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West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

West Feliciana Parish (French: Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest; Spanish: Parroquia de Feliciana Occidental) is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,310. The parish seat is St. Francisville. The parish was established in 1824.

In 1824 Feliciana Parish was divided into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish, in recognition of the increases in population throughout the parish. West Feliciana Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

The River Bend Nuclear Generating Station, operated by Entergy Nuclear, is located in West Feliciana Parish below St. Francisville. It produces approximately 10 percent of the total electric power demand in Louisiana. The Louisiana State Penitentiary is also located in the parish, in Angola. It occupies 18,000 acres at a site in a river bend, surrounded on three sides by water.

18th and 19th centuries
Following the founding of the Bayou Sara settlement by French Franciscan/Capuchin monks in the late 17th century, the area was explored further by France, Spain, and Great Britain. The original settlement was flooded repeatedly and finally lost to the waters of the Mississippi River.

After 1763, when France was defeated by Britain in the Seven Years' War, it ceded its territories of La Louisiane east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain, which included it in its West Florida province. Spain gained control of the area in about 1780 – during the American Revolutionary War – and maintained its authority in the area for the next three decades.

In 1810, the colonists, many of whom were of British descent, rebelled against the Spanish colonial regime and established the short-lived independent Republic of West Florida. Within a few months, the United States declared the area to be part of the territory included in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. (Today this region is called the Florida Parishes).

Feliciana Parish was established in 1810, in the Territory of Orleans, which was admitted to the Union two years later as the state of Louisiana. With continued growth of population, in 1824 Feliciana Parish was divided into the East Feliciana and West Feliciana parishes.

During the American Civil War, West Feliciana Parish provided financial assistance to the families of soldiers fighting for the Confederate States of America. Wives and children of soldiers were to receive from $10 to $40 per month, depending on family size.

West Feliciana and national politics
Since before the Civil War, white conservative voters in West Feliciana historically supported the Democratic Party. After Louisiana effectively disenfranchised most black voters under provisions of its 1898 constitution, the state joined others in the South as being a one-party state. The white-dominated legislature passed increasingly stringent Jim Crow and segregation legislation.

But after passage of Federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s, including protection of constitutional voting rights, many white conservatives in the South began to shift to the Republican Party, at least in terms of supporting Presidential candidates. In 1972, the year of Richard Nixon's re-election as President, after widespread anti-war protests and other cultural changes, West Feliciana was the only Louisiana parish to support the Democratic ticket of George McGovern and Sargent Shriver. During the same period, most African Americans in the South began to support the national Democratic Party, which had helped their drive for civil rights.

Since 2000, voters in the parish have supported the Republican Party candidates in Presidential elections. That year Bush-Cheney polled 2,512 votes (55 percent), compared to 2,187 (45 percent) for Democrats Al Gore and Joe Lieberman. West Feliciana voters helped to re-elect George W. Bush and Dick Cheney in 2004, with 2,932 (56 percent) to 2,214 (42 percent) over Democratic candidates John Kerry and John Edwards. Republicans John McCain and Sarah Palin won the parish in 2008, but they lost the Presidential/Vice-Presidential contest to Democrats Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 426 sqmi, of which 403 sqmi is land and 23 sqmi (5.3%) is water.

The parish is located on the Mississippi River, and is bordered by Pointe Coupee Parish to the west and East Feliciana Parish to the east. The parish is about 30 mi north of Baton Rouge and about 60 mi south of Natchez, Mississippi.

The area—including references to the loess soil and Louisiana State Penitentiary—was used by author Walker Percy as the setting for his last novel, The Thanatos Syndrome.

Major highways

 * US 61.svg U.S. Highway 61
 * Louisiana 10 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 10
 * Louisiana 66 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 66

Adjacent parishes and counties

 * Wilkinson County, Mississippi (north)
 * East Feliciana Parish (east)
 * East Baton Rouge Parish (south)
 * West Baton Rouge Parish (south)
 * Pointe Coupee Parish (southwest)
 * Avoyelles Parish (northwest)
 * Concordia Parish (northwest)

National protected area

 * Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge

Town

 * St. Francisville (parish seat and only municipality)

Unincorporated communities

 * Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola)
 * Bains
 * Tunica
 * Wakefield

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 15,310 people, 3,869 households, and 2,497 families residing in the parish. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 15,428 people lived in the parish, down from 15,625 at the 2010 United States census, and up from 15,111 at the 2000 U.S. census. Among the population, the median age was 41.4. In 2000, the parish the population was spread out, with 20.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 40.00% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 191.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 223.60 males.

The racial and ethnic makeup was 53.5% non-Hispanic white, 44.5% Black and African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% Asian alone, 0.1% some other race, 1.1% two or more races, and 1.2% Hispanic and Latin American of any race. In 2000, the racial makeup of the parish was 50.51% Black or African American, 48.63% White, 0.20% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.03% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races; 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race.

In 2019, there were 3,869 households and 5,446 housing units. The parish had a home-ownership rate of 73.2%, and the median housing value was $229,500. Median gross rent was $785, and the median household income was $59,637. Approximately 23.6% of the population lived at or below the poverty line. At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the parish was $39,667, and the median income for a family was $47,239. Males had a median income of $35,046 versus $21,922 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $16,201. About 15.00% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.30% of those under age 18 and 23.40% of those age 65 or over.

In January 2007, the state of Louisiana estimated that 15,318 people lived in the parish, with 5,000 of them being prisoners at Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola).

Government and infrastructure
Louisiana State Penitentiary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections is located in unincorporated West Feliciana Parish.

Education
West Feliciana Parish Public Schools serves the parish. All residents are zoned to Bains Lower Elementary School, Bains Elementary School, West Feliciana Middle School, and West Feliciana High School. Tunica Elementary School, a parish elementary school, was closed after the parish school board voted to close the school in May 2011.

Some students in the parish attend Wilkinson County Christian Academy in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

The West Feliciana Parish Library is located in St. Francisville. The library, previously a part of the Audubon Regional Library System, became independent in January 2004.

The parish's proximity to Baton Rouge offers access to Louisiana State University, Southern University, and Baton Rouge Community College. It is in the service area of Baton Rouge Community College.

News media
Founded in 1892, the St. Francisville Democrat was the parish's local newspaper and served as the official journal for the parish's governmental bodies. The paper, founded by W. W. Leake and his wife May, was originally called "The True Democrat." After Leake's death, May Leake married Elrie Robinson and they continued publication of the newspaper. After May's death in the 1920s, Robinson remarried. The paper was later published by Elrie's son James M. Robinson, who sold it to Marilyn and David Goff in the 1970s. The newspaper was bought by Louisiana Suburban Press in 1979. Louisiana Suburban Press is part of Louisiana State Newspapers, owned by B.I. Moody.

On October 1, 2014, the Democrat was sold by Louisiana State Newspapers to Capital City Press Inc., owner of The Advocate (a major newspaper of Baton Rouge) and of other newspapers in the region.

The Feliciana Explorer is an independent publication mailed to residents of East and West Feliciana. It is owned and published by Daniel Duggan, who also owns the Zachary Post.

Founded in 1976, The Angolite is a news magazine created and published at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Each year, it publishes six issues.

Notable people

 * General Robert Hilliard Barrow, the 27th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps (USMC) from 1979 to 1983.
 * Cheston Folkes, Louisiana state representative from West Feliciana Parish, 1908–1920, 1924–1932, and 1936–1940
 * John Richard Rarick, attorney and U.S. Representative from St. Francisville.
 * Major Thibaut, state representative since 2008 for District 18, which includes West Feliciana Parish
 * Sheadrick Turner (1869–1927), Illinois state representative, newspaper editor, and lawyer

title: West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana


text:
West Carroll Parish, Louisiana

West Carroll Parish (Paroisse de Carroll Ouest) is a parish located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,751. The parish seat is Oak Grove. The parish was founded in 1877, when Carroll Parish was divided.

The area of cotton culture in Louisiana in parishes along this part of the Mississippi River was also referred to as the Natchez District. It included the parishes of East Carroll (after the split in 1877), Concordia, Madison and Tensas.

History
Before being divided, Carroll Parish was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and the last surviving signer of the document. It was organized by European Americans after the Louisiana Purchase.

West Carroll Parish has a long history of inhabitants who predated the formation of the United States by thousands of years. On the south end of West Carroll Parish is Poverty Point, a nearly square-mile complex of ancient major earthwork semi-circles and radiating lanes, plus additional platform mounds. This is one of the largest Native American earthworks in North America. Archeologists have determined that the site was built in the Late Archaic period beginning about 1500 BCE, and it was the central trading grounds for the Poverty Point culture that occupied the lower Mississippi River Valley. It has been referred to as the New York City of more than two millennia ago. Artifacts show trading reached to present-day Georgia and Great Lakes states such as Wisconsin. Later historic tribes in the area included the Choctaw and Chickasaw.

Though the area was explored by many French and Spanish in the 16th through 18th centuries, they did not establish permanent settlements, favoring areas on rivers with more direct access to the Gulf and major markets.

US annexation and development
After the United States' Louisiana Purchase of 1803, all of Northeast Louisiana was considered part of Ouachita Parish, including West Carroll. In 1807, a Methodist minister, Moses Floyd, settled on the west bank of the Bayou Macon. Later a trading post known as "Floyd" developed, and the village began to grow. It developed less than a mile from the Poverty Point site.

