Brownsville-Bawcomville, Louisiana

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Coordinates: 32°29′02″N 92°09′50″W﻿ / ﻿32.48389°N 92.16389°W﻿ / 32.48389; -92.16389
Census-designated place
Country United States
State Louisiana
Parish Ouachita
Elevation 82 ft (25 m)
Area 6.7 sq mi (17.4 km2)
 - land 6.7 sq mi (17 km2)
 - water 0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0%
Population 7,616 (2000)
Density 1,145.5 / sq mi (442.3 / km2)
Timezone CST (UTC-6)
 - summer (DST) CDT (UTC-5)
Area code 318
Location of Brownsville-Bawcomville in Louisiana
Location of Louisiana in the United States

Brownsville-Bawcomville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,616 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.


Brownsville-Bawcomville is located at 32°29′2″N 92°9′50″W﻿ / ﻿32.48389°N 92.16389°W﻿ / 32.48389; -92.16389 (32.483895, -92.163995)[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 6.7 square miles (17 km2), all of it land.


As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 7,616 people, 2,936 households, and 2,081 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 1,145.5 people per square mile (442.2/km²). There were 3,373 housing units at an average density of 507.3/sq mi (195.8/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 87.30% White, 11.17% African American, 0.51% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 0.67% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.97% of the population.

There were 2,936 households out of which 31.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.1% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.05.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 26.2% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 21.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $25,359, and the median income for a family was $28,958. Males had a median income of $24,797 versus $20,368 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $11,710. About 15.7% of families and 20.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.7% of those under age 18 and 16.6% of those age 65 or over.


Residents of Brownsville-Bawcomville are often referred to locally as "Bawcomites," a derogatory slur equivalent to White Trash.[3]

People of this Community find the above to be very offensive. People who are poor or less fortunate are not trash. This area contained hard working respectful people for many years and still contains many self-respecting hard working families. Also for reference Bawcomville is exactly 1 mile across at any given point and is surrounded by a levee. The area prone to flooding was encased in the levee on August 12, 1952. Anything that is past the levee ring is not inside the community of Bawcomville. The area located on Smith Street in West Monroe, Louisiana is not in the Bawcomville area and is attributed to giving the people of Bawcomville a bad name and have mistakenly been included as Bawcomville residents. Any of the longtime residents whose families have been there for decades will confirm that this area is not included in the Bawcomville Community. Bawcomville originally was an all white community for many years. The main families were the Thompson's and the Martin's who homesteaded this area back in the mid to late 1800's and whose descendants remain their today. I am of the Martin Family and grew up in this area from birth in 1960.


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