Leesville:
Vernon Parish, located in west-central Louisiana, covers an area of 1,332 square miles. The parish is considered the "Heart of Sportsman's Paradise," and there are 84,000 square miles of surrounding Kisatchie National Forest.
Fort Polk:
Near the city of Leesville is Fort Polk, the fifth largest military installation in the nation, containing 311 square miles. The fort was built at a cost of $22 million in 1941. It was named in honor of the Right Reverend Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, known as the "fighting Bishop of the Confederacy."
The area was designed as a permanent installation in 1968. Millions of dollars have been spent for the upkeep and expansion, which brings the present value to $335 million.
- Average annual rainfall - 56 inches
- Average January temperature - 50.6 degrees
- Average July temperature - 81.6 degrees
- Vernon Lake (4,500 acres), Anacoco Lake (3,500) and Toledo Bend (181,600) are all nearby