As the European-American population of Ouachita Parish continued to increase, the area was organized into smaller parishes; in 1832 Carroll Parish was carved out of Ouachita by the state legislature. This was in the period of Indian Removal, when most members of local tribes were moved to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) to extinguish their land claims in Louisiana.

The parish seat was located in Lake Providence on the banks of the Mississippi River. Throughout the early part of the 19th century, the European-American population of the western portion of Carroll Parish continued to grow; its economy was based mainly on cotton production and timber. By 1855 the population had grown to the point where there were enough votes to move the parish seat west of the Bayou Macon and Floyd was selected. This area had developed into a thriving trading post due to steamboat traffic on the Macon. In 1856 construction began on the new courthouse, which was finished in late 1857.

With the move of the parish seat, more professionals and tradesmen settled in Floyd, and the town grew markedly. It developed as a typical frontier town with a hotel, post office, general store, and saloons.

In January 1861 the Louisiana Legislature voted to secede from the Union and declare itself a free and sovereign state. Less than two months later, Louisiana joined the Confederacy. According to the book, Between the Rivers, the war resulted in a divide that would eventually lead to the creation of West Carroll Parish: When the Confederate Flag flew over the court house in Floyd, it was saluted by nearly everyone, but not so with our neighbors across the river. Plantation|Planters to the east, either out of conviction to their consciences or to save their property, signed an oath of allegiance to the United States, thus bringing a rift among neighbors who were willing to lose everything including their lives, for the cause of the South; and, they felt very bitter toward any neighbor signing such an oath. (Note: This oath was required after Union forces occupied Louisiana.)

There was little fighting in this area associated with the Civil War. Union efforts were focused on trying to gain and maintain control of the Mississippi River, especially at Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Some historians believed that insurgent activity, such as the Quantrill Gang, which operated primarily in Missouri, replaced regular forces. This area was isolated and vast lowland swamps surrounded Floyd. Frank James was said to come through with Quantrill in the winter of 1863–1864, on their way to and from Texas. In the early 1870s during Reconstruction, Frank and his brother Jesse James continued their outlaw activities, robbing banks for personal gain from Missouri to Texas.

During the Reconstruction era, local leaders opposed those appointed by the federally appointed state government. Some people worked against the provision of rights to freedmen. In the 1870s, chapters of the White League developed throughout Louisiana, paramilitary groups that intimidated Republicans, suppressed voting by freedmen, and supported white Democrats returning to power in the state legislature.

Post-Reconstruction to present
Federal troops were withdrawn from the state in March 1877 as part of a federal compromise. Soon after white Democrats regained power in the state legislature, they approved the creation of West Carroll Parish, which had a majority-white population. Initially it had a population of 800 people and 200 families, both white and black. East Carroll Parish was majority black, as it had been the center of cotton plantation agriculture, dependent on the labor of numerous enslaved African Americans. After emancipation, they voted in support of the Republican Party.

Cotton and timber continued to be the life-blood of the new parish, although areas dependent on agriculture in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century had economic difficulties. The parish had ten cotton gins and three sawmills, and steamboats continued to run Bayou Macon as the main hub of transportation. Steamboat traffic on the Boeuf and Macon rivers dwindled due to the competition of railways constructed through the South. With the railroad, parish towns began to develop along the north–south road (La. 17). Among these were Pioneer, Forest, Oak Grove and Kilbourne. Closest to the parish seat and with a major sawmill, Pioneer grew rapidly.

In January 1909, Oak Grove was incorporated. Many of the parish's prominent citizens, such as Leopold Lipp, considered it as the intersection of the north–south and east–west (La. 2) roads. It was to become the economic center of the parish in the near future.

In 1915, an election was held to move the parish seat from Floyd to a town located on the railroad. The two towns competing for the honor were Oak Grove and Pioneer. With the largest population living in the south end of the parish, the people of Pioneer felt confident they would get the seat; but, the people of the north end of the parish gained the selection of Oak Grove by a small margin. With the parish seat moved, Pioneer began to decline.

In 1916, construction began on the new courthouse at Oak Grove. Before it was completed, a hail storm and tornado devastated the town late that year. It destroyed the first theater, a large majority of the new courthouse, and many other buildings in town. In January 1917 the new courthouse was opened, and so began of the modern era of Oak Grove. Its Main Street had businesses varying from general stores, drug stores, a modern theater, cafes, two banks and more.

The economy of the parish continued to be dominated by the timber and cotton industry. In the early part of the 20th century, Donald B. Fiske opened a state-of the art cotton gin and compress to complement his sawmill. It became one of the largest employers of the parish.

After World War II, the town and parish continued to prosper with new industry and business. In 1950, the most modern movie theatre in the South was opened by Fiske, and it is still in operation today. In this area, farmers began to cultivate sweet potatoes rather than cotton. The textile industry gradually moved out of southern mills to offshore locations out of the United States. A cannery was built along the railroad, and operated until near the end of the 20th century.

In the 1960s and 1970s, city growth continued, with the construction of a modern hospital and nursing home, and the Wells Lamont garment factory. In 1969 the entrepreneur Shelton Ruffin built a pre-manufactured pole barn for personal use. Its style and construction quickly gained in popularity around the region, thus spurring the formation of Ruffin Building Systems. It is now one of the largest manufacturers of metal buildings in the South and ships buildings internationally.

With the coming of the 1980s and the rise of the large department stores in malls, business on Main Street began to decline. But this historic district continues to remain vibrant with over 50 percent of its buildings occupied.

By the early 21st century, entertainment and retail shopping have become major parts of the economy in West Carroll. In 2004 the Thomas Jason Lingo Community Center opened with a 1,000-seat auditorium; it has many live events each year. The Fiske Theatre has been renovated and returned to regular operation as a first-run movie theatre. Both of these venues attract families from all over Northeast Louisiana and Southeast Arkansas to the parish for entertainment.

Today agriculture is still king in West Carroll; the main crops are corn, rice, cotton, and sweet potatoes. But the largest employers are West Carroll Health Systems, West Carroll School Board, Ruffin Building Systems, and Wal-Mart. West Carroll has five banking institutions to serve people's financial needs.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 361 sqmi, of which 360 sqmi is land and 0.9 sqmi (0.3%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:Louisiana 2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 2
 * [[Image:Louisiana 17 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 17

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * Chicot County, Arkansas (north)
 * East Carroll Parish (east)
 * Richland Parish (south)
 * Morehouse Parish (west)

National protected area

 * Poverty Point National Monument

Towns

 * Oak Grove (parish seat)

Villages

 * Epps
 * Forest
 * Kilbourne
 * Pioneer

Unincorporated communities

 * Goodwill
 * Concord
 * Bear Skin
 * Green
 * Redwing
 * Chickasaw
 * Old Floyd
 * Darnell
 * Terry
 * Fiske Union

Law enforcement
The West Carroll Sheriff's Office provides full-time law enforcement for the parish and has seventeen full-time deputies. Scott Mathews now serves as sheriff.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,751 people, 4,084 households, and 2,693 families residing in the parish.

Politics
West Carroll Parish is majority white. Since the late 20th century, its voters, formerly strong Democrats, have strongly favored the Republican in presidential elections.

In 2008, Obama received 878 votes (17.6 percent), compared to Republican U.S. Senator John McCain's 4,045 votes (81.1 percent). In 2012, Mitt Romney polled 3,628 ballots (79.8 percent) of the vote, with 853 votes (18.8 percent) for U.S. President Barack Obama. The 80–19 split nearly parallels the racial composition of West Carroll.

In East Carroll Parish, however, which has a majority African-American population, Obama won nearly 62 percent of the ballots.

In 1992, the two major party presidential candidates virtually split West Carroll Parish. Republican U.S. President George H. W. Bush prevailed with 2,082 votes (40.7 percent) to Bill Clinton's 2,068 (40.4 percent). Ross Perot of Texas, running that year as an Independent, held another 771 votes (15.1 percent). In 1988, Bush handily defeated Michael Dukakis in West Carroll Parish, 3,077 (64.1 percent) to 1,607 (33.5 percent).

The last Democrat to win the presidential contest in West Carroll Parish was Jimmy Carter of Georgia, a favorite son of the South, in his 1976 defeat of U.S. President Gerald Ford, Jr.

Education
West Carroll Parish public schools are operated by the West Carroll Parish School Board. The public school system consist of four high schools and one elementary school that consistently rank at the top of the state in test scores and on the athletic field.

National Guard
The 921ST Engineer Company (Vertical) of the 528th Engineer Brigade resides in Oak Grove, Louisiana.

Notable people

 * Vance McAllister (born January 1974), American businessman and politician
 * W. Spencer Myrick (1913–2002), American politician
 * Tony Joe White (1943–2018), American musician

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: West Carroll Parish, Louisiana


text:
West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

West Baton Rouge Parish (Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Ouest, Spanish: Parroquia del Oeste de Baton Rouge) is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Established in 1807, its parish seat is Port Allen. With a 2020 census population of 27,199 residents, West Baton Rouge Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

The parish has a highly rated school system, and is one that has privatized school bus services. West Baton Rouge saw a very small percentage of growth after Hurricane Katrina; According to an estimate of July 2018, the parish's population was 26,427.

