Town file
Dry Prong, Louisiana
Dry Prong, Louisiana (Grant Parish, Louisiana) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 218, "Brazen Stupidity, Or Criminal Insanity?" (8 April 2021). Dry Prong is a tiny town of 454 people in Grant Parish, in the middle of Louisiana, and this episode tells two unrelated stories from it.
- Town
- Dry Prong
- County
- Grant Parish
- State
- Louisiana
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 218
- Approximate location
- 31.581, -92.531
Episode 218 / 8 April 2021 / 150 min / full
Brazen Stupidity, Or Criminal Insanity?
"We're going to Dry Prong, Louisiana ... this is down in Grant's Parish" about 0:05:41
The case: Murder of Marlin Keith Smith (October 2004); Bombing of Robert and Tracy Hewlett (December 2015). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Population
- 454
- Median age
- 34
- Median household income
- about $38,500
- Median home value
- $98,700
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $750
- Cost of living
- 82.9
- Religious
- about 46%
- Property crime
- ▼ about 20% under
- Violent crime
- right about average
History, in brief
- Dry Prong was incorporated in 1945, though people had settled there earlier. about 0:07:46
- It got its name in the 1870s when a family moved there to build a sawmill. about 0:07:46
- A water wheel was built to power the mill, but the creek it stood on went completely dry every summer. about 0:08:32
- The creek was called a dry prong, which gave the town its name. about 0:09:05
- Grant Parish was created by the Reconstruction legislature after the Civil War and founded in 1869. about 0:09:12
- Grant Parish was named after Ulysses S. Grant. about 0:09:23
- The parish seat, Colfax, was named for Grant's vice president. about 0:10:22
- A disputed 1872 gubernatorial election led both parties to certify their own slates of local officers. about 0:10:39
- An organised militia advanced on the courthouse on Easter Sunday in 1873. about 0:10:55
- About 150 black people and three white people were killed in the violence. about 0:11:19
- In 1921 a 12-foot marble statue was unveiled in loving remembrance of the heroes of the Colfax riot. about 0:11:29
The reviews read out
5 stars
"Quiet town in central Louisiana with a good commute time, an active fire department, schools close by and great, nice churches and a quiet park."about 0:12:19
4 stars
"Loves the small town where you know everyone, but there is a shortage of job opportunities and very little to do."about 0:13:00
5 stars
"Small, quiet town, great to raise a family, not much to do, and the commute anywhere is about 15 minutes."about 0:14:05
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Coushatta, Louisiana57 miles
- Ville Platte, Louisiana63 miles
- Minden, Louisiana84 miles
- Keithville, Louisiana92 miles
- Iowa, Louisiana97 miles
- Lake Charles, Louisiana104 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.