Plain Dealing, Louisiana

History

In 1839, George Oglethorpe Gilmer and his son, James Blair Gilmer, bought 5,000 acres of this land—then described as a "vast, unsettled wilderness"—from the United States government, calling a portion of this acreage "Plain Dealing" after the family's Virginia plantation. The "Plain Dealing" name became official when the town was formally chartered on April 24, 1890.

On March 26, 1893, during an evening school dance at Plain Dealing High School, a fight broke out. Two students were shot and killed immediately, two more were fatally wounded, and an instructor was wounded.

Geography

Plain Dealing is 8 mi south of the Arkansas border and 31 mi north of Shreveport.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.1 sqkm, of which 0.01 sqkm, or 0.26%, is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Plain Dealing has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded in Plain Dealing was 114 F on August 10, 1936, while the coldest temperature recorded was -14 F on February 13, 1899.

|Jan record high F = 85 |Feb record high F = 91 |Mar record high F = 93 |Apr record high F = 95 |May record high F = 99 |Jun record high F = 108 |Jul record high F = 111 |Aug record high F = 114 |Sep record high F = 107 |Oct record high F = 103 |Nov record high F = 94 |Dec record high F = 87

|Jan record low F = -4 |Feb record low F = -14 |Mar record low F = 13 |Apr record low F = 26 |May record low F = 35 |Jun record low F = 45 |Jul record low F = 52 |Aug record low F = 51 |Sep record low F = 36 |Oct record low F = 22 |Nov record low F = 11 |Dec record low F = 0

|access-date = April 7, 2023 |access-date = April 7, 2023 |access-date = April 7, 2023

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 893 people, 424 households, and 192 families residing in the town.

Education

The community is in the Bossier Parish School District. There is one school in the community, Plain Dealing High School, which covers grades Pre-Kindergarten through 12. Its attendance boundary includes all of Plain Dealing.

White and black students had separate K-12 schools, under educational segregation in the United States. White students went to Plain Dealing High School, then K-12, while black students went to Carrie Martin High School, a K-12 school established in 1952 by its namesake. In 1969 the white and black schools were consolidated into a single school with two campuses, later separated into Plain Dealing Elementary School and Plain Dealing High School. The elementary school was renamed Carrie Martin Elementary School in 2003. In 2017 the district announced that it will merge Martin Elementary into Plain Dealing High, and stop using the former elementary facility.

Notable people

• William Benton Boggs (1854–1922), first mayor of Plain Dealing in 1890
• Ryan Gatti (born 1974), state senator from Bossier City since 2016
• Booker T. Huffman Jr aka Booker T, American professional wrestler
• A. P. Tugwell (1889–1976), the longest-serving Louisiana state treasurer
• Joseph David "Joe" Waggonner, Jr. (1918–2007), a former congressman
• W. E. "Willie" Waggonner (1905–1976), sheriff of Bossier Parish from 1948 until his death in office
• Greg Stumon (born 1963), retired defensive end Canadian Football League

References

References

1. "Bossier Parish candidates".
2. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
3. James A. Marples. (March 31, 2015). "Finding 'real deal' in Plain Dealing".
4. "MY HOMETOWN : PLAIN DEALING, LOUISIANA".
5. (March 27, 1893). "Shot to Death at a Dance". [[San Francisco Call.
6. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Plain Dealing town, Louisiana". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder.
7. "State Climate Extremes Committee".
8. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
9. "Explore Census Data".
10. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Bossier Parish, LA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
11. "Plain Dealing High School". [[Bossier Parish School District]].
12. "Plain Dealing Attendance Zone Map". [[Bossier Parish School Board]].
13. Jimenez, Mary. (October 3, 2006). "Carrie Martin Alumni Stay Active Supporting School". [[The Times (Shreveport, Louisiana).
14. "Remodeling underway for merging Plain Dealing schools". [[KTBS-TV]].
15. "My Hometown: Plain Dealing, Louisiana". oocities.org.
16. (2012). "Booker T: From Prison to Promise: Life Before the Squared Circle". Medallion Press.