Richwood, LA

Richwood is a town in southern Ouachita Parish, just south of Monroe, with a map that is more about parish roads and drainage than a separate downtown skyline. The town incorporated on December 31, 1974, and operates under Louisiana's Lawrason Act with an elected mayor and five alderpersons. Most of its daily work is practical: garbage collection, street maintenance, drainage, and the school routes that feed into the Ouachita Parish system. The Ouachita River gives the parish its name and its long north Louisiana orientation. Richwood is a working parish town, close enough to Monroe for errands but distinct enough to keep its own municipal rhythm.