Pollock, Louisiana

The town proper that sprang up in 1892 around a sawmill was named in honor of the manager of the Big Creek Sawmill and Lumber Company, Captain James W. Pollock.[5]

Pollock was for many years a sundown town, a community that did not allow black people to be there after sundown.[6] Historian Herbert Aptheker reported a sign "Niggers stay out of Pollock"[7] at the town's boundary during World War II when he commanded a group of black soldiers nearby.[8] The town's official history notes "the few individuals of African descent" living in the Pollock area left soon after the Colfax riot.[9] The Louisiana Almanac reported that as late as 1990, Pollock still had no black residents.[10][11]

In 2013, the Pollock Town Hall relocated to the historic Foster house, built in 1913 and donated to the town by its owners, an arrangement devised by Mayor Jerome Scott. The municipal building is located off Louisiana Highway 8 West and across from a public park.[12]

On June 30, 2015, Patricia Marie Connella Gunter, an Independent,[13] resigned as the District D justice of the peace for Grant Parish amid the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which requires states to offer same-sex marriages and to recognize such unions approved in other states.[14] Gunter is married to the Reverend Brian Keith Gunter, a member of the Republican Party[15] and the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Pollock. Gunter said that she cannot "uphold the oath that I swore, which states that I will uphold the laws of this state and of the country. Same-sex marriage is now the law of the land and eventually, be it a month or a year when the legalities are sorted out, gay marriages will be conducted, and those who refuse would be subjected to ethics complaints and targets for litigation. We just decided that it was best for me to get out of the line of fire when it comes, and it is coming."[14] Gunter had been JP for only four months since her victory in a special election in February 2015.[16]

Pollock is located in southeastern Grant Parish at 31°31′29″N 92°24′32″W (31.524760, -92.408866)[17] and has an elevation of 118 feet (36.0 m).[18] U.S. Route 165 is the main highway through the town, leading north 16 miles (26 km) to Georgetown and south 16 miles to Alexandria. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.3 square miles (3.3 km²), all land.[4]

Pollock is within Kisatchie National Forest. Stuart Lake Recreational Area, part of the national forest, is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southwest of the center of town.

As of the census[20] of 2000, there were 376 people, 157 households, and 108 families residing in the town. The population density was 298.7 people per square mile (115.2/km²). There were 204 housing units at an average density of 162.1 per square mile (62.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.87% White, 0.27% Native American, 0.53% Asian, and 1.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.86% of the population.

There were 157 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 18.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.6% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.5% under the age of 18, 7.7% from 18 to 24, 25.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $25,625, and the median income for a family was $29,063. Males had a median income of $21,250 versus $28,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,134. About 20.5% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.3% of those under age 18 and 14.5% of those age 65 or over.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons United States Penitentiary, Pollock is located near Pollock.[21][22]

Pollock residents are zoned to Grant Parish School Board schools.

• Henry E. Hardtner, timber magnate and Louisiana legislator, was with his brother, Quintin Hardtner, benefactor of the Episcopal Camp Hardtner and Conference Center near Pollock.
• Swords Lee, timber owner from Pollock and Alexandria; former Grant Parish assessor and state representative[23]
• Charlton Lyons, pioneer of the modern Republican Party in Louisiana, was the principal of Pollock High School from 1917 to 1918.[24]
• Russ Springer, pitcher for 10 Major League baseball teams spanning 18 seasons from 1992 until 2010
• Ed Tarpley, district attorney for Grant Parish from 1991 to 1997; reared in Pollock; practices law in Alexandria

• Town of Pollock official website