Dodson, Louisiana


Dodson is a village in Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 357 at the 2000 census, which decreased to 337 in 2010.
Dodson was the birthplace of the Alexandria businessman Morgan W. Walker, Sr., the founder of what became Continental Trailways and Walker-Roemer dairy and a director of the former Guaranty Bank and Trust Company.
Morgan Walker's cousin, William Stewart Walker, a United States Army soldier in World War II who later rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel, grew up north of Dodson in the Wyatt community in Jackson Parish. In 1964, he was the Republican nominee for the former 8th congressional district seat in the United States House of Representatives in 1964. He was defeated by Speedy O. Long of La Salle Parish. W.S. Walker is interred in Transport Cemetery in Dodson.
Winn Parish state representative from 1928 to 1929 and historian Harley Bozeman spent part of his boyhood in Dodson.
Keith M. Pyburn, a state representative for Caddo Parish from 1948 to 1952, was born in Dodson and lived there until 1925. He was an attorney in Shreveport and later Washington, D.C.

Geography

Dodson is located at .
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of, all land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 357 people, 140 households, and 102 families residing in the village. The population density was 158.4 inhabitants per square mile. There were 167 housing units at an average density of 74.1 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 75.07% White, 22.41% African American, 0.28% Native American, and 2.24% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.80% of the population.
There were 140 households out of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.3% were married couples living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.1% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the village, the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.3 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $25,536, and the median income for a family was $30,625. Males had a median income of $29,000 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the village was $10,452. About 19.2% of families and 29.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.7% of those under age 18 and 11.5% of those age 65 or over.

Reputation as a speed trap

Dodson has a long-standing reputation as a notorious speed trap, with more than half of its revenue generated by traffic citations with a total of $717 in citation revenue per resident, the fourth highest in the state. Dodson was cited in a state audit in 2007 for issuing excessive speeding violations.