Oakdale, Louisiana

Oakdale, Louisiana
La ville de chêne par vaux
City
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Allen
Elevation	112 ft (34.1 m)
Coordinates	30°48′48″N 92°39′38″W / 30.81333°N 92.66056°WCoordinates: 30°48′48″N 92°39′38″W / 30.81333°N 92.66056°W
Area	13.6 km^2 (5.3 sq mi)
- land	13.4 km^2 (5.2 sq mi)
- water	0.2 km^2 (0.1 sq mi), 1.47%
Population	7,780 (2010)
Density	578.5/km^2 (1,498.3/sq mi)
Mayor	Mayor Gene Paul
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code	318
Location of Oakdale in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Oakdale is a small city in Allen Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2010 census.^[1]

Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn. The Leatherwood Museum, which contains the history of Allen Parish, reopened in a renovated facility on September 27, 2008.^[2]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.3 square miles (13.6 km²), of which 5.2 square miles (13.4 km²) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km²), or 1.18%, is water.^[1] Oakdale's closest neighbor in Allen Parish is Elizabeth, located just west of Oakdale.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1920	4,016		—
1930	3,188		−20.6%
1940	3,933		23.4%
1950	5,598		42.3%
1960	6,618		18.2%
1970	7,301		10.3%
1980	7,155		−2.0%
1990	6,832		−4.5%
2000	8,137		19.1%
2010	7,780		−4.4%
Est. 2015	7,710	[3]	−0.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]

As of the census^[5] of 2000, there were 8,137 people, 2,246 households, and 1,525 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,603.6 people per square mile (619.7/km²). There were 2,512 housing units at an average density of 495.1 per square mile (191.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 62.07% White, 34.94% African American, 0.57% Native American, 1.23% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.33% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.22% of the population.

There were 2,246 households out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 23.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.1% were non-families. 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the city the population was spread out with 21.2% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 38.6% from 25 to 44, 18.3% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 157.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 179.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $22,826, and the median income for a family was $28,506. Males had a median income of $32,179 versus $16,039 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,288. About 21.7% of families and 23.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.1% of those under age 18 and 22.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Four former Louisiana politicians, former Lieutenant Governors Coleman Lindsey and Bill Dodd, former State Treasurer Mary Evelyn Parker, and former State Representative E. Holman Jones, have roots in Oakdale.

Howard J. Rush, Sr. (1927-2015), the founder of Rush Funeral Homes, Rush Furniture, Great Central Life Insurance, Great Central Fire Insurance, and Rush Finance Co., and philanthropist was from Oakdale.

John Pershing Navarre (1928-2016), a native of Duson, was the Oakdale city judge from 1967 to 1990 and judge of the 33rd Judicial Court from 1990 to 1994.^[6]

Federal prison

Oakdale is home to the Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex, a minimum security prison for male inmates, which include former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers who is serving a 25-year sentence for his involvement in the accounting scandal that toppled that company.^[7] The prison also held former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards, who served over eight years of a ten-year sentence for his involvement in a 2000 riverboat gambling racketeering case. Other notable inmates who once served time at the prison include former Governor Don Siegelman of Alabama, who was serving a seven-year sentence but has been released pending appeal,^[8] and Andrew Fastow, the former Chief Financial Officer for Enron Corporation, who is serving six years. Former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown also served time in the facility.^[9] Former New Orleans city councilman Oliver Thomas, currently serving a 37-month federal prison sentence after pleading guilty to accepting bribes, served the duration of his sentence at the Oakdale complex.^[10]

Oriented strand board plant

In April 2009, the Roy O. Martin Lumber Company, doing business as Martco, unveiled a $200 million oriented-strand-board plant near Oakdale. The largest plant of its kind in the world, the facility initially employed 170 persons, according to company president Roy O. Martin, III, who father and former company head Roy O. Martin, Jr., had died a month before the Oakdale plant opened.^[11]

Oakdale Louisiana is also home to one of Boise Cascade LLC.'s plywood plant.

References

1. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Oakdale city, Louisiana". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Retrieved May 14, 2013.
2. Bill Sumrall (September 27, 2008). "A step into past: Museum showcases history of Allen Parish". The Town Talk (Alexandria). Retrieved May 14, 2013.
3. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
4. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
5. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on September 11, 2013. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
6. "Judge John P. Navarre". The Monroe News-Star. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
7. For Webber, Oakdale is no Place Like Home from Network World, September 27, 2006
8. Around the Nation - washingtonpost.com
9. Frequently Asked Questions from www.jimbrownla.com
10. Former New Orleans city councilman Oliver Thomas transferred to prison in Louisiana from The Times-Picayune, 25 June 2009
11. Tom Bonnette (April 24, 2007). "Growing in Cenla: Martco 's $200M OSB plant near Oakdale is world's largest". Alexandria Town Talk. Retrieved July 27, 2014.

External links

• Oakdale Federal Correctional Complex