Winn is separated from Natchitoches Parish along U.S. Highway 71 by Saline Bayou, the first blackwater protected waterway in the American South.

[3] During the Civil War, David Pierson, a young attorney, was elected to represent the parish at the Secession Convention called in January 1861 in Baton Rouge by Governor Thomas Overton Moore.

[citation needed] That these conscripts refused to fight for the Confederacy is understandable considering that Union support was higher in north Louisiana, and especially high in Winn Parish.

[5] After the war, bandits roamed the Natchez Trace or Harrisonburg Road that ran through the lower part of the parish.

[citation needed] Winn Parish, Louisiana, has distinguished itself as a notable indicator of statewide electoral outcomes.