), Enlisted in the United States Navy (1999) currently a Chief Petty Officer. Attended University of Phoenix, Central Texas College, Old Dominion University.