Prehistory
The Medora site, a Plaquemine culture mound site located adjacent to Bayou Bourbeaux on the flood plain of Manchac Point, a hair-pin bend of the Mississippi River in the southeast corner of the parish, was instrumental in defining the Plaquemine culture and period. The site was excavated in the winter of 1939–40 by James A. Ford and George I. Quimby, for the Louisiana State Archaeological Survey, a joint project of Louisiana State University and the Work Projects Administration.

Historic era
West Baton Rouge Parish was formed in 1807; it was named Baton Rouge Parish until 1812.

The Baton Rouge, Gross-Tete and Opelousas Railroad was chartered in 1853. The company had an eastern terminus on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from Baton Rouge in what later became the City of Port Allen. A steam ferry boat, the Sunny South, made three trips a day to connect the railroad to Baton Rouge. The railroad ran westward into neighboring Iberville Parish passing the village of Rosedale. After reaching Bayou Grosse-Tete near the village of Grosse Tete, the line turned to the northwest and ran to Livonia in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, a total distance of twenty-six miles. The roadbed westward from Livonia to the Atchafalaya River had been prepared by 1861.

Civil War
The advent of the Civil War prevented the railroad from getting the necessary rails to complete the line. The tracks to Opelousas were never built.

After Louisiana seceded, two companies of militia were organized in West Baton Rouge, the Delta Rifles, headed by Captain Favrot and the Tirailleurs of Brusly Landing, a French-speaking company of creoles headed by Captain Williams. The two West Baton Rouge companies were included in the 4th Louisiana Regiment, commanded by Colonel Robert J. Barrow, assisted by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Watkins Allen. The regiment participated in the Battle of Shiloh, the Battle of Baton Rouge and other actions.

The railroad operated up until May 1862 carrying sugar cane, cotton, and Confederate troops, including the Delta Rifles headed by Captain H. M. Favrot. When Union force occupied Baton Rouge in May 1862, all rolling stock was sent to the extreme western end of the railroad for safety where it remained for the duration of the war. Mr. J. V. Duralde was the president of the company during the Civil War period.

Many Baton Rouge residents took refuge in West Baton Rouge Parish during the Union occupation of Baton Rouge in 1862. Sarah Morgan saw the CSS Arkansas, a Confederate ram, tied to the bank below the levee in West Baton Rouge Parish prior to the Battle of Baton Rouge. Morgan observed the Battle of Baton Rouge from West Baton Rouge Parish.

The Arkansas suffered failure of its port engine while proceeding upriver during the battle to get into position to attack the USS Essex. This caused it to veer into the West Baton Rouge bank about 600 feet south of mile marker 223, where it ran hard aground. The crew of the Arkansas then set the vessel afire and scuttled it to avoid it falling into enemy hands.

The defeated Union army under the command of Major General Nathaniel P. Banks passed through West Baton Rouge Parish on Rosedale Road on its return to New Orleans in May 1864, after the failure of the Red River Campaign.

Post-Civil War period
The American Civil War devastated the sugar industry that had flourished in the southern part of Louisiana, including West Baton Rouge Parish, prior to the war. The control of the Mississippi River by the Union prevented the sugar crop from going to market, Horses and mules were seized by the Union forces, and crops were left unharvested in the fields, so the sugar industry was bankrupt at the end of the Civil War. Many sugar plantations ware taken over by northern interests. West Baton Rouge Parish was no exception. The conveyance records on file with the Clerk-of-Court of West Baton Rouge Parish show that many plantation properties were sold at sheriff's sale to satisfy debts in the years immediately after the end of the Civil War.

The Baton Rouge, Grosse Tete, and Opelousas Railroad resumed operation after the end of hostilities, but found the economy adverse, because of the devastation in agriculture. Moreover, its sixty-nine slaves had been emancipated and had to be replaced with hired labor. Furthermore, the "Great Crevasse", which occurred in the north end of West Baton Rouge Parish in 1867, caused flooding that greatly damaged the track in a low section about six miles west of the Mississippi River. The now unprofitable rail company eventually ceased operations in 1883. The assets of the railroad were acquired by the Louisiana Central Railroad and operated until 1902.

The Texas and Pacific Railway was chartered by the United States Congress in 1871 to build a southern transcontinental railroad. The route started in Westwego (on the west bank of the Mississippi near New Orleans) and ran northwestward on the west bank of the Mississippi and on to Alexandria, Shreveport, thence westward to Fort Worth, and El Paso where it joined the Southern Pacific Railroad. The route passes through the southwestern part of West Baton Rouge Parish. A junction was established in the southern part of the parish from which a spur line ran twelve miles northward to the west bank of the Mississippi river across from Baton Rouge at a location which was already called "Port Allen". The junction was called "Baton Rouge Junction". The town of Addis grew up around Baton Rouge Junction. The Texas and Pacific acquired additional right-of-way in 1899 to extend the spur from Port Allen to New Roads, Louisiana and beyond to Alexandria, Louisiana.

Twentieth century
A crevasse in northern Point Coupeé Parish near Torras in May 1912 caused flooding that spread into northern West Baton Rouge Parish and southward to Addis west of the Texas and Pacific Railroad.

The Texas and Pacific was merged into the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1976. A further merger of the Missouri Pacific and the Union Pacific occurred in 1997, making the Texas and Pacific part of the Union Pacific Railroad.

The Southern Pacific Railroad built a spur line from Lafayette, Louisiana to Anchorage in West Baton Rouge very early in the twentieth century. The line ran in a straight line and is notable for crossing the Atchafalaya Basin. The line was never financially successful and was abandoned in the 1920s. Southern Pacific Road occupies the former right-of-way of a small portion of the line.

Starting in 1906, the Missouri Pacific Railroad operated the George H. Walker, a rail ferry, called a "transfer boat", from Anchorage (immediately north of the Sunrise Community) in West Baton Rouge Parish across the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish. The transfer boat was steam-powered and equipped with rails on its deck that allowed passenger and freight railcars to be rolled on and off. It ceased operation September 2, 1947, after the construction of the Huey P. Long Bridge, which included a railway, made its continued operation unnecessary.

West Baton Rouge Parish was the location of Prisoner of War Sub-Camp 7 from 1943 until mid-1946. The camp housed German prisoners who were deployed as plantation labor. The camp was located on West Baton Rouge Parish property fronting on Sixth Street in Port Allen.

The Cinclare Sugar Mill Historic District is located in West Baton Rouge Parish near Brusly.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 204 sqmi, of which 192 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (5.6%) is water. It is the second-smallest parish in Louisiana by land area and smallest by total area.

The southwestern portion of the parish is uninhabited timberland. The most prominent geographic feature is the Mississippi River which forms the east border of the parish. Levees along the river protect the parish from flooding by the Mississippi River in times of high water.

The parish is contained within the Two Rivers Region of the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area.

Adjacent parishes

 * West Feliciana Parish (north)
 * East Baton Rouge Parish (east)
 * East Feliciana Parish (northeast)
 * Iberville Parish (southwest)
 * Pointe Coupeé Parish (northwest)

City

 * Port Allen (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

 * Addis
 * Brusly

Census-designated place

 * Erwinville

Unincorporated communities

 * Winterville
 * Bueche
 * Chamberlin
 * Devalls
 * Ithra
 * Kahns
 * Lobdell
 * Lukeville
 * Walls

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,199 people, 9,643 households, and 7,194 families residing in the parish. As of the census of 2000, there were 21,601 people, 7,663 households, and 5,739 families residing in the parish. The population density was 113 PD/sqmi. There were 8,370 housing units at an average density of 44 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 62.78% White, 35.49% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. 1.45% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 8,386 households, out of which 37.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 18.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.10% were non-families. 21.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.74 and the average family size was 3.20.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 28.10% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 21.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.40 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $47,298 and the per capita income was $22.101. Males had a median income of $35,618 versus $22,960 for females. About 13.20% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.20% of those under age 18 and 13.10% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
West Baton Rouge's location on the Mississippi River plus railroad transportation has made it attractive to heavy industry. Notable industry includes Placid Refining Company near Port Allen and Dow Chemical Company and ShinTech near Addis.

The docks and other property of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge are located in West Baton Rouge Parish.

Interstate 10 makes West Baton Rouge attractive as a distribution center. A number of warehouses have been built near I-10. Many trucking firms have located near the Huey P. Long Bridge.

Education
West Baton Rouge Parish School Board operates area public schools.

Holy Family School (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge) is a local private Catholic school for grades pre-K through Eight.

It is in the service area of Baton Rouge Community College.

Museums and libraries
The West Baton Rouge Museum, located in Port Allen, maintains historical information on West Baton Rouge Parish. The Town of Addis operates a museum that keeps historical information about the Town of Addis.

The Parish of West Baton Rouge maintains a library in Port Allen, and in Brusly.

Media
West Baton Rouge Parish is served by two weekly newspapers. The West Side Journal, published every Thursday, provides hard news and is the official journal of the parish. The Riverside Reader, published every Monday, focuses on items of historical interest and human interest stories.

Law and government
West Baton Rouge Parish is governed by a parish council that is made up of seven elected officials and one elected parish president.

