Winnfield, LA

At the 2020 census, Winnfield was a Winn Parish city of 4,153 people and the parish seat since the legislature formed Winn Parish in 1852. Salt was an early local industry: Big Cedar and Drake’s Salt Works supplied salt to the Confederate army during the Civil War, and one of the old kettles now sits out front of the Louisiana Political Museum as a fountain. Winnfield also produced two governors, Huey P. Long and Earl K. Long, giving the city a political reputation that is hard to separate from its street signs and stories.

The Louisiana Political Museum occupies the former L&A Railroad Depot, built around 1905 and donated to the city in 1988. It opened in 1993 on Huey Long’s 100th birthday and now holds thousands of pieces and more than 170 Hall of Fame inductees, including Earl Long’s campaign car. Each March, the city hosts Uncle Earl’s Hog Dog Trials, a state-recognized weekend built around bay dogs and Louisiana country tradition. Winnfield is a small parish seat with a salt kettle, a railroad depot, a political museum, and one gloriously specific annual event.