Oak Grove, Louisiana

Town of Oak Grove
Town
Main Street - downtown Sunday morning
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	West Carroll
Elevation	121 ft (36.9 m)
Coordinates	32°51′41″N 91°23′21″W
Area	1.7 sq mi (4.4 km2)
- land	1.7 sq mi (4 km2)
- water	0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0%
Population	2,174 (2000)
Density	1,268.6 / sq mi (489.8 / km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP code	71263
Area code	318
Location of Oak Grove in Louisiana

Oak Grove is a town in, and the parish seat of, West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,174 at the 2000 census.

Geography

Oak Grove is located at 32°51′41″N 91°23′21″W (32.861361, -91.389043).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.7 square miles (4.5 km²), of which, 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (1.15%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,174 people, 792 households, and 517 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,268.6 people per square mile (490.9/km²). There were 894 housing units at an average density of 521.7 per square mile (201.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 69.23% White, 29.25% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.

There were 792 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.3% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.6% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 21.8% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 24.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 79.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 67.6 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $16,063, and the median income for a family was $20,729. Males had a median income of $22,708 versus $14,531 for females. The per capita income for the town was $10,183. About 33.2% of families and 39.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 58.6% of those under age 18 and 21.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Oak Grove High School front entrance

Public schools in West Carroll Parish are operated by the West Carroll Parish School Board.

The town of Oak Grove is served by Oak Grove Elementary School for grades Pre-Kindergarten to 6, and Oak Grove High School for grades 7 to 12. The schools' shared mascot is the tiger. Tiger football is one of the highlights of fall in Oak Grove, for the team has reached the playoffs every year except one since 1979.

Festivals

Each March, The North Louisiana Gospel Weekend is held in Oak Grove in the Thomas Jason Lingo Community Center. The Lingo Center also hosts a Bluegrass festival each April and October.

Jessie James Trade Days take place each September in downtown Oak Grove.

In April 2011 The West Carroll Chamber began West Carroll's newest festival, The North Louisiana Sweet Potato Festival, to celebrate the parish's most popular crop.

Fiske Theatre

The Fiske Theatre

The Fiske Theatre, located in downtown Oak Grove, is the oldest operating movie theatre in northeast Louisiana. The first facility was built in 1928; when the current building was constructed in 1950, the theater had the largest screen in northeast Louisiana, at 18'x33'. According to a plaque in its lobby, the theater was named as the most modern and advanced theater in 1951 by the Theatre Equipment Catalog. On January 29, 2010 the Fiske debuted its DTS sound system with its showing of Sherlock Holmes.^{[citation needed]}

On November 19, 2011 the Fiske ended the 35mm era with the debut of its Dolby Digital Projection system powered by a Barco DP3000 projector. The Fiske is now as technologically equipped as its nearest competitors in Monroe, La. which is 60 miles away.

The Fiske Theatre is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, with a Sunday-afternoon matinee, showing a different first-run feature each week. The Fiske Theatre is owned by the West Carroll Chamber of Commerce and operated by Holland Entertainment LLC.

Notable natives and residents

• Lee Fletcher, political consultant reared in Oak Grove and graduate of Oak Grove High.
• Tommy Harper, Major League Baseball player
• Ray Marshall, United States Secretary of Labor under President Jimmy Carter
• Bill Myrick, country music figure in Odessa, Texas
• Spencer Myrick, former state legislator
• Dave L. Pearce, Louisiana state commissioner of agriculture from 1952–1956 and 1960-1976. He was born in Oak Grove in 1904.
• Tony Joe White, singer and songwriter who wrote Rainy Night in Georgia
• Kenny Hill, football player, Super Bowl Champions, 1987 New York Giants..
• Roy A. Burrell, Louisiana State Representative, Shreveport, La.

External links

• Oak Grove Progress Community Progress Site for Oak Grove, LA