West Baton Rouge Parish has three incorporated areas (Port Allen, Brusly, and Addis) with local police departments. The West Baton Rouge Sheriff's Department is responsible for law enforcement in all of the unincorporated areas.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-10.svg|25px]] Interstate 10
 * [[Image:US 190.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 190
 * [[Image:Louisiana 1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 1
 * [[Image:Louisiana 76 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 76
 * [[Image:Louisiana 327 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 327
 * [[Image:Louisiana 411 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 411
 * [[Image:Louisiana 413 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 413
 * [[Image:Louisiana 415 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 415
 * [[Image:Louisiana 620 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 620
 * [[Image:Louisiana 982 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 982
 * [[Image:Louisiana 983 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 983
 * [[Image:Louisiana 984 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 984
 * [[Image:Louisiana 985 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 985
 * [[Image:Louisiana 986 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 986
 * [[Image:Louisiana 987-1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 987-1
 * [[Image:Louisiana 987-3 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 987-3
 * [[Image:Louisiana 987-4 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 987-4
 * [[Image:Louisiana 988 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 988
 * [[Image:Louisiana 989-1 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 989-1
 * [[Image:Louisiana 989-2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 989-2
 * [[Image:Louisiana 990 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 990
 * [[Image:Louisiana 1145 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 1145
 * [[Image:Louisiana 1148 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 1148
 * [[Image:Louisiana 3091 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 3091
 * [[Image:Louisiana 3237 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 3237

West Baton Rouge Parish is connected to East Baton Rouge Parish by the Huey P. Long Bridge (U.S. Highway 190) and the Horace Wilkinson Bridge (Interstate 10).

Rail
West Baton Rouge is served by the Kansas City Southern Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad.

Notable people

 * Henry Watkins Allen
 * Slim Harpo
 * John Hill
 * Edmond Jordan, represents District 29 (West and East Baton Rouge parishes) in the Louisiana House of Representatives
 * Raful Neal
 * Major Thibaut, represents West Baton Rouge Parish in the Louisiana House of Representatives

title: West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana


text:
Webster Parish, Louisiana

Webster Parish (French: Paroisse de Webster) is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest city is Minden.

As of the 2020 census, the Webster Parish population was 36,967. Public officials who have long sought to increase the industrial potential of the parish, expressed concern over the d ecline. Jim Bonsall, the president of the Webster Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body, cited the ending of the Haynesville Shale boom as the primary reason for the population losses. The parish has long depended on jobs in the petroleum and natural gas fields.

The parish is named for 19th-century American statesman Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. It was created on February 27, 1871 from lands formerly belonging to Bienville, Bossier, and Claiborne parishes. The parish centennial celebration was held in May 1971. Speakers included Police jury president Leland Garland Mims and Judge Enos McClendon of the Louisiana 26th Judicial District Court, who gave a biographical sketch of Daniel Webster. Many officials and parish employees dressed in period costume of the 1870s for the event.

Webster Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City–Minden CSA.

Among the first settlers in Webster Parish was Newett Drew, a native of Virginia, who about 1818 established a grist mill at the former Overton community near Minden. At this time the area was Natchitoches Parish and later Overton became the Parish Seat of Claiborne Parish in 1836 until it moved in 1848. His son, Richard Maxwell Drew was born in Overton and served as a district judge and state representative prior to his death in 1850 at the age of twenty-eight. R. M. Drew's descendants held judicial or legislative positions in Webster Parish as well, Richard Cleveland Drew, Harmon Caldwell Drew, R. Harmon Drew, Sr., and Harmon Drew, Jr.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 615 sqmi, of which 593 sqmi is land and 22 sqmi (3.5%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-20.svg|25px]] Interstate 20
 * [[Image:I-69 (Future).svg|25px]] Future Interstate 69
 * [[Image:US 79.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 79
 * [[Image:US 80.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 80
 * [[Image:US 371.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 371
 * [[Image:Louisiana 2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 2

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * Lafayette County, Arkansas (north)
 * Columbia County, Arkansas (northeast)
 * Claiborne Parish (east)
 * Bienville Parish (southeast)
 * Bossier Parish (west)

National protected areas

 * Kisatchie National Forest (part)
 * Caney Lakes Recreation Area near Minden (not to be confused with another Caney Lake near Jonesboro, Louisiana)

Cities

 * Minden (parish seat and largest municipality)
 * Springhill

Towns

 * Cotton Valley
 * Cullen
 * Sarepta
 * Sibley

Villages

 * Dixie Inn
 * Doyline
 * Dubberly
 * Heflin
 * Shongaloo

Unincorporated communities

 * Midway
 * Yellow Pine

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 36,967 people, 16,551 households, and 10,295 families residing in the parish.

As of the census of 2010 there were 52,903 people, 20,500 households, and 12,589 families residing in the parish. The population density was 92 /mi2. There were 18,991 housing units at an average density of 32 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 65.51% White, 32.83% Black or African American, 0.34% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.22% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. 0.90% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,501 households, of which 30.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.70% were married couples living together, 16.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.90% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 25.60% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.20 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $28,408, and the median income for a family was $35,119. Males had a median income of $30,343 versus $20,907 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,203. About 15.30% of families and 20.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.60% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

Law, government, and politics
In 1996, the Webster Parish Police Jury approved a $1,849,000 bid to the firm Finney Co. of Shreveport for construction of a new parish library facility on Est and West Street in Minden.

Webster Parish is generally competitive in most contested elections. The parish voted for Republican Barry Goldwater for president in 1964 and George Wallace in 1968, when the former governor of Alabama ran on the American Independent Party ticket. Richard Nixon won here in 1972, and Jimmy Carter of Georgia prevailed in 1976. In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan won the parish by a nearly two-to-one margin over former Vice President Walter F. Mondale.

In 2000, Governor George W. Bush of Texas won in Webster Parish with 9,420 votes (55.1 percent), compared to then Vice President Al Gore's 7,197 (42.1 percent). Patrick Buchanan of the Reform Party held 183 votes (1.1 percent). In 2004, Bush again won the parish, having polled 11,070 votes (60 percent) to Democrat John Kerry's 6,833 (37 percent).

In 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona carried Webster Parish with 11,417 votes (62.5 percent), compared to Barack Obama's 6,610 (36.2 percent). Four years later in 2012, Republican Mitt Romney led in the parish with 11,400 votes (61.9 percent), 17 fewer ballots than McCain had received. In 2012, President Obama polled 6,802 votes (36.9 percent), 192 more than his 2008 tabulation.

The last Democrat hence to have won in Webster Parish at the presidential level was Bill Clinton in 1996, who received 9,688 (55.3 percent), compared to Republican Robert Dole's 6,153 ballots (35.1 percent). Ross Perot, founder of the Reform Party, held 1,324 votes (7.6 percent). In that same election, the Democrat Mary Landrieu carried Webster Parish in her successful U.S. Senate race against Republican Woody Jenkins, 8,459 (51.3 percent) to 8,020 (48.7 percent).

Education
The elected Webster Parish School Board operates local public schools.

It is in the service area of Bossier Parish Community College.

National Guard
The 39th MP Company of the 773rd MP Battalion and the 1083rd Transportation Company of the 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion reside at Camp Minden west of Minden, formerly the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant. Both of these battalions are part of the 139TH RSG (Regional Support Group).

Notable people

 * Alan Bean, astronaut, fourth person to walk on the Moon
 * "Sweet Lou" Dunbar, basketball player, 27-year player for the Harlem Globetrotters
 * Gene Austin, crooner, singer of "My Blue Heaven," the best-selling American single until 1942
 * Marshall H. Twitchell, Reconstruction official, victim of assassination attempt
 * John Cecil Jones, World War II veteran and lynching victim
 * John L. Nelson, jazz musician under the name Prince Rogers, father of musician Prince
 * Charlie Hennigan, AFL All-Star wide receiver
 * James Burton, guitarist, member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
 * Roger Carr, Pro Bowl NFL wide receiver
 * Percy Mayfield, R&B singer
 * John David Crow, American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator
 * John T. Watkins, eight-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives

title: Webster Parish, Louisiana


text:
Washington Parish, Louisiana

Washington Parish (French: Paroisse de Washington; Parroquia de Washington) is a parish located in the interior southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,463. Its parish seat is Franklinton. Its largest city is Bogalusa. The parish was founded in 1819.

Washington Parish comprises the Bogalusa, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area.

History
Washington Parish was formed in 1819 by splitting off from St. Tammany Parish. Franklinton was designated as the parish seat on February 10, 1821.

Washington Parish is the most northeasterly of what are called the Florida Parishes. Great Britain took over control of this French territory east of the Mississippi River in 1763 after defeating France in the Seven Years' War. But France had also ceded some territory to Spain. This area was under contention, and English and American settlers tried to set up an independent state here in 1810. The United States annexed the territory, later settling with Spain in a treaty. Through much of this period, the French influence remained strong in the region, especially in its former colonial cities.

This area was rural and forested with virgin longleaf pine (Pinus palustris L.) In the early 20th century, entrepreneurial brothers Frank and Charles W. Goodyear, already successful businessmen from Buffalo, New York, purchased hundreds of thousands of acres of forest in this area and in southwestern Mississippi. They established the Great Southern Lumber Company, constructed a huge sawmill (the largest in the world at the time) in the middle of the forest, and developed Bogalusa, Louisiana, as a company mill town. In the early 20th century, there were numerous confrontations as workers attempted to unionize and companies hired private militia to suppress such activities.

