The site where Jena stands today began to attract settlers in 1802.  The Hemphills family settled about two miles below the present town of Jena, and soon other settlers followed.  Hemps Creek and post office were named for this family.  Later, in the middle 1850s, Benjamin Baker and his father built a water mill about three miles below the present town of Jena.  The mill was equipped to make corn meal and gin cotton.  This area soon became a favorite trading stop for the area farmers, and was the site of two general stores and a post office.

    The Hemp's Creek post office was renamed in 1871 when the post office department requested that "Creek" or "Bayou" be removed from all post office names.  Andrew Forsythe of Jena, Illinois, was visiting his brother at the time.  he suggested the name "Jena," his home town, which was named for Jena, Germany.

    The name was submitted to the post office department and accepted.  Thus, the name Jena came from Germany by way of Illinois.

    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.

    The Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad operated its first train into Jena on December 31, 1893, and on May 1, 1904, the first passenger train arrived.  A small hotel was operated nearby, and in 1905, the "Jena Times" newspaper was founded.

    On October 2, 1918, Mrs. Lula V. Coleman was made a Deputy Sheriff.  It was her opinion that she was the first female sheriff in the United States.  On March 28, 1920, she was appointed to head the town administration by Governor John M. Parker.  Mrs. Coleman has the distinction of being the only woman ever to serve as mayor of Jena, and was the first female to hold the office of mayor in Louisiana.

Jena is located in LaSalle Parish in central Louisiana.  LaSalle Parish has a total population of 14,282.  Jena has a total population of 3,033.  LaSalle Parish has a total of nine schools in our district. 

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