Slaughter is a town in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 997 at the 2010 U.S. census, down from 1,011 at the 2000 U.S. census. In the 2020 population estimates program, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that 882 people lived in the township. Slaughter is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

History

The town's name is from an Illinois Central Railroad Depot for the farm of the Slaughter family. The Gloster Southern Railroad served the town from 1987 to 2008. figures in the title of Michael Ondaatje's novel about jazz player Buddy Bolden entitled Coming Through Slaughter. Slaughter was designated a town in 2002.

Geography

Slaughter is located along the southern edge of East Feliciana Parish at 30.71639°N, -91.14444°W (30.716484, -91.144506). The town is bordered on the south by the city of Zachary in East Baton Rouge Parish. Louisiana Highway 19 passes through Slaughter, leading north 15 mi to Wilson and south 20 mi to Baton Rouge. Clinton, the East Feliciana Parish seat, is 14 mi to the northeast. According to the United States Census Bureau, Slaughter has a total area of 14.2 sqkm, of which 0.02 sqkm, or 0.16%, is water.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, 1,035 people, 435 households, and 298 families reside in the town. At the 2019 American Community Survey, 87.6% of the population were non-Hispanic white, 8.0% Black and African American, 1.4% two or more races, and 3.1% Hispanic and Latin American of any race. The town had a median age of 48.1. At the 2000 U.S. census, there were 1,011 people, 359 households, and 286 families residing in the village. The population density was 184.3 PD/sqmi. There were 376 housing units at an average density of 68.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the village was 94.56% White, 3.56% African American, 0.99% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.40% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.79% of the population. There were 359 households, out of which 38.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.6% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.1% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82, and the average family size was 3.17. The village's population was spread out, with 28.8% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 7.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33. For every 100 females, there were 101.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.3 males. The median income for a household in the village was $44,896, and the median income for a family was $46,932. Males had a median income of $34,375 versus $21,141 for females. The village's per capita income was $17,457. About 3.4% of families and 3.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.1% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

East Feliciana Parish School Board serves Slaughter. Slaughter Elementary School and Slaughter Community Charter School are located in Slaughter.