Welcome to the Town of Cottonport
About
The Town of Cottonport is a community of approximately 2,015 residents and is located in the central portion of Avoyelles Parish. It is a picturesque town located on Bayou Rouge and it was once a major port for shipping cotton to New Orleans. Bayou Rouge was dammed many years ago and is now used mainly for children's fishing tournaments and is decorated beautifully during the holidays.
Today, our school system is still a great one, but because of consolidation, we no longer have a high school. We have Cottonport Elementary School, St. Mary Catholic School, and the Central Louisiana Technical Community College, Ward H. Nash, Avoyelles Campus.
CLTC established 36 programs, serves approximately 1,600 students per semester. The region was comprised of one main campus, six branches, one extension, and seven instructional service centers.
The campuses were first accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Occupational Education Institutions (SACS/COEI). The campuses were accredited by SACS/COEI from January 1974 through December 1995. COEI division withdrew from SACS in December 1995 and was reorganized as 15 the Council on Occupational Education (COE). The campuses have been accredited by COE from January 1996 to the present.
Act 506 of the 2005 Regular Legislative Session proposed a reorganization of the Louisiana Technical College. LCTCS adopted the 21st Century Model for the Delivery of Technical Education effective July 1, 2006. The reorganization consists of eight Regional Education Centers.
There is an Avoyelles Women Correctional Center (AWCC) in our town. It houses about 204 prisoners. Cottonport is also the location of Louisiana State Penitentiary, The Raymond Laborde Correctional Center; a medium security prison located at 1630 Prison Road; houses around 500 prisoners and employs 250 people.
There are about sixty businesses in Cottonport. The Cottonport Bank and Insurance Agency, the Department of Corrections Credit Union, Cotton Corner Drug Store, Poret's Drug Store, T-Jim's Grovery & Market, Abundant Blessings Store, Family Dollar Store, The Y Not Stop, Bayou Express, Bernard's Cajun Sea Fry, Cottonport Family Clinic, Lacombe's Monogramming, and Kelly's Beauty Boutique just to name a few.
Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, located at 736 Ducote Lane, and First Evening Star Baptist Church, located at 320 Swift Street, are also churches in Cottonport.
In 2001, we were awarded Louisiana's Cleanest City of the Louisiana Garden Club Federation, Inc. District VIII- Category A. In 2006 we were chosen as District Winners of the LGCF "2006 Cleanest City Contest."
The Avoyelles School Board and the Town of Cottonport signed an intergovernmental agreement on July 14, 2004 to make use of property formerly known as the "Cottonport High School football field, track, and stadium." Upon this agreement the Rapides Foundation implemented a walking trail project for Town of Cottonport. The project was completeld October 31, 2004. We received a sign from the Rapides Foundation. This walking trail is called "Cotton Trail."
