Village of Shongaloo
Village
Shongaloo Civic Center
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	Webster
Elevation	256 ft (78 m)
Coordinates	32°56′17″N 93°17′54″W / 32.93806°N 93.29833°W / 32.93806; -93.29833
Area	7.9 sq mi (20.5 km2)
- land	7.9 sq mi (20 km2)
- water	0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0%
Population	162 (2000)
Density	20.5 /sq mi (7.9 /km2)
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Area code	318
Location of Shongaloo in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 162 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Minden Micropolitan Statistical Area.

West of Shongaloo on Louisiana Highway 2 is Munn Hill, a homestead of Dale and Rebecca Munn, established on July 26, 1900. Three Christian crosses are displayed on the top of the hill.

Shongaloo has a civic center for town council meetings as well as general usage. There is an adjacent museum with a restored log cabin.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Things in Town and Fun Facts 1.2 Transportation 1.3 Interstate 69 2 Name meaning and pronunciation 3 Demographics 4 Education 5 Notable natives and residents 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Geography

Shongaloo is located at 32°56′17″N 93°17′54″W / 32.93806°N 93.29833°W / 32.93806; -93.29833 (32.938129, -93.298369)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 20.6 km² (7.9 mi²). 20.5 km² (7.9 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.38%) is water.

[edit] Things in Town and Fun Facts

Shongaloo is served by Shongaloo High School. You can also eat at the local establishment (Indian Run Family Restaurant). There is also a convenience store called the Crossroads Grocery with an adjecent deli called The Crossroads Deli. Shongaloo has one of the smallest population densities in the state. The community is served by the Mt. Parran Baptist Church.

[edit] Transportation

Shongaloo is connected to other cities by road. Currently, there is no air or boat access directly to the village. Air transportation is possible by using the Springhill Airport (15–20 minutes) or using the Shreveport Regional Airport (60–80 minutes). Shongaloo is connected to Sarepta and Homer by LA 2. Shongaloo is also connected to Magnolia and Minden by LA 159 (the highway name changes as you go into Arkansas to AR 19). LA 157 connects Shongaloo to Springhill and ALT LA 2 and LA 615 to Haynesville.

[edit] Interstate 69

Proposals have been made to build Interstate 69 south of the city around the community of Leton and east of the city near Haynesville. Currently, Shongaloo will have access to the freeway via an exit at LA 159, LA 2, and ALT 2.

[edit] Name meaning and pronunciation

Shongaloo is an Indian term meaning "Running Water" or "Cypress Tree". Shongaloo is pronounced Shawn-ga-lew.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 162 people, 65 households, and 47 families residing in the village. The population density was 7.9/km² (20.5/mi²). There were 77 housing units at an average density of 3.8/km² (9.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 98.15% White, 0.62% Native American, and 1.23% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 65 households out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.2% were married couples living together, 4.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.2% were non-families. 23.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.83.

In the village the population was spread out with 21.6% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 22.8% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $41,250, and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $22,500 for females. The per capita income for the village was $20,809. About 5.0% of families and 10.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.5% of those under the age of eighteen and 18.8% of those sixty-five or over.

[edit] Education

Shongaloo is served by the Webster Parish School Board, based in Minden. Shongaloo High School, a class B school currently, is on state Alternative Route 2 includes pre-kindergarten through high school. The school colors are black, white and orange. Its estimated pupil enrollment is 387. In 1979 the Shongaloo Tiger baseball team won the Louisiana Class C Baseball Championship.

[edit] Notable natives and residents

• Daniel Branton, mayor of Shongaloo
• Parey Pershing Branton, Sr., former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the Webster Parish School Board, and mayor of Shongaloo; father of Daniel Branton
• E.D. Gleason (1899-1959), member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1952 until his death in office
• Mary Smith Gleason (1899-1967) of the nearby Evergreen Community succeeded her husband as a member of the Louisiana House from 1959-1960.
• Talmadge L. Heflin, born in Shongaloo, is a former Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives.
• Leland G. Mims (1901-1979), businessman and president of the Webster Parish Police Jury, the parish governing board, from 1956-1973, was born in the Evergreen Community southwest of Shongaloo.
• Carlus D. Morgan (1917-2007), educator and member of the Webster Parish Police Jury from 1988-1992, resided in the Evergreen community.
• J.L. Munn, member of the Webster Parish Police Jury from Shongaloo from 1936-1952
• Franklin Sims, reptile expert in the 1970s; son of Samuel "Sammy" and Sheila Sims

[edit] References

1. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2005-05-03. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 

[edit] External links

• Mapquest for Shongaloo

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Webster Parish, Louisiana Parish seat: Minden Cities Minden | Springhill Towns Cotton Valley | Cullen | Sarepta | Sibley Villages Dixie Inn | Doyline | Dubberly | Heflin | Shongaloo