Bienville Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States, in the north-central part of the state between Shreveport and Monroe. It had a population of 12,981 at the 2020 census and covers 822 square miles (2,130 km2) centred near 32°21′N 93°04′W.
Arcadia is the parish seat, and its postal code is 71001. The parish has 4 incorporated towns, 6 incorporated villages, and several unincorporated communities, and sits in the Central time zone.
Towns & Villages in Bienville Parish
Bienville Parish has ten incorporated municipalities — four towns and six villages — plus a scatter of unincorporated crossroads communities that never held a charter but still appear on maps and mail routes. The table below carries over every place named in the parish’s public records; entries marked Unincorp. have no municipal government of their own.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arcadia | Town · seat | — | 71001 |
| Gibsland | Town | — | 71028 |
| Ringgold | Town | — | 71068 |
| Mount Lebanon | Town | — | — |
| Bienville | Village | — | 71008 |
| Bryceland | Village | — | 71008 |
| Castor | Village | — | 71016 |
| Jamestown | Village | — | 71045 |
| Lucky | Village | — | — |
| Saline | Village | — | 71070 |
| Sparta | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Taylor | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fryeburg | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Brown | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Roy | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Castor | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Old Saline | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pine Grove | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pleasant Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mount Olive | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Liberty Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Friendship | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Friendship | Unincorp. | — | — |
| New Ramah | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Ebenezer | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Bear Creek | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cox Crossing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Woodardville | Unincorp. | — | — |
A handful of names from older lists — Ada, Alberta, Anderson, Armistead, Blume, Burkplace, Carolina, Crowson, Danville, English, Fords, Guynes, Lawhon, Loe, Phillips, Ridge, Shady, Tullis, Walsh — are historic post office or plantation-era names that no longer appear on current maps or in USPS ZIP routing; they are omitted here rather than republished unverified.
ZIP Codes
- 71001 — Arcadia (also serves Bienville)
- 71028 — Gibsland
- 71068 — Ringgold
- 71016 — Castor
- 71045 — Jamestown
- 71070 — Saline
Smaller communities such as Mount Lebanon, Lucky, Sparta, and Taylor are served by the nearest post office town rather than their own ZIP code.
Geography
Bienville Parish sits in the rolling, pine-forested hills of north-central Louisiana, part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. Lake Bistineau, a cypress-lined reservoir formed by a natural logjam on Bayou Dorcheat, covers part of the parish’s western edge, and Corney Lake sits near the northern line; most of the parish is otherwise drained by small creeks feeding the Dorcheat and Castor Creek systems. Of the parish’s 822 square miles, 811 are land and 11 are water.
Bienville Parish borders Claiborne Parish to the north, Lincoln Parish to the northeast, Jackson Parish to the east, Winn Parish to the southeast, Natchitoches Parish to the south, Red River Parish to the southwest, Bossier Parish to the west, and Webster Parish to the northwest. None of those eight parishes currently has a live page on this site, so they are named here without links.
Demographics
Bienville Parish had a population of 12,981 at the 2020 census, down from earlier decades as the parish’s timber-dependent rural communities have shrunk. Arcadia and Ringgold are the two largest communities. Louisiana’s 2023 median household income was the state median of $58,229; Bienville Parish’s own household income runs well below that figure, reflecting the parish’s rural, timber- and agriculture-based economy. Population density is about 16 people per square mile.
Economy & Local Life
Timber and forest products are the parish’s traditional economic base — much of Bienville Parish is covered by pine plantations managed for pulpwood and sawtimber. Poultry farming and small-scale agriculture also employ residents, and Arcadia serves as the parish’s retail and government hub, home to the Bienville Parish Courthouse and parish school board offices. Interstate 20 traffic through the parish’s northern edge supports truck-stop and service businesses near Gibsland and Bienville.
History
Bienville Parish was created on March 14, 1848, from parts of Claiborne and Bossier parishes, and named for Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the French colonial governor who founded New Orleans. The parish is best known nationally as the site where the outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by a posse of officers on a rural road near Gibsland on May 23, 1934, an event still marked locally each May with a Bonnie and Clyde Festival.
Getting There
Interstate 20 crosses the parish’s northern section, with U.S. Highways 80 and 371 and Louisiana Highways 4 and 9 providing the main local connections.
- Shreveport — about 40 miles northwest
- Ruston — about 20 miles east
- Minden — about 20 miles northwest
- Natchitoches — about 45 miles south
The nearest commercial airport is Shreveport Regional Airport.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Bienville Parish?
It is in north-central Louisiana, between Shreveport and Monroe.
What is the population of Bienville Parish?
12,981 people at the 2020 census.
How big is Bienville Parish?
822 square miles (2,130 km2), of which 811 square miles are land.
What is the county seat of Bienville Parish?
Arcadia is the parish seat.
How many towns and villages are in Bienville Parish?
Ten incorporated municipalities — four towns and six villages — plus about twenty unincorporated communities.
What ZIP codes are in Bienville Parish?
Arcadia (71001), Gibsland (71028), Ringgold (71068), Castor (71016), Jamestown (71045), and Saline (71070) are the parish’s main ZIP codes.
What happened in Bienville Parish in 1934?
Outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by a law-enforcement posse on a rural road near Gibsland on May 23, 1934.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Louisiana.