Benton, Louisiana
| Benton, Louisiana | |
| Town | |
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| Official name: Town of Benton | |
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | Louisiana |
| Parish | Bossier |
| Elevation | 207 ft (63.1 m) |
| Coordinates | 32°41′41″N 93°44′26″W / 32.69472°N 93.74056°WCoordinates: 32°41′41″N 93°44′26″W / 32.69472°N 93.74056°W |
| Area | 1.9 sq mi (5 km2) |
| - land | 1.9 sq mi (5 km2) |
| - water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km2), 0% |
| Population | 1,948 (2010) |
| Density | 1,025.3/sq mi (395.9/km2) |
| Mayor | S. G. Horton, Jr. (R) Police Chief Charles Pilkinton (R) |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| Postal code | 71006 |
| Area code | 318 |
  Location of Benton in Louisiana
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| Website: Benton, Louisiana | |
Police Chief Charles Pilkinton (R)
Benton is a town in and the parish seat of Bossier Parish, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 2,035 at the 2000 census but declined to 1,948 in 2010. The town is named for 19th century U.S. Senator Thomas Hart Benton, a Democrat from Missouri and an ally of U.S. President Andrew Jackson.
The larger Bossier City is located south of Benton. In Benton Square downtown near the Bossier Parish School Board office, the town maintains several historical buildings, including primitive cabins, a one-room schoolhouse museum, and the boyhood home of William Clark Hughes, who was the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1926 to 1928.
Benton is the eighth-largest city in the Ark-La-Tex region.
On April 3, 1999, a powerful F4-rated tornado roared through portions of the town killing six people and injuring 90. A mobile home park located south of town and homes near the Palmetto Country Club were devastated. Neighborhoods affected included Haymeadow Trailer Park, Palmetto Park/Palmetto Place (adjacent to the country club), Bay Hills, Woodlake South, Twin Lake Community, and many other newer lakefront homes located around Cypress Lake. The population of Benton lakefront area nearly doubled between 2004 and 2008.
The Palmetto Country Club, which opened in 1954, will close its doors on December 31, 2014, after recent recruitment drives and restructuring of the membership plan failed to make the facility financially solvent. Owner John H. Ward and a partner have run the club since 2013. Ward invested $250,000 over the past year in a vain bid to keep the facility afloat. Ward added that Palmetto "is not alone in this struggle and two dominating factors are in play: memberships are decreasing nationwide, especially in the under-40 bracket; and the industry has been over built making growth within golf clubs very difficult."
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