Bunkie was founded as a station terminus on the Texas and Pacific Railroad line. It was named for the daughter of the original landowner. The federal post office in town contains a mural, Cotton Pickers, painted in 1939 during the Great Depression by Caroline Speare Rohland. Federally commissioned murals were produced from 1934-43 in the United States through the Section of Painting and Sculpture, later called the Section of Fine Arts, of the Treasury Department. This work was part of the effort by the federal government to employ artists during the difficult Depression years. The area around Bunkie is devoted to agriculture; since the late 20th century, corn has been an important commodity crop. Since 1987, Bunkie has hosted the annual Louisiana Corn Festival during the second full weekend of June.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of, of which is land and, or 0.57%, is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,662 people, 1,698 households, and 1,198 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,763.4 people per square mile. There were 1,866 housing units at an average density of 705.8 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 48.54% White, 50.26% African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.34% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.48% of the population. There were 1,698 households out of which 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.4% were married couplesliving together, 26.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.4% were non-families. 26.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.22. In the city, the population was spread out with 30.3% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 20.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 73.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $14,745, and the median income for a family was $23,448. Males had a median income of $31,382 versus $19,479 for females. The per capita income for the city was $10,302. About 34.4% of families and 37.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 38.9% of those under age 18 and 32.5% of those age 65 or over.
Sue Eakin, Louisiana historian and former publisher of the Bunkie Record, resided in Bunkie for most of her life until her death in 2009 at the age of 90. Her works include Avoyelles Parish: Crossroads of Louisiana.
