The Hemphills family entered a considerable block of land and settled about two miles below the present town of Jena.

This beautiful ever-running creek had fertile bottom and hammock lands for cultivation and was an excellent range for both cattle and hogs, with wild game and fish being very abundant.

Later, in the middle 1850s, Benjamin Baker, assisted by his father, a native of Pennsylvania, built a watermill on Hemps Creek, about three miles below the present town of Jena.

The mail rider boarded with Mr. Baker and made alternate weekly trips to Harrisonburg and Alexandria on horseback.

In 1869, the first school house was built, and in 1892, the Jena Seminary opened, marking the beginning of secondary education in what is now LaSalle Parish.

Mr. James Forsythe who came to Hemps Creek in 1861 having subsequently served with distinction in the Confederate Army returned in 1865 and established his home here.

Being an educated man and having fine qualities of leadership, he was chosen as teacher of Hemps Creek School, a position he held until 1871.

On March 28, 1920, she was appointed to head the town administration as mayor, by Governor John M. Parker.

[6] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 5.4 square miles (14 km2), all land.

This region experiences hot summers with rainy days, with no average monthly temperatures above 92 °F.