Newellton, LA

Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The 2020 census counted 886 residents. Newellton is west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake. Further south toward St. Joseph, the parish seat of government, is another ox-bow lake, Lake Bruin, a part of which is the popular Lake Bruin State Park. Newellton's local map joins its older history to the places and landscapes that still shape the town today, all within the wider Louisiana setting. The local scoop is how Newellton's history still shows up in the places people visit, work, learn, and meet. Newellton itself was founded in the early 19th century by the Routh family, for whom the defunct Routhwood Elementary School was named.