The company housing for workers was divided by Jim Crow custom and state laws on racial segregation into sections for "Americans" and another for "colored" and foreign workers. It also built housing for supervisors, and supporting facilities, such as several hotels, churches, a YMCA and YWCA, schools, and other services within a year, opening facilities in 1907. To access the timber and transport processed lumber from the mill to markets, the company built the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad, connecting Bogalusa to the port of New Orleans.

Well before World War II, the virgin forest was harvested. Great Southern Lumber Company closed the sawmill in 1938. Its paper mill and chemical operations continued. Gradually in the late 20th century, these operations declined. As jobs left, the population dropped in such industrial towns. Some people moved to new or emerging industries in New Orleans and other major cities.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 676 sqmi, of which 670 sqmi is land and 6.4 sqmi (0.9%) is water.

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * Pike County, Mississippi (northwest)
 * Walthall County, Mississippi (north)
 * Marion County, Mississippi (northeast)
 * Pearl River County, Mississippi (east)
 * St. Tammany Parish (south)
 * Tangipahoa Parish (west)

Major highways

 * [[Image:Louisiana 10 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 10
 * [[Image:Louisiana 16 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 16
 * [[Image:Louisiana 21 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 21
 * [[Image:Louisiana 25 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 25

National protected area

 * Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State park

 * Bogue Chitto State Park

City

 * Bogalusa (largest municipality)

Town

 * Franklinton (parish seat)

Villages

 * Angie
 * Varnado

Unincorporated communities

 * Enon
 * Mount Hermon
 * Pine
 * Thomas
 * Warnerton

Demographics
At the 2020 United States census, there were 45,463 people, 17,613 households, and 11,924 families residing in the parish. in 2000 there were 43,926 people, 16,467 households, and 11,642 families residing in the parish. The population density was 66 PD/sqmi. There were 19,106 housing units at an average density of 28 /sqmi.

In 2000, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 67.42% White, 31.53% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races; 0.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. By 2020, its makeup was 65.08% non-Hispanic white, 28.06% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 3.11% other or multiracial, and 3.1% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

In 2000, there were 16,467 households, out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.30% were married couples living together, 17.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

At the 2000 census, the median income for a household in the parish was $24,264, and the median income for a family was $29,480. Males had a median income of $27,964 versus $17,709 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $12,915. About 19.40% of families and 24.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.20% of those under age 18 and 20.40% of those age 65 or over. Washington Parish has the second highest level of poverty in the state after Orleans Parish.

Economy
Washington Parish is currently known for its agriculture, particularly watermelons. Through much of the 20th century, its economy was based on its timber and paper industry.

In 1906, The Great Southern Lumber Company, founded by the Goodyear brothers from New York, purchased huge tracts of forest and established a sawmill in Bogalusa to harvest the local virgin pine forests. This company was the first to introduce reforestation in order to sustain the timber industry locally. Taken over by Crown Zellerbach, it later started a paper mill and chemical businesses in the area.

The local business passed through several hands as the lumber and related industries restructured through the late 20th century. In the 21st century, Temple-Inland Corporation is the largest employer in the parish.

Education
Students residing outside of Ward 4, most of the parish, attend Washington Parish School System. Students within Ward 4 attend Bogalusa City Schools. The Bogalusa district serves the City of Bogalusa, Rio, and some unincorporated areas.

Northshore Technical Community College is located in Bogalusa.

Government
The Washington Parish Government is a Home Rule Charter or "President-Council" form of Government. Its current President, elected at-large, is Richard N. Thomas, Jr. The seven council members are each elected from single-member districts.

Corrections
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Correctional Center near the village of Varnado,LA.

National Guard
Bogalusa is home to the headquarters of the 205th Engineer Battalion of the 225th Engineer Brigade. Franklinton is the home of the 843rd Engineer Company.

Notable people

 * Oneal Moore (1931-1965), US Army veteran and first African-American deputy sheriff in Washington Parish Sheriff's Office; murdered while in uniform in a drive-by shooting, June 2, 1965. Case never solved.
 * Henry "Tank" Powell (born 1945), state representative from Tangipahoa Parish from 1996 to 2008; member of the Louisiana Board of Pardons since 2008
 * Weldon Russell (born 1946), former state representative for Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes; born in Washington Parish
 * Malinda Brumfield White (born 1967), state representative for Washington and St. Tammany parishes, effective 2016
 * Katherine Haik (born 2000), from Franklinton, named Miss Teen USA 2015 at the age of fifteen
 * Curtis "Curt" Matthew Thomas (1923-1994), former Louisiana politician, civil rights advocate, former Washington Parish registrar of voters, WWII Purple Heart veteran, and longest serving accessor in Washington Parish history

title: Washington Parish, Louisiana


text:
Vernon Parish, Louisiana

Vernon Parish (French: Paroisse de Vernon) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,750. The parish seat is Leesville. Bordered on the west by the Sabine River, the parish was founded in 1871 during the Reconstruction era.

It was long a center of the timber industry, which harvested pine in the hills and bottomland hardwoods. Construction of a railway to the area in 1897 stimulated the marketing of lumber and businesses in the area.

Since World War II, Fort Johnson, formerly Fort Polk, has been most important to the parish economy. The population of the Leesville area rapidly increased fivefold after the fort was opened. Vernon Parish is part of the Fort Johnson South, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the DeRidder-Fort Johnson South, LA Combined Statistical Area.

History
The area comprising Vernon was a part of a tract of land whose control was disputed in the late 18th century between the United States and Spain. They called this land the "Neutral Strip" and refrained from posting police or military personnel there. As a result, the area became a haven for outlaws. Prior to the United States acquisition of this territory through the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803, the primary settlers who came to the area were ethnic French and Spanish.

During this period, Dr. Timothy Burr, a Massachusetts native who had migrated to Louisiana from Mt. Vernon, Ohio, established the community of Burr Ferry at his landing on the Sabine River. This community became known as the "Gateway to Louisiana" from the west. For decades this area was part of the Natchitoches, Rapides, and Sabine parishes, which were established soon after the US acquired this territory in the early nineteenth century. The timber industry was most important to the local economy, with both pines of the hills and bottomland hardwoods being harvested. Some landowners had their land cleared by slaves to establish plantations for cotton cultivation.

During the American Civil War, an artillery site was constructed nearby. Now called the "Confederate Breast Works", it was manned by the Confederacy to guard against Union movements along the Nolan Trace.

On March 30. 1871, the Louisiana General Assembly passed an act to create Vernon Parish, by taking territory from the three parishes noted above, as population had increased in the area. There are four versions of how the parish was named; the only official State version is that it was named in honor of Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington.

Leesville was designated as the parish seat of Vernon from the start. It was incorporated February 15, 1900. The city was founded by Dr. Edmund E. Smart, who donated land from his plantation for the development of the parish seat. It was named by Senator John Rowell Smart, his father, in honor of General Robert E. Lee. The Big House from the Smart plantation still stands, where the city has grown up around it. It is located at what today is the corner of Lula and First streets.

Folklore accounts of the naming of the parish are: 1) that it was named after a race horse owned by Joe Moore, one of the members of the committee chosen to name the parish, who claimed that by naming the parish after his fast horse the committee would insure the growth of the parish: 2) that it was named after a popular teacher who had been an officer in the Royal Navy, only mentioned as "Mr. Vernon". The decision was made to avoid disputes among the parish founders, each of whom wanted to name it after himself. 3) The final account tells that the committee had been arguing over the name while drinking in a store. Trying to preserve his precious whiskey and profits, the host suggested the committee stop a local man passing by on a mule-drawn cart and name the parish whatever the man said was the mule's name. The man responded, "I calls him Vernon, 'cause he's the fastes' mule in de country."

In the late 1890s the timber industry, which was the dominant industry in the parish from its creation, began to boom with the construction of the Kansas City Southern Railway in 1897. It increased access to markets. The railway continues to operate in the early 21st century.

20th century to present
In the period after World War I, Vernon Parish became the site of two socialist-based communities. The Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony developed as New Llano, established in 1917. The second was the Christian Commonwealth Colony. These colonies attempted to attract economists and sociologists to conduct an experiment in communal membership and the sharing of labor duties. Llano del Rio was the larger community, with more than 10,000 people, and was also the longest-surviving. Both colonies failed in the 1930s during the economic stress of the Great Depression.

In 1941, the United States Army opened Camp Polk, shortly after the outbreak of war in Europe, with the German invasion of Poland and other actions. Camp Polk quickly surpassed the timber industry as the dominant force in the parish's economy. After the camp opened, the population of the parish seat of Leesville rapidly climbed from 3,500 to 18,000. Named after Leonidas Polk, the first Episcopal Bishop in Louisiana and known as the "Fighting Bishop of the Confederacy", it served as one of the major Army training camps during World War II.

In the 21st century, Fort Johnson is the 5th-largest military installation in the nation. The facility covers approximately 200,000 acre. It has stimulated the development of associated businesses in the area and related populations. With the regular reassignment of soldiers, accompanied by dependents, to and from the fort, Vernon Parish has a more varied culture than might be expected from its location. Its residents come from all over the country.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1341 sqmi, of which 1328 sqmi is land and 14 sqmi (1.0%) is water. It is the largest parish in Louisiana by land area.

