Coushatta, Louisiana

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The town of Coushatta is the parish seat of rural Red River Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,299 at the 2000 census. The community is approximately 45 miles south of Shreveport on U.S. Highway 71. Coushatta is nearly 2/3 African-American.

James Durrwood Bogan, a Coushatta native, won the Navy Cross in World War II.

1 The Fowlers of Coushatta
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 National Guard
5 External link
6 External links

[edit] The Fowlers of Coushatta

Coushatta was once the stronghold of a political dynasty.

Douglas Fowler (1906-1980), Red River Parish clerk of court (1940-1952) and Coushatta mayor (1952-1954), was appointed the third Louisiana "custodian of voting machines" after the first two appointees of Governor Earl Kemp Long stepped down following brief tenures. Fowler was nominated to the post in the 1960 Democratic runoff primar and was thereafter a runaway victor in the general election. The office was renamed "commissioner of elections" under the 1974 Constitution. Fowler was elected five times statewide as head of the elections division.

Fowler was succeeded in the post in 1980 by his son, Jerry M. Fowler (born 1940), of nearby Natchitoches. Jerry Fowler, like his father, was also elected five times. Therefore, a member of the Fowler family had controlled the Louisiana elections office for a full four decades.

Douglas Fowler's younger brother, Hendrix Marion "Mutt" Fowler, Sr., was the mayor of Coushatta and later a Democratic state representative from 1972-1986. He resigned his House seat to become executive director of the Sabine River Authority in Many and was removed from the position amid a scandal involving the circumvention of state bid laws and spending limited funds on low-priority projects. He ultimately served 45 days in the Sabine Parish jail.

In his first election, Jerry Fowler defeated a Republican candidate from Franklin Parish, John Henry Baker, who campaigned on a promise to abolish the elections commissioner's office and return it to the jurisdiction of the Louisiana secretary of state. Long had stripped Secretary of State Wade O. Martin, Jr., of election duties and created the "custodian" position, which became the "commissioner" of elections. Baker polled 37 percent of the vote on the theme that voters should elect him to an office that he wanted to abolish.

Jerry Fowler pleaded guilty in 2000 to state and federal charges of malfeasance in office and conspiracy to launder kickbacks from overcharges to state voting machine vendors. He had been denied a general election ballot spot in 1999 by some 9,000 votes, was convicted of the charges, and imprisoned in Texas. The election commissioner's position went to Republican Suzanne Haik Terrell, who completed the proposal made by John Henry Baker more than two decades earlier and returned the duties to the secretary of state, effective in 2004.

[edit] Geography

Coushatta is located at 32°1′23″N, 93°20′30″W (32.023162, -93.341775)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.9 km² (3.4 mi²). 8.7 km² (3.3 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (2.91%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,299 people, 738 households, and 512 families residing in the town. The population density was 265.0/km² (686.5/mi²). There were 823 housing units at an average density of 94.9/km² (245.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 33.19% White, 65.42% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.39% from other races, and 0.74% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 738 households out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were married couples living together, 31.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.48.

In the town the population was spread out with 33.3% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females there were 78.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $15,500, and the median income for a family was $18,958. Males had a median income of $30,938 versus $13,833 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,228. About 44.6% of families and 49.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 64.0% of those under age 18 and 19.7% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] National Guard

Coushatta is the home of A Troop 2-108th Cavalry Squadron a unit dating back to the American Civil War under the nickname "the Wildbunch". This unit was formerly known as A Company 1-156 Armor Battalion and served recently in Iraq during 2004-5 under the 256th Infantry Brigade.