The Museum of West Louisiana in Leesville |
Leesville is located on U.S. Highway 171 between Shreveport and Lake Charles, as seen on the Leesville map below. It is also about 50 miles west of Alexandria via Louisiana Highway 28, and near the Texas border and Toledo Bend Reservoir. Leesville is the home of the U. S. Army's Fort Johnson and the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC).
Nearby communities include DeRidder and Many.
The parish seat of Vernon Parish, Leesville is located close to the south end of Toledo Bend Lake and Reservoir, the largest man-made lake in the South.
Northwestern State University - Leesville/Fort Johnson is located midway between Leesville and Fort Johnson on Highway 467. The campus occupies 160 acres and houses 30,000 square feet of classroom and administrative office space. The Leesville/Fort Johnson campus serves the civilian communities of Vernon, Beauregard, and Sabine parishes, as well as the military community at Fort Johnson.
The population of Leesville today is near 7,000 residents. Leesville is located in Area Code 337, and uses Zip Codes 71446 and 71459. The city's elevation is 254 feet. Coordinates are 31° 8′37″ N, 93° 16′16″ W.
directly west of Many. This massive 185,000 acre lake is a project of the States of Texas and Louisiana, and has both recreational and power generation benefits.
Boating, fishing, skiing, camping, hiking, birding, golf, and other recreational activities are all popular. A variety of fishing marinas, hiking trails, RV resorts, restaurants, camps, golf courses, and other facilities are all available along the 1,200 miles of shoreline of the reservoir.
Fort Johnson (formerly Fort Pollk) is the home of the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC), the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, and the 162nd Infantry Brigade. It serves primarily as a training post for units preparing to deploy to fight the nation’s wars. It was renamed in 2023.
With the exception of Louisiana state government, Fort Johnson is the largest employer in Louisiana, with more than 16,000 military and civilian jobs associated with a U.S. Army installation that generates an estimated annual economic impact of $1.8 billion.
In 2012, the Army hoped to expand the installation's footprint by 50% with the purchase of an additional 100,000 acres. Fort Johnson currently covers more than 194,000 acres. Fort Johnson is the only Combat Training Center that also trains and deploys combat units.
Soldiers of Fort Johnson have been called to serve around the world in recent history. They fought in Panama during Operation Just Cause and in the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Storm. Of all brigade combat teams deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, 50% of them initially train at Fort Johnson.
The base is supporting the war on terrorism by providing contingency training for the Army's light infantry and special operations forces and by deploying home station and reserve component forces in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Noble Eagle, and Iraqi Freedom.
For more information, we recommend a visit to the Official Fort Johnson Website and Fort Johnson on Facebook.
Leesville has long been the home of Fort Polk, a major U.S. Army camp since the 1940s. Originally known as Camp Polk, it began as an army base for the World War II Louisiana Maneuvers.
Other nearby facilities in Central Louisiana included Camp Livingston, Camp Claiborne, and Alexandria Army Air Field (England AFB).
Construction of Camp Polk began in 1941. Thousands of wooden barracks sprang up quickly to support an Army preparing to do battle on the North African, European and Pacific fronts. Soldiers at Polk participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, which were designed to test U.S. troops preparing for World War II.
The Leesville Municipal Airport is located 4 miles west of town, on LA Highway 8, and features a 3,807 foot runway with pilot-controlled lighting and instrument approaches.
Located to the east of Leesville is Alexandria International Airport (AEX). Rental cars are available at AEX from Avis, National, and Budget.
Commercial airline carriers serving AEX include:
Leesville and Fort Johnson Links of Interest |
Vernon Parish Tourism Commission Vernon Parish and Leesville at LouisianaTravel.com |
Business Section, Leesville, Louisiana ... Circa late 1930s or early 1940s |
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Residence Scene, Leesville, Louisiana |
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Vernon Parish Courthouse, Leesville, Louisiana |
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Leesville Louisiana High School |
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Redwood Motel and Cafe, Leesville, Louisiana ... circa 1960s |
More Louisiana Travel Information | ||