Major highways

 * US 171.svg U.S. Highway 171
 * Louisiana 8 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 8
 * Louisiana 10 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 10
 * Louisiana 28 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 28

Adjacent parishes and counties

 * Sabine Parish (northwest)
 * Natchitoches Parish (north)
 * Rapides Parish (east)
 * Allen Parish (southeast)
 * Beauregard Parish (south)
 * Newton County, Texas (west)

National protected area

 * Kisatchie National Forest (part)

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 48,750 people, 17,696 households, and 12,375 families residing in the parish.

Primary and secondary education
All public schools in Vernon Parish are operated by the Vernon Parish School Board, which operates 18 public schools and one optional school.

Schools providing a secondary education include:
 * Evans High School (Grades PK-12)
 * Hicks High School (Grades PK-12)
 * Hornbeck High School (Grades PK-12)
 * Pitkin High School (Grades PK-12)
 * Simpson High School (Grades PK-12)
 * Anacoco High School (Grades 7–12)
 * Pickering High School (Grades 7–12)
 * Rosepine Junior/Senior High School (Grades 7–12)
 * Leesville High School (Grades 9–12)
 * Vernon Parish Optional School (Grades 7–12)
 * Faith training Christian academy (private k4-12)

Colleges and universities
The Louisiana Technical College (LTC) system operates the Lamar Salter campus south of New Llano. The Central Louisiana Technical College Lamar Salter campus is one of 40 LTC campuses across the state.

Northwestern State University (NSU), is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana and is part of the University of Louisiana System. The NSU-Leesville/Fort Johnson Campus is located on Highway 467 near Fort Johnson. It serves the civilian communities of Vernon, Beauregard, and Sabine parishes, as well as the military community at Fort Johnson. http://leesville.nsula.edu/

The Fort Johnson Education Center offers self-development opportunities for Service members, military family members, Department of the Defense employees, military Retirees, Department of Defense contractors, and civilians from the local community in the classroom, distance learning, and online environments. Civilian students coming to the post for classes are required to use the main entrance located off U.S. Highway 171.

Central Michigan University (CMU) operates a campus at Fort Johnson.

Central Texas College (CTC) is a public, open-admission community college offering associate degrees and certificate programs in academic, professional and vocational/technical fields. Due to its proximity to Fort Johnson, CTC has evolved from a small junior college into a college catering to the military. CTC also help students transition from a 2-year to a 4-year degree through numerous articulation agreements with 4-year institutions nationwide.

Louisiana State University offers a Master of Arts in Liberal Arts.

The Upper Iowa University (UIU) at Fort Johnson offers classes on post to both military personnel and civilians in the area. It was opened in 1995 and offers bachelor's degrees in nine majors. Courses can also be blended with UIU distance learning programs (online and independent study) to complete 11 other majors. Certificate programs are also available. UIU offers courses on post during five eight-week terms during the academic year. All courses are offered during the evenings and on weekends.

Public libraries
The Vernon Parish Library operates public libraries. It operates the main library and the Dunbar Branch Library in Leesville and the Pitkin Branch Library in Pitkin.

National Guard
The Louisiana Army National Guard maintains a maintenance facility which services its vehicles on Fort Johnson. 3-156 IB part of 256th Tiger Brigade is located at Fort Johnson.

Cities

 * DeRidder (most of DeRidder is in Beauregard Parish, with a very small portion reaching into Vernon)
 * Leesville (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

 * Hornbeck
 * New Llano
 * Rosepine

Villages

 * Anacoco
 * Simpson

Census-designated places

 * Fort Johnson North
 * Fort Johnson South
 * Pitkin

Other communities

 * Burr Ferry
 * Caney
 * Coopers
 * Cravens
 * Evans
 * Fullerton
 * Hawthorne
 * Hicks
 * Hutton
 * Kurthwood
 * Lacamp
 * Leander
 * Pickering
 * Sandy Hill
 * Slagle
 * Standard
 * Temple

Notable people

 * Bert A. Adams, state representative from Vernon Parish from 1956 to 1968
 * Eddie Fuller – National Football League player, running back with the Buffalo Bills, also played for Louisiana State University and was part of the play which became known as the "Earthquake game".
 * Frank A. Howard, former Vernon Parish sheriff and Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Vernon, Sabine, Red River, and De Soto parishes.
 * Claude Anthony "Buddy" Leach, Jr. – Politician, former member of the United States House of Representatives, Louisiana House of Representatives, and Louisiana Democratic state chairman
 * Kevin Mawae – National Football League All-Pro Center for the Tennessee Titans
 * Demond Mallet – Professional basketball player, guard. Played in the German League and currently with Spanish Joventut Badalona.
 * Jim McCrery, Republican former U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 4th congressional district, was born in Shreveport, but reared in Leesville, where he graduated from Leesville High School in 1967.
 * Jewel Prestage, first African-American woman to earn a PhD in political science, former Dean of the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs at Southern University.
 * Charles M. Poston, Sr., of Hornbeck, was a Louisiana state senator, 1960–1964; father of Bryan A. Poston.
 * Bryan A. Poston, member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1964 to 1992, was a Hornbeck businessman.
 * D'Anthony Smith – National Football League player, Chicago Bears. Born in Berlin, Germany, he lived as a teen in Leesville while family was stationed at Fort Johnson. Attended Pickering High School in Leesville and played collegiate football at Louisiana Tech University.

title: Vernon Parish, Louisiana


text:
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

Vermilion Parish (Paroisse de Vermillion) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, created in 1844. The parish seat is Abbeville. Vermilion Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area, and located in southern Acadiana. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 57,359.

In the past several decades, much of the southern portion of the parish has been swept away by water erosion, especially after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005.

History
Indigenous peoples lived in the area for thousands of years, from different cultures. By historic times, the Chitimacha and Atakapa inhabited the area and were the American Indians encountered by Spanish and French explorers and settlers. The tribes' numbers were drastically reduced as a result of exposure to European diseases.

French, Spanish, enslaved Africans, and French-Canadians from Acadia expelled after the Seven Years' War won by Great Britain, had all entered the area by the end of the 18th century. As the population became mostly Cajun, the primary language was French for years. In the mid- to late 19th century, they were joined by European Americans; immigrants from Italy, recruited to work on the plantations, as well as Jewish immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe, who tended to settle in towns and become merchants.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1542 sqmi, of which 1173 sqmi is land and 369 sqmi (24%) is water. It is the fifth-largest parish in Louisiana by total area. The Gulf of Mexico is located to the south of the parish.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 167.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 167
 * [[Image:Louisiana 13 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 13
 * [[Image:Louisiana 14 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 14
 * [[Image:Louisiana 82 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 82
 * [[Image:Louisiana 89 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 89
 * [[Image:Louisiana 91 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 91
 * [[Image:Louisiana 92 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 92
 * [[Image:Louisiana 330 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 330
 * [[Image:Louisiana 331 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 331
 * [[Image:Louisiana 338 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 338
 * [[Image:Louisiana 339 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 339
 * [[Image:Louisiana 343 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 343

Adjacent parishes

 * Acadia Parish (north)
 * Lafayette Parish (northeast)
 * Iberia Parish (east)
 * Cameron Parish (west)
 * Jefferson Davis Parish (northwest)

Cities

 * Abbeville (parish seat and largest municipality)
 * Kaplan

Towns

 * Delcambre (part)
 * Erath
 * Gueydan
 * Maurice

Unincorporated communities

 * Boston
 * Bayou Tigre
 * Camille
 * Charogne
 * Forked Island
 * Grosse Isle
 * Henry
 * Leblanc
 * Leroy
 * Indian Bayou
 * Intracoastal City
 * Meaux
 * Mouton Cove
 * Pecan Island
 * Perry

Demographics
Home to a number of Cajun peoples, at the 2000 U.S. census, there were 53,807 people, 19,832 households, and 14,457 families residing in the parish. The population density was 46 /mi2. At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 59,865 people living in the parish, up from 57,999 at the 2010 U.S. census. By the 2020 United States census, there were 57,359 people, 22,086 households, and 15,143 families residing in the parish.

In 2000, were 22,461 housing units at an average density of 19 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 82.68% White, 14.17% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races; 1.38% of the population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race; 24.89% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.64% speak Vietnamese and 1.02% Spanish. In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup was 81.4% non-Hispanic white, 14.5% Black and African American, 0.5% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.4% some other race, and 1.1% from two or more races. An estimated 3.5% of the population were Hispanic and Latin American of any race.

At the 2000 U.S. census, there were 19,832 households, out of which 37.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were married couples living together, 13.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.10% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.16. The 2019 American Community Survey determined there were 22,086 households and 26,586 housing units; there was a home-ownership rate of 77% and the median housing value was $122,200. The median gross rent from 2015 to 2019 was $685.

