Haynesville is a town in northern Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States, located just south of the Arkansas border. The population was 2,039 in 2020. Haynesville is known as the "Gateway to North Louisiana" and the "Butterfly Capital of Louisiana". Loice Kendrick-Lacy of Haynesville published Gardening To Attract Butterflies: The Beauty And The Beast (2012). Kendrick-Lacy begins with memories of her childhood, when she was introduced to butterflies by her grandmother.

History

The town of Haynesville is the namesake of the Haynesville Shale, an upper Jurassic formation that is difficult to define on a technical basis but nevertheless covers a broad region of western Louisiana and east Texas and contains a large natural gas resource. On March 24, 2008, Chesapeake Energy announced a new natural gas discovery in the Haynesville Shale. This announcement began a new chapter in the development of the Hayneville Shale and hastened the activities of several other companies in the play. The town's churches include Baptist, United Methodist, Presbyterian, Missionary Baptist, Pentecostal, and Church of Christ. This part of the state was settled by Protestants from other parts of the South, more than by ethnic French, Louisiana Creole, Italian and Irish Catholics more typically found in the New Orleans area. Material on the history of Haynesville can be found at the Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum located across from the Claiborne Parish Courthouse in Homer.

Geography

Haynesville is located at 32.96111°N, -93.13806°W (32.961132, −93.138091). According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 12.5 km2, of which 12.5 km2 is land and 0.22% is water. The most common soil is Eastwood series, which has 3 to 10 in of brown very fine sandy loam over 20 in of red clay. It supports a native forest vegetation of loblolly pine, shortleaf pine, southern red oak, American sweet gum and hickory.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,039 people, 1,081 households, and 664 families residing in the town.

Government and infrastructure

The United States Postal Service operates the Haynesville Post Office. Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the David Wade Correctional Center in an unincorporated section of Claiborne Parish near Haynesville.

Crime

In May 1999, the Haynesville Police Department discovered the skeletal remains of Shannon Capers, a 13-year-old girl who had been missing since March 8, 1997. She was found in the woods behind the Mill Street Apartments on the north side of town. Capers had lived in the apartments. She was known to have been murdered by her boyfriend, a local drug dealer named Maurice Tate.

Education

The Claiborne Parish School Board is the local school district for the entire parish. It operates Haynesville Elementary School and Haynesville Junior/Senior High School.

Notable people

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Haynesville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Photo gallery