Waterproof, Louisiana
| Town of Waterproof | |
| Town | |
 Waterproof, Louisiana, Water Tower
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| Motto: A Place You Can Call Home | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Tensas |
| Elevation | 69 ft (21.0 m) |
| Coordinates | 31°48′25″N 91°23′07″W / 31.80694°N 91.38528°WCoordinates: 31°48′25″N 91°23′07″W / 31.80694°N 91.38528°W |
| Area | 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2) |
| - land | 0.7 sq mi (2 km2) |
| - water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0% |
| Population | 688 (2010) |
| Density | 988.2/sq mi (381.5/km2) |
| Mayor | Caldwell A. Flood, Jr. |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Area code | 318 |
 Location in Tensas Parish and the state of Louisiana.
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.svg) Location of Louisiana in the United States
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Waterproof is a town in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States with a population of 834 as of the 2000 census. However, the population declined in the 2010 census by 17.5 percent to 688. The town in 2010 was 91.7 percent African American. Some 24 percent of Waterproof residents in 2010 were aged sixty or above.
Waterproof is approximately 17 mi (27 km) north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish. The town is named for its relative safety from flooding prior to construction of the Mississippi River levee system.
Poverty abounds in Waterproof, a town dependent on farming. Cotton is the most common crop, but corn and soybeans are also important. In 2008, drought destroyed much of the corn crop.
The former Hunter's Brothers Store, once a mainstay of Waterproof, is featured in an article in the first volume of the publication North Louisiana History.
During the American Civil War, a garrison of three hundred African American troops based in Waterproof was attacked on February 13, 1864, by eight hundred Confederates under Captain Eli Bowman. The Federal gunboat Forest Rose opened fire from the Mississippi River and drove back Bowman's men. The next day Bowman resumed the attack, but the Forest Rose again shelled the Confederates, who again fell back in confusion. Joining Bowman was the cavalry commanded by Isaac F. Harrison. On February 15, Harrison, in command, tried to storm Waterproof but was again checked by the Forest Rose. Harrison was compelled to call off the attack and retreated westward toward Harrisonburg, the seat of Catahoula Parish. "The Confederates' unreasonable fear of gunboats had been insurmountable, and Waterproof remained in Federal hands," explained historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana (1963).
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Wikipedia