In 2019, the median income for a household in the parish was $51,945; males had a median income of $53,658 versus $33,327 for females. About 21.3% of the children under 18 lived at or below the poverty line, and 17.6% of the total population was below the poverty line. The median income for a household in the parish was $29,500, and the median income for a family was $36,093 in 2000. Males had a median income of $31,044 versus $18,710 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,201. About 17.40% of families and 22.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.00% of those under age 18 and 21.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Vermilion Parish School Board operates most public schools in the parish. Schools serving Delcambre are located in Vermilion Parish but are operated by the Iberia Parish School System.

Schools
Public Schools that are run by the Vermilion Parish School Board include:
 * Cecil Picard Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Maurice)
 * Dozier Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Erath)
 * Eaton Park Elementary (Grades PK-2) (Abbeville)
 * Forked Island - E. Broussard Elementary (Grades PK-8) (Abbeville)
 * Indian Bayou Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Rayne)
 * James A. Herod Elementary (Grades 3–5) (Abbeville)
 * Jesse Owens Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Gueydan)
 * Kaplan Elementary (Grades PK-4) (Kaplan)
 * Leblanc Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
 * Meaux Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
 * Seventh Ward Elementary (Grades PK-5) (Abbeville)
 * Erath Middle (Grades 6–8) (Erath)
 * J. H. Williams Middle (Grades 6–8) (Abbeville)
 * North Vermilion Middle (Grades 6–8) (Maurice)
 * Rene A. Rost Middle (Grades 5–8) (Kaplan)
 * Abbeville High (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)
 * Erath High School (Grades 9–12) (Erath)
 * Gueydan High (Grades 6–12) (Gueydan)
 * Kaplan High (Grades 9–12) (Kaplan)
 * North Vermilion High (Grades 9–12) (Maurice)

Vermilion Parish is also served by the Diocese of Lafayette with three schools:
 * Maltrait Memorial School (Grades PK-8) (Kaplan)
 * Mt. Carmel Catholic School (Grades PK-8) (Abbeville)
 * Vermilion Catholic High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)

Additionally, Vermilion Parish is served by two unaffiliated private schools:
 * Harvest Time Christian Academy (Grades PK-12) (Abbeville)
 * Lighthouse Christian High School (Grades 9–12) (Abbeville)

Vermilion Parish is served by one institution of higher education:
 * South Louisiana Community College service area, Gulf Area Campus (Abbeville)

Politics
For most of the 20th Century, Vermillion was a Democratic-leaning parish, voting Republican only in landslide elections such as 1972, 1980, and 1984. However, like other Acadian parishes with large Cajun populations, the county has turned sharply right in the 21st century based on cultural issues and Democrats' discomfort with the oil and gas industry.

title: Vermilion Parish, Louisiana


text:
Union Parish, Louisiana

Union Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Union) is a parish located in the north central section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,107. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on March 13, 1839, from a section of Ouachita Parish. Its boundaries have changed four times since then (in 1845, 1846, 1867, and 1873, respectively).

Union Parish is part of the Monroe, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 905 sqmi, of which 877 sqmi is land and 28 sqmi (3.1%) is water.

Geographically north central Louisiana, Union Parish more closely resembles Lincoln Parish, to which Union is deeply tied culturally, politically, and educationally. Union Parish, along with Lincoln Parish to the southwest and Union County, Arkansas to the north, form the eastern boundary of the Ark-La-Tex region.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 63.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 63
 * [[Image:US 167.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 167
 * [[Image:Louisiana 2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 2
 * [[Image:Louisiana 15 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 15
 * [[Image:Louisiana 33 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 33

Adjacent parishes and counties

 * Union County, Arkansas (northwest)
 * Ashley County, Arkansas (northeast)
 * Morehouse Parish (east)
 * Ouachita Parish (southeast)
 * Lincoln Parish (southwest)
 * Claiborne Parish (west)

National protected areas

 * D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge (part)
 * Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Towns

 * Bernice
 * Farmerville (parish seat and largest municipality)
 * Marion

Villages

 * Conway
 * Downsville
 * Junction City
 * Lillie
 * Spearsville

Unincorporated communities

 * Alabama Landing
 * Oakland
 * Ouachita City
 * Point
 * Shiloh
 * Truxno

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,107 people, 7,582 households, and 4,899 families residing in the parish.

Politics
Located in far northern Louisiana next to the Arkansas state line, Union Parish is heavily Republican in most competitive elections, particularly at the presidential level, last voting for a Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 when Adlai Stevenson received 52% of the vote. In the most recent election in 2020, incumbent President Donald Trump received 8,407 votes (75.1 percent) of the parish total to 2,654 (23.7 percent) for former Vice President Joe Biden.

School
Residents are assigned to Union Parish Public Schools.

Law enforcement
The Union Parish Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency of Union Parish, Louisiana. It is headquartered in Farmerville. The current Sheriff of Union Parish is Dusty Gates, who was first sworn as the sheriff following long time Sheriff Bob Buckley's death in September 2013.

Border monument
In 1931, a monument was erected at the Union Parish border with Union County, Arkansas. In 1975, State Representative Louise B. Johnson passed a law to refurbish the monument. The completed restoration was unveiled in 2009.

Notable people
Two Louisiana governors came from the Shiloh Community in Union Parish:
 * William Wright Heard, 1900–1904
 * Ruffin Pleasant, 1916-1920

Two Arkansas governors were natives of Union Parish:
 * George Washington Donaghey, Governor of Arkansas from 1909 to 1913
 * Tom Jefferson Terral, Governor of Arkansas from 1925 to 1927

Other Union Parish residents have included:
 * Lonnie O. Aulds, state representative from 1968 to 1972
 * George Washington Bolton (1841-1931), state representative from 1888 to 1896 from Alexandria
 * Jay McCallum - Chief Judge of the Louisiana 3rd Judicial District Court
 * B. R. Patton, state senator
 * Robert Roberts Jr. state representative and state district judge
 * James Peyton Smith, state representative
 * Lee Emmett Thomas, Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representative

title: Union Parish, Louisiana


text:
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Terrebonne Parish (French: Paroisse de Terrebonne) is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 109,580. The parish seat is Houma. The parish was founded in 1822. Terrebonne Parish is part of the Houma-Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area.

It is the fifth-largest parish in the state in terms of land area, and it has been a center of Cajun culture since the 18th century. More than 10% of its residents speak French at home.

History
The parish seat of Houma was named after the Houma people. The native word houma means red, and the tribe's war emblem was the crawfish. Historians say the Houma are related to the Muskogean-speaking Choctaw, and migrated into the area from present-day Mississippi and Alabama. They first settled in the area that developed as Baton Rouge. After many conflicts with other Indian tribes, and losing a war to the Tunica in 1706, the Houma Indians continued moving south to more remote areas in the bayous, in order to escape the encroachment of Europeans. They settled in present-day Terrebonne Parish in the mid- to late 18th century. They established a camp known as Ouiski Bayou on the high ground northwest of what later developed as downtown Houma. They were subsequently pushed from the highlands of the north to the coastal regions of the south by the European settlements in the late 1700s and 1800s. Evidence of the Houma Tribe can still be found in this area today.

One of the southernmost of Louisiana's parishes, Terrebonne Parish was established on March 22, 1822, from the southern part of Lafourche Interior, bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. Covering an area of 2100 square miles, it is the second-largest parish in the state. The early French settlers named the parish for the fertility of its soils: terre bonne means "good earth."

In 1834, Terrebonne Parish founded the city of Houma in order to establish a centrally located and more easily accessible parish seat. Prior to this, the county seat had been set at Williamsburg (now Bayou Cane), approximately four miles northwest of present-day downtown Houma. Government officials believed that the site of Houma, at the convergence of six bayous, would provide better access for commerce and development in Terrebonne Parish, as most transportation and shipping was by water. It was near a former settlement of the Houma Tribe of Native Americans. Williamsburg was at the junction of two bayous: Cane and Terrebonne.

European and African settlers
Most of the European settlers who came to Terrebonne migrated from along the Mississippi River, down Bayou Lafourche to Bayou Terrebonne. There was an influx of French colonists from New Orleans to the bayou country in 1762 after the Spanish took over rule of the colony following the French defeat by the British in the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in North America). The district Spanish commandant granted concessions of title to not more than 630 acres of land for each newcomer to the bayou lands. While many Frenchmen came into the area prior to this, British and Spanish colonists also recorded claims.

Other settlers in the area in 1760 were French colonists from Acadia (modern Nova Scotia), who had been expelled by the British in 1755 during the Seven Years' War. They became known as "Cajuns" (Acadians). Many settled along the bayous in Terrebonne Parish. They chose this area because of its isolated geographic location, a minimum of government control, fertile land, and an abundance of fish and wildlife. These people lived in relative cultural seclusion for generations and continued their family traditions of living off the land. Today they celebrate their heritage through their festivals and church fairs.

In 1848, Houma was incorporated as a city by an act of legislature. By this time, industry in the Houma area consisted largely of plantations for sugar cane, dependent on the labor of enslaved African-Americans. Also important were harvesting seafood, fur trading, and logging industries. The cultivation of sugar cane was the principal agricultural industry in the parish. The first plantation in the parish was established in 1828. By 1851, Terrebonne had 110 plantations with 80 sugar houses (small sugar cane mills). Thousands of enslaved Africans were brought to the parish through the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Southdown Plantation was founded in 1828 by the Minor family. They held hundreds of enslaved Africans for sugar cane cultivation and processing. Stephen Minor had served as the Secretary to the Spanish Governor Gayoso of Louisiana. Today, the Minor family home, built in 1858 and enlarged in 1893, serves as the parish museum. The sugar mill was sold in 1979, dismantled and shipped to Guatemala, where it was reassembled. It is still in use today.

