Simmesport, Louisiana
| Simmesport, Louisiana | |
| Town | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Avoyelles |
| Elevation | 30 ft (9.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 30°59′01″N 91°48′45″W / 30.98361°N 91.81250°WCoordinates: 30°59′01″N 91°48′45″W / 30.98361°N 91.81250°W |
| Area | 6.1 km2 (2.4 sq mi) |
| - land | 5.7 km2 (2.2 sq mi) |
| - water | 0.5 km2 (0.2 sq mi), 8.2% |
| Population | 2,161 (2010) |
| Density | 381.9/km2 (989.1/sq mi) |
| Mayor | Eric Rusk (R) (elected 2012) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 318 |
  Location of Simmesport in Louisiana
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 Location of Louisiana in the United States
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Simmesport is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,161 at the 2010 census. It is located near the juncture of the Red and Atchafalaya rivers with an outflow channel of the Mississippi River.
The town was founded by Bennet Barton Simmes (1811-1888), one-time owner of White Hall Plantation, which was located on the opposite bank of the Atchafalaya River.
Simmes' home was used as the military headquarters for the Union's Red River Campaign (1864) during the American Civil War. General Nathaniel P. Banks was superseded in command by E.R.S. Canby. General Ulysses S. Grant had sought Banks' removal for months, but President Lincoln would not dismiss Banks, who had strong political support in Congress. On May 18, 1864, Canby assumed command in Simmesport, but Banks retained the nominal title of commander of the Department of the Gulf. Historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana writes that the failure of the Union's Red River Campaign "could largely be laid at Banks' door, but there were many who shared in this failure."
In December 2005 industrialist Frank Stronach founded a new community just south of Simmesport known as Canadaville, a place intended to house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
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Wikipedia