Vernon Parish is a parish in Louisiana, United States, on the Texas state line along the Sabine River. It had a population of 48,750 at the 2020 census and covers 1,328 square miles (3,440 km2) of land, centred near 31°07′N 93°11′W.
Leesville is the parish seat, and its postal code is 71446. The parish holds one city, three towns, two villages and a wide scatter of unincorporated communities, most concentrated around the Fort Polk military reservation. It sits in the Central time zone. Louisiana parishes do not use civil townships, so this profile has no townships section.
Towns & Villages in Vernon Parish
Vernon Parish’s incorporated places are small and clustered along US 171 and LA 8 near Fort Polk; everything else on the list below is an unincorporated community, a Fort Polk cantonment area, or a rural crossroads. CDP = census-designated place, Unincorp. = unincorporated community or locality.
| Place | Type | Pop. | ZIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leesville | City · seat | 5,649 | 71446 |
| New Llano | Town | 2,213 | 71461 |
| Rosepine | Town | — | 70659 |
| Hornbeck | Town | — | 71439 |
| Anacoco | Village | — | 71403 |
| Simpson | Village | — | 71474 |
| Fort Polk | CDP | — | 71459 |
| Fort Polk North | Unincorp. | — | 71459 |
| Fort Polk South | Unincorp. | — | 71459 |
| North Fort Polk | Unincorp. | — | 71459 |
| Pitkin | Unincorp. | — | 70656 |
| Evans | Unincorp. | — | 70639 |
| Slagle | Unincorp. | — | 71475 |
| Kurthwood | Unincorp. | — | 71443 |
| Burr Ferry | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Fullerton | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hicks | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Leander | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Pickering | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Alco | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Allendale | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Anacoco Lake | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Barham | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Caney | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Cravens | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Dido | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Elmwood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hicks Crossing | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Hood | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Jericho | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Lacamp | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Mayo | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Walnut Hill | Unincorp. | — | — |
| Woodlands | Unincorp. | — | — |
Pitkin sits close to the Vernon–Allen parish line, and several small crossroads on the old list (Cole Central, Comrade, Coopers, Cora, Dusenbury, East Side, Fisherville, Fertitta Park, Haddens, Hawthorne, Hutton, Kimberly Heights, Knight, Lee Hills, Lincoln Heights, Lyles Addition, Markee, McFarland Heights, Monks Hammock, Morris Addition, Neame, Pinecrest, Pinewood, Powell Park, Sandy Hill, Savage Fork, South End, Standard, Sugrue, Temple, Tower Estates Number 1, Tower Estates Number 2, Tower Trailer Park, West End, West Side, Westwood Village, Whispering Pines Estates, Almadane, Billy Goat Hill, Burnstown, Chateau Place, Dixie) are unverified subdivision or place names with no independent record confirming they lie in Vernon Parish; they are omitted here rather than published unverified. DeRidder, also on the old list, is the seat of neighboring Beauregard Parish, not a Vernon Parish community, and has been dropped.
ZIP Codes
- 71446 — Leesville (also serves the parish courthouse area)
- 71459 — Fort Polk (covers Fort Polk North, Fort Polk South and North Fort Polk)
- 71461 — New Llano
- 71403 — Anacoco
- 71439 — Hornbeck
- 70659 — Rosepine (PO Box)
- 70656 — Pitkin
- 70639 — Evans
- 71474 — Simpson (PO Box)
- 71475 — Slagle (PO Box)
- 71443 — Kurthwood (PO Box)
Some rural crossroads share a ZIP with the nearest post office town rather than carrying their own code.
Geography
Vernon Parish lies in the west-central Louisiana pine belt on the Texas border, with the Sabine River forming its western edge. Land is mostly rolling, forested upland used for pine timber and the Fort Polk/Kisatchie National Forest training reservation; Anacoco Lake and Toledo Bend’s upper reaches touch the parish’s west side. Vernon Parish borders Sabine Parish to the northwest, Natchitoches Parish to the north, Rapides Parish to the east, Allen Parish to the southeast, Beauregard Parish to the south, and Newton County, Texas, across the Sabine River to the west.
Demographics
Vernon Parish had 48,750 residents at the 2020 census, a density of about 37 people per square mile. Leesville (5,649) and New Llano (2,213) are its two largest incorporated communities, though thousands of active-duty soldiers and their families at Fort Polk live in unincorporated housing areas counted in the parish total but outside any city limit. Median household income in the parish runs below the Louisiana median of $58,229, reflecting a large share of young enlisted-military households.
Economy & Local Life
Fort Polk, home to the Joint Readiness Training Center and the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, dominates the parish economy and has done so since it reopened during World War II; the surrounding Leesville-New Llano area grew rapidly on the strength of the base’s payroll and its rotating training brigades. Outside the fort, timber remains a major employer, with pine plantations covering much of the parish’s rural land. Leesville’s Main Street downtown, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, anchors local retail and civic life.
History
Vernon Parish was organized on March 30, 1871, during Reconstruction, carved from Natchitoches, Sabine and Rapides parishes. It is popularly said to be named for Mount Vernon, George Washington’s Virginia estate, though local folklore also credits a racehorse or a naval officer; no version is definitively documented. Timber drove the parish’s early economy, and Fort Polk, established in 1941 as a training camp, transformed Leesville from a small timber town into a military-dependent city, with the surrounding population growing several-fold after the post opened.
Getting There
US Highway 171 runs north-south through Leesville and New Llano, and Louisiana Highways 8 and 10 cross the parish east-west; LA 28 leads east toward Alexandria.
- DeRidder — 25 miles south
- Natchitoches — 45 miles northeast
- Alexandria — 55 miles east
- Many, Louisiana — 30 miles north
The nearest commercial airport is Alexandria International Airport (AEX), about an hour’s drive east; Fort Polk operates its own military airfield, Polk Army Airfield, not open to the general public.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Vernon Parish, Louisiana?
It is in west-central Louisiana on the Texas border, bounded on the west by the Sabine River.
What is the population of Vernon Parish?
48,750 people, per the 2020 census.
How big is Vernon Parish?
1,328 square miles (3,440 km2) of land, the largest land area of any parish in Louisiana.
What is the county seat of Vernon Parish?
Leesville is the parish seat.
How many towns are in Vernon Parish?
One city (Leesville), three towns (Hornbeck, New Llano, Rosepine) and two villages (Anacoco, Simpson), plus a large number of unincorporated communities, several tied to Fort Polk.
What ZIP codes are in Vernon Parish?
Leading codes include 71446 (Leesville), 71459 (Fort Polk), 71461 (New Llano), 71403 (Anacoco) and 71439 (Hornbeck).
Why is Fort Polk important to Vernon Parish?
It is the parish’s dominant employer and population driver, hosting the Army’s Joint Readiness Training Center and thousands of military families since the base reopened during World War II.
More counties in this state: Towns and villages in Louisiana.