Settlers had canals dug between the bayous to decrease travel time within the parish and make trade more efficient. In 1872, a railroad that linked Schriever to Houma was instrumental in increasing trade and travel within and outside the parish.

In 1923, the construction of the Intracoastal Waterway led to the abandonment of the canals. The Intracoastal was later extended to Lafourche Parish and to Bayou Lafourche, increasing Houma's importance as a portal city.

20th century to present
During World War II, Houma was selected for the establishment of a Lighter Than Air Blimp Naval Station, which operated from May 1943 to September 1944. The Navy base, which used blimp squadrons to scan the coastline for enemy vessels, was one of only two blimp stations operating on the Gulf Coast.

Terrebonne has depended on natural resources: oysters, shrimp, crabs and fish contribute their share of wealth to the parish. In the great stretches of marshland surrounding Terrebonne parish, trapping of Louisiana muskrat, mink, otter, raccoon, and nutria pelts are another form of local commerce.

Development of oil and gas resources in the parish began in 1929, bringing a period of economic development and prosperity unparalleled anywhere in the state. The industry grew into enormous dimensions with the discovery of offshore oil. Terrebonne became the gateway to the most dense concentration of offshore oil service companies in the state. By 1960, with the combination of rich oil production backed by Houma's productive waters, fertile soil, and natural mineral resources, Houma became one of the fastest-growing cities in America. In 1961, the Houma Navigational Canal was completed to provide a 30-mile link to Terrebonne Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.

By the late 1970s, Houma's main focus was the oil industry. Those companies not related to oil and gas depended on this industry for their survival. When the bottom fell out of the oil industry in the early 1980s because of cheaper foreign product and dwindling local resources, Houma declined. For nearly two years, the Houma-Terrebonne area experienced an unemployment rate near 25%.

The Houma community has worked to diversify the parish economy. While the oil industry is still the primary source of revenue for the Houma-Terrebonne area, alternative industries are emerging. Terrebonne Parish accounts for more than 20% of Louisiana's seafood production. In addition, the medical industry is growing in the area. Tourism, too, is a popular source of commerce in and around Houma. The addition of Houma's new Civic Center promises to attract more entertainment and convention revenue to the city.

The draw of authentic Acadian culture, diverse environment and wildlife, plantation homes, excellent food, and close proximity to New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lafayette attracts visitors to Houma and its central location.

On August 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall in the parish.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 2082 sqmi, of which 1232 sqmi is land and 850 sqmi (41%) is water. It is the fifth-largest parish in Louisiana by land area and third-largest by total area. The Gulf of Mexico is located to the south of the parish.

The average height above sea level of the parish is about six feet. The parish is protected by extensive flood protection works.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-49 (Future).svg|25px]] Future Interstate 49
 * [[Image:US 90.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 90
 * [[Image:Louisiana 24 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 24
 * [[Image:Louisiana 55 (2008).svg|20px]] Louisiana Highway 55
 * [[Image:Louisiana 56 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 56
 * [[Image:Louisiana 57 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 57
 * [[Image:Louisiana 58 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 58
 * [[Image:Louisiana 182 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 182
 * [[Image:Louisiana 311 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 311
 * [[Image:Louisiana 315 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 315

Adjacent parishes

 * Assumption Parish (north)
 * Lafourche Parish (east)
 * St. Mary Parish (northwest)

National protected area

 * Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge

City

 * Houma (parish seat)

Census-designated places

 * Bayou Blue
 * Bayou Cane
 * Bourg
 * Chauvin
 * Dulac
 * Gray
 * Montegut
 * Presquille
 * Schriever

Other unincorporated communities

 * Ashland
 * Chacahoula
 * Cocodrie
 * Gibson
 * Isle de Jean Charles
 * Pointe-aux-Chenes
 * Theriot

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 109,580 people, 40,173 households, and 28,808 families residing in the parish. The largest single ancestry group amongst its population was French American, at 20%, while 21,253 or 19.4% were African American. The median household income was $48,446; 20% of the population lived at or below the poverty line.

Education
Terrebonne Parish School District operates public schools in all of the parish, and its boundary is that of the parish.

The parish is in the service area of Fletcher Technical Community College. Additionally, a Delgado Community College document stated that Terrebonne Parish was in the college's service area.

Libraries
The Terrebonne Parish Library System is the public library system that serves the residents of Terrebonne Parish. The library system grew from a small social club formed in 1927, called B.E.S.T.W.S for the surnames of the six original women who formed the club. In 1929, the club changed its name to the Terrebonne Literary Club and opened a public library in the parish. Today, it consists of eight branch libraries.

Terrebonne Parish Library Branches

 * Main Library
 * Chauvin Branch
 * Dulac Branch
 * Dularge Branch
 * East Houma Branch
 * Gibson Branch
 * Montegut Branch
 * North Branch

Government
The parish has been run by the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government since it absorbed the powers of the City of Houma. The parish is led by President Gordon Dove, elected in 2016. State Representatives Jerome Zeringue, and Beryl Amedee represent Terrebonne Parish in the Louisiana House.

The 32nd Judicial District has five judgeships, all of which are elected at-large. In 2014, Assistant District Attorney Juan Pickett was elected as the first black judge in the parish's history. He ran unopposed as a Republican. In 2015 he switched to the Democratic Party.

Earlier in 2014 the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, in cooperation with local plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit against the state of Louisiana for its system of at-large voting for the five judicial positions in Terrebonne Parish. They said it violated the Voting Rights Act, as it diluted minority voting power. Minority residents in the parish were unable to elect candidates of their choice. (Earlier cases that went to the US Supreme Court established that the VRA covered elected judicial positions.)

In August 2017 the federal district court in Baton Rouge ruled that the parish's at-large voting was unconstitutional and discriminatory. US District Court Judge James Brady found that "“no black candidate who has faced opposition in Terrebonne has been elected to an at-large position and black candidates have received incredibly minimal support from white voters, a pattern which has been consistent over the course of more than 20 years.”" The parties would be working on a remedy; a minority sub-district has been proposed among five single-member districts to elect these judges. The legislature would have to pass a law establishing such a change. The state said it would appeal the decision.

Law enforcement
The Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office is headquartered at the courthouse annex in Houma. It has about three hundred employees. The office is organized into a number of divisions including: Administration, criminal, civil, communications, corrections, and water Patrol.

Timothy Soignet, the current sheriff, took office on July 1, 2020. Jerry Larpenter, who became sheriff for the first time in 1987, stepped down briefly in 2008, and was re-elected in 2012. He announced he would not seek re-election in October 2019.

In 2017, the parish and the sheriff's office settled a civil case brought against them by a local couple in 2016. The couple operated a web site dedicated to exposing corruption. An individual named on the site filed a criminal defamation complaint with the Sheriff's Office. As a result, a search warrant issued by a parish judge was executed by deputies at the home of the couple, whose computer equipment was seized. No criminal charges were ultimately brought against them. In total the couple received $200,000 in settlements from several parish entities including the Sheriff's Office.

Representation in other media

 * The parish was setting of the film The Skeleton Key (2005). (The movie was not filmed in the parish, however.)
 * Terrebonne Parish was the setting for the independent 2012 film Beasts of the Southern Wild, which was filmed in Montegut and inspired by the plight of bayou communities such as Isle de Jean Charles.
 * In the DC Comics universe, the parish is the site of the fictional Belle Reve prison.
 * The parish is also the setting of A&E's reality series Cajun Justice, about the activities of the Parish Sheriff's Department.
 * John Grisham's The Pelican Brief explored environmental issues in the parish resulting from oil production. It was adapted as a The Pelican Brief (film). The movie featured the murders of two state Supreme Court justices, and starred Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington.

National Guard
C Company 2-156th Infantry Battalion of the 256th IBCT resides in Houma, Louisiana.

D Company 2-156 Infantry Battalion of the 256 IBCT resides in Thibodaux, Louisiana

Politics
Terrebonne is represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives by the Republican Jerome Zeringue. The Parish president is Republican Gordon Dove.

Since the 20th century, white voters in the parish have become majority Republican. Before the civil rights era, whites generally supported Democratic candidates throughout the South. The Southern Democrats, exclusively white, constituted a powerful block in Congress during the first part of the 20th century. The state legislature had essentially disenfranchised most African Americans at the turn of the century.

Voting in Terrebonne Parish, as in the rest of Louisiana, has been racially polarized since African Americans recovered the ability to register and vote. Most African Americans have voted for Democratic candidates since Congress passed civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s. Since the white majority in the parish shifted to the Republican Party, since 1968 the only Democratic presidential candidate to carry Terrebonne was Bill Clinton, a native son of Arkansas, in 1996.

Notable people
Ray Authement, who was the fifth president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, serving from 1974 to 2008 and the longest-serving president of a public university in the United States, was born in rural Terrebonne Parish in 1928, near Chauvin.

Allen J. Ellender, a Senator from Louisiana from 1937 to 1972, and the President pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate from 1971 to 1972, was born in the town of Montegut in Terrebonne Parish.

title: Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana