If you are looking for a quiet community to possibly retire in, you may consider the town of Plain Dealing in Bossier Parish.

This town, located north of Bossier City, was named after the antebellum Plain Dealing Plantation. The namesake had over 500 acres and was divided into three large plantations. According to a Bossier Press Tribune article, the name of the plantation was attributed to the character of the owner. George Oglethorpe Gilmer, who “sold the products of his farms and bought his needs in the regular channel of trade.”

In the heart of downtown, there are a number of locally owned businesses that have been there for years. Wayne Davis has owned Discus Oil Corporation, located in downtown Plain Dealing, since 1969. Davis has lived in the town for about 75 years, leaving only to go to college and live in Lafayette for a short period of time.

Like most towns in Bossier Parish, Davis said the people are what make this community a nice place to live. “This is ‘small town USA.’ The people are like one big family. I think anyone would help out anyone else no matter the time of day or night,” Davis said. “You are five minutes away from good hunting and fishing [in Plain Dealing].”

But what separates this town from others with similar scenery could be the essence of this inviting town, captured best in a song on YouTube by Nick Holovaty. Holovaty, not a Bossier native, is a missionary in Evansville, Ind. A few of years ago, he traveled through Plain Dealing on his way to Shreveport and wrote the song. The lyrics take you through the attraction to the small town.

“Oh I’ll always cherish,

The jewel of Bossier Parish

There’s nowhere else I’d rather be

When the weather’s inviting

And the catfish are biting

Out on Cypress Bayou Number 3”

Of course, Plain Dealing is just one of the many jewels found in Bossier Parish. But, if you choose to make this town your home, you may not want to leave.

Mayor David Smith has lived in Plain Dealing for 38 years and sees the town as a great real estate investment.

“We are a friendly town. We are 25 miles from Bossier City. A lot of people that live here drive to Bossier for work, but we have a large jail facility made up of seven or 800 inmates and [that jail] provides jobs for local people,” Smith said. “We are seeing more and more people move here. Real estate values are pretty good. The cost of living isn’t that high and there are properties available for sale. This is a good place to live.”

Smith has owned one out of the two, oldest independently owned pharmacies in Bossier Parish (the town is home to both of the pharmacies). Though Smith sold the business, he still works two days a week as a pharmacist. Just up the road in the downtown area is the other pharmacy, Kelly Pharmacy, but Smith doesn’t see it as a competition.

“It’s a friendly competition. We are a town of 1,000. If we don’t have it they do and we work together,” he said. “My wife and I have lived in small towns all of our life. We brought [Walker Bros Drug] when I was 28. We raised our kids here. [Plain Dealing] is a close knit community.”

Watch Nick Holovaty’s video: