Town file
Minden, Louisiana
Minden, Louisiana (Webster Parish, Louisiana) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 255, "Sleigh Bells & Slaughter" (23 December 2021).
- Town
- Minden
- County
- Webster Parish
- State
- Louisiana
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 255
- Approximate location
- 32.619, -93.273
Episode 255 / 23 December 2021 / 164 min / full
Sleigh Bells & Slaughter
"We're going to Minden, Louisiana, MINDEN. The murder actually takes place in an even tinier town that's attached to Minden... it's actually called Dixie Inn." about 0:05:02
The case: Murders of Newton and Erleen Brown (December 24th to 25th, 1982). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2021
- Median age
- 37
- Median household income
- $28,450
- Median home value
- $148,400
- Two-bedroom rent
- about $720 a month
- Cost of living
- 74
- Religious
- 65%
- Property crime
- ▼ about 10% low
- Violent crime
- ▼ about one third under
History, in brief
- Minden was established in 1836 by Charles Peter. about 0:08:02
- Gene Austin, who sang My Blue Heaven and sold about five million albums, came from Minden. about 0:08:18
- Sweet Lou Dunbar, who played for the Harlem Globetrotters, came from Minden. about 0:08:29
- The town's name comes from the German city of Minden. about 0:08:41
- During the Civil War a Confederate encampment inside Minden housed over 15,000 soldiers and served as a supply depot for the Confederate Army. about 0:09:02
- Confederate soldiers are buried in the old Minden cemetery. about 0:09:17
- During Reconstruction, when both candidates for mayor were thought to be carpetbaggers, the town's voters wrote in and elected a local bull as mayor. about 0:09:35
- The Great Blizzard of 1899 brought the coldest temperature ever recorded in Louisiana, minus 16 Fahrenheit, on February 13th, 1899. about 0:11:02
- During the Great Depression one of Minden's two banks failed and half the town lost its money. about 0:11:19
- A fire destroyed a major section of downtown Minden around the same time, in 1931. about 0:11:30
- On May 1st, 1933, a tornado ripped through Minden and destroyed 20% of the homes. about 0:11:49
The reviews read out
5 stars
"The people are friendly and have great attitudes; everyone in the stores greeted her with a smile; posted by 'visitor'."about 0:12:53
5 stars
"Minden is a lively town filled with historic artefacts and culture; Main Street offers antiques, galleries and delicious restaurants."about 0:14:12
3 stars
"A lifelong resident says there is not much to do, wants a few more stores and a movie theatre or club, calls the town cluttered, notes there are few hotels, and says it is a nice place to come if you are hiding and don't want to be bothered."about 0:14:34
1 star
"There are a lot of people out of work and kids with nothing to do but get into trouble."about 0:16:08
2 stars
"If this area doesn't get better, everyone will move away."about 0:16:24
1 star
"The town looks like everybody in it has died; run-down buildings and old, ugly, rotten houses; asks what the mayor is doing with the city's money; the best place is 'eyed smoking jows'; a former resident would never come back to live."about 0:16:51
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Keithville, Louisiana38 miles
- Coushatta, Louisiana41 miles
- Magnolia, Arkansas46 miles
- Dry Prong, Louisiana84 miles
- Ashdown, Arkansas88 miles
- Hawkins, Texas112 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.