Vivian, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Vivian.. Louisiana
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Town
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| Town of Vivian | |
Vivian water tower
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Location of Vivian in Caddo Parish, Louisiana.
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Location of Louisiana in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Caddo |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5.52 sq mi (14.29 km2) |
| • Land | 5.52 sq mi (14.29 km2) |
| • Water | 0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2) |
| Elevation | 256 ft (78 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 3,073 |
| • Rank | CD: 2nd |
| • Density | 557.01/sq mi (215.06/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code(s) | 318 |
| FIPS code | 22-78890 |
Vivian is a town in Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States and is home to the Red Bud Festival. The population was 3,671 at the 2010 census, down from 4,031 in 2000. Vivian is the second-largest municipality in Caddo Parish by population (after Shreveport)
History
From 1938 to 1946 and again from 1962 to 1966, the Vivian mayor was Earl G. Williamson, a political mainstay in northern Caddo Parish who also served on the then-police jury from 1933 to 1972 and again from 1979 to 1980. State law at the time permitted Williamson to occupy both posts. Williamson was succeeded as mayor in 1966 by Jimmy Wilson, a grocer and banker, who served until 1972, when he won his only term in the Louisiana House of Representatives. Wilson was the Republican candidate for the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana's 4th congressional district in 1978 and 1980.
Jasper "Jake" Smith, III (born 1935), a son of the late State Representative Jasper K. Smith, was reared in Vivian and recalls his hometown fondly in the 1940s in his memoir, Dinner with Mobutu: A Chronicle of My Life and Times:
"Vivian is fifty miles from Texarkana, and that was about as close as you could get and still be in Louisiana. Vivian [is] surrounded by the smaller towns of Rodessa, Ida, Oil City, Belcher, Gilliam, and Hosston. Vivian was the 'urban center' where citizens from the smaller towns came to shop, go to the movies, join in the excitement of city life as it was. To us, Vivian was the hub of the universe. At least it was the 'Heart of the ArkLaTex,' as folks down here liked to claim."
Geography
Vivian is located in northwestern Caddo Parish at 32°52′16″N 93°59′12″W / 32.87111°N 93.98667°W (32.870974, -93.986731). Louisiana Highway 1 passes through the center of the town, leading north 11 miles (18 km) to the Texas border at the northwest corner of Louisiana, and south 30 miles (48 km) to Shreveport. LA 2 leads east 7 miles (11 km) to U.S. Route 71 in Hosston.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Vivian has a total area of 5.5 square miles (14.2 km2), all of it land.
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1910 | 826 | — | |
| 1920 | 1,864 | 125.7% | |
| 1930 | 1,646 | −11.7% | |
| 1940 | 2,460 | 49.5% | |
| 1950 | 2,426 | −1.4% | |
| 1960 | 2,624 | 8.2% | |
| 1970 | 4,046 | 54.2% | |
| 1980 | 4,225 | 4.4% | |
| 1990 | 4,156 | −1.6% | |
| 2000 | 4,031 | −3.0% | |
| 2010 | 3,671 | −8.9% | |
| 2020 | 3,073 | −16.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 1,541 | 50.15% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 1,288 | 41.91% |
| Native American | 14 | 0.46% |
| Asian | 28 | 0.91% |
| Other/Mixed | 142 | 4.62% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 60 | 1.95% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,073 people, 1,395 households, and 898 families residing in the town.
Culture
Vivian has been the location of several recent films.
- Exterior shots of the supermarket in the film The Mist were shot in Vivian in 2007 with Tom's Market providing the basis.
- Outdoor scenes for Straw Dogs were filmed in the downtown region in 2009.
Education
The town's single government-sponsored cultural organization is the North Caddo Branch of the Shreve Memorial Library. The library is housed in the once-abandoned, now-restored North Caddo Elementary Middle School building.
Notable people
- Dan Flores, historian of the American West, born in Vivian in 1948
- Phil Robertson, inventor of Duck Commander Duck Calls and television personality on Duck Dynasty, born in Vivian in 1946
- Silas Robertson (born 1948), television personality
- Jasper Smith (1905-1992), Vivian lawyer, city attorney, and member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1944 to 1948 and then 1952 to 1964.
See also
In Spanish: Vivian (Luisiana) para niños
