Ferriday, Louisiana

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Ferriday is a town in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,723 at the 2000 census.

Ferriday is the site of the Delta Music Museum and the birthplace of three piano-playing cousins, rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis, country music star Mickey Gilley and evangelist Jimmy Lee Swaggart, as well as Lewis's piano-playing sister, Linda Gail Lewis. Other Ferriday natives include journalist Howard K. Smith, Hollywood hostess Ann Boyar Warner (Mrs. Jack Warner), trombonist Peewee Whittaker, General Claire Chennault of Flying Tigers fame and NBC Washington correspondent Campbell Brown, co-host of Weekend Today, and a daughter of former Louisiana state senator, secretary of state, and insurance commissioner James H. "Jim" Brown. Two other political figures from Ferriday who acquired statewide recognition were the late Superintendent of Education Shelby M. Jackson and former state Senator Daniel Wesley "Dan" Richey.

Ferriday is also the birthplace of agribusiness entrepreneur Pete Vegas, who eventually earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. In 1998, when his employer went into bankruptcy, he spun out a subsidiary into his own company in Los Angeles, Sage V Foods (Vegas spelled backwards). Sage V Foods is now one of the largest suppliers of rice flour to American businesses (most non-McDonalds french fries contain Sage V rice flour), and one of the largest suppliers of frozen rice to American consumers.

Ferriday claims to have produced more famous people per square mile than any other small town. This curious fact intrigued author Elaine Dundy who probed that phenomenon while profiling both celebrities and townsfolk in her book, Ferriday, Louisiana, published by E. P. Dutton in 1991.

[edit] Geography

Ferriday is located at 31°37′50″N, 91°33′24″W (31.630539, -91.556749)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 4.4 km² (1.7 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 3,723 people, 1,350 households, and 918 families residing in the town. The population density was 855.6/km² (2,220.7/mi²). There were 1,498 housing units at an average density of 344.3/km² (893.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 24.09% White, 74.89% African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.46% of the population.

There were 1,350 households out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 30.7% were married couples living together, 33.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.0% were non-families. 29.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the town the population was spread out with 32.0% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 76.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 68.2 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $14,732, and the median income for a family was $18,636. Males had a median income of $23,654 versus $16,725 for females. The per capita income for the town was $8,767. About 40.7% of families and 47.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 70.2% of those under age 18 and 25.1% of those age 65 or over.