text:
Iberia Parish, Louisiana

Iberia Parish (Paroisse de l'Ibérie, Parroquia de Iberia) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 69,929; the parish seat is New Iberia.

The parish was formed in 1868 during the Reconstruction era and named for the Iberian Peninsula. It is part of the 22-parish Acadiana region of the state, with a large Francophone population. Some of its ethnic French residents had ancestors who settled here after being expelled in the 18th century by the British from Acadia in present-day Canada. Historically, it has also been a center for sugar cane cultivation and produces the most sugar of any parish in the state.

Iberia Parish is part of the Lafayette metropolitan area. The Port of Iberia has a waterway with access to the Gulf Coast.

History
Iberia Parish was created from parts of St. Martin Parish and St. Mary Parish in 1868. It was part of an effort by the Reconstruction-era government to create parishes in which there would be large Republican-majority populations, composed primarily of freedmen in those years.

This territory was part of the sugar parishes, where sugar cane plantations were developed along the waterways before and after the Civil War, dependent on labor of high numbers of enslaved African Americans before the war. Sugar cane was a lucrative commodity crop for planters. Relations between whites and blacks were troubled after the Civil War, as whites sought to dominate freedmen, by violence and intimidation if necessary.

The period after the Reconstruction era was one of increasing violence, especially at the turn of the century and into the early 20th century. In this period, the highly populated Iberia Parish had 26 lynchings of blacks by the KKK, as part of racial terrorism. This was the fifth-highest total of any parish in Louisiana, and tied with the total number of lynchings in Bossier Parish.

There was intense political factionalism in Louisiana. Iberia Parish had factions split among conservatives and those who were more moderate about the status of negroes. Moderates sometimes allied with the republican creoles and whites in the parish. But in 1884 white Democrats murdered more than 20 African Americans (most of the total noted above), in a kind of political lynching, and arrested white Republicans to regain power in Iberia Parish. In contrast to northern Louisiana, residents otherwise seemed to rely more on the formal legal system, with fewer mob lynchings. But negroes suffered here, making up 88 percent of the persons legally executed for violent crimes in the late 19th century.

In the late 19th century, there was often a labor shortage on the sugar plantations. Planters recruited thousands of Italian immigrants as temporary laborers, many Sicilians who had first settled in New Orleans. They were needed during the fall harvest and processing season, which extended from October to January. The Italians became part of the volatility of social relations, struggling to make their way between planters and negro workers, and competing with other workers for jobs.

The parish economy changed markedly in the 20th century after the discovery of oil. The Port of Iberia was developed into an industrial center. New types of jobs became available for African Americans. Iberia produces the most sugar of any parish in the state.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1031 sqmi, of which 574 sqmi is land and 456 sqmi (44%) is water. This includes Marsh Island.

Major highways

 * I-49 (Future).svg Future Interstate 49
 * US 90.svg U.S. Highway 90
 * Louisiana 14 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 14
 * Louisiana 31 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 31
 * Louisiana 83 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 83
 * Louisiana 85 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 85
 * Louisiana 86 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 86
 * Louisiana 87 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 87
 * Louisiana 182 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 182

Adjacent parishes

 * St. Martin Parish (north, south)
 * Iberville Parish (northeast)
 * Assumption Parish (east)
 * St. Mary Parish (southeast)
 * Vermilion Parish (west)
 * Lafayette Parish (northwest)

Protected areas
The parish has both national and state protected areas within its borders.

National protected area

 * Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge

State protected areas
Part of the Attakapas Wildlife Management Area is located within Iberia Parish, as well as in St. Mary and St. Martin parishes.

Cities

 * Jeanerette
 * New Iberia (parish seat and largest municipality)

Town

 * Delcambre (part)

Village

 * Loreauville

Census-designated place

 * Lydia

Unincorporated communities

 * Avery Island
 * Bob Acres
 * Emma
 * Olivier
 * Rynella

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 69,929 people, 26,185 households, and 20,409 families residing in the parish. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 69,830 people lived in Iberia Parish. Approximately 25.6% of the population were under 18 years of age and 51.1% of the population was female. At the census of 2000, there were 73,266 people, 25,381 households, and 19,162 families residing in the parish. The population density was 127 /mi2. There were 27,844 housing units at an average density of 48 /mi2.

In 2000, there were 25,381 households, out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were married couples living together, 17.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.50% were non-families. 21.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 30.00% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 20.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 92.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.80 males in 2000.

In 2019, the parish had a median income $48,861 and mean income of $23,290. An estimated 21.9% of the parish population lived at or below the poverty line. The median income for a household in the parish was $31,204, and the median income for a family was $36,017 in 2000. Males had a median income of $32,399 versus $18,174 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,145. About 20.20% of families and 23.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.50% of those under age 18 and 20.20% of those age 65 or over.

At the 2000 census, the racial makeup of the parish was 65.08% White, 30.81% Black or African American, 0.31% Native American, 1.93% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.25% from two or more races. About 1.50% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the population, 11.99% reported speaking French or Cajun French at home, while 1.48% speak Lao and 1.29% Spanish. The 2019 census estimated determined 58.6% of the population was non-Hispanic white, 32.8% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian or Alaska Native, 2.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.9% multiracial, and 4.3% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.

Education
Iberia Parish School System serves the parish.

Iberia parish also has several private schools. These include Catholic High New Iberia (of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Louisiana), Acadiana Christian School and Highland Baptist School.

Iberia Parish is in the service area of Fletcher Technical Community College and of South Louisiana Community College.

National Guard
E Company 199th Forward Support Battalion is stationed in Jeanerette, Louisiana, and B Company 2-156th is stationed in New Iberia, Louisiana. Both units have deployed twice to Iraq, 2004-5 and 2010, as part of the 256TH IBCT.

title: Iberia Parish, Louisiana


text:
Grant Parish, Louisiana

Grant Parish is a parish located in the North Central portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,169. The parish seat is Colfax. The parish was founded in 1869 during the Reconstruction era.

Grant Parish is part of the Alexandria, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area and Red River Valley. From 1940 to 1960, the parish had a dramatic population loss, as many African Americans from the plantation areas left in the Great Migration to seek better opportunities in the North and West. Such migration continued until about 1970. One of the eleven parishes organized during Reconstruction, Grant was created from parts of Winn and Rapides parishes.

Grant Parish is the site of United States Penitentiary, Pollock.

History
Grant Parish was originally a part of the more populous Rapides Parish to the south. Prior to the American Civil War, the center of activity focused upon "Calhoun's Landing," named for the cotton and sugar planter Meredith Calhoun, a native of South Carolina. Calhoun also published the former National Democrat newspaper in what became Colfax, designated as the seat of government of the new parish.

Grant was one of several new parishes created by the Reconstruction legislature in an attempt to build the Republican Party in the state. Founded in 1869, it had a slight majority of freedmen, many of whom had worked on cotton plantations in the area. It was named for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The parish seat of Colfax was named for Grant's first vice president, Schuyler M. Colfax (whose name is pronounced COAL-facks) of Indiana. However, the town of Colfax is pronounced CAHL-facks. The parish came into existence on March 4, 1869, which also was the day of President Grant's first inauguration. The parish encompassed both cotton plantations and pinewoods. It was one of several areas along the Red River that had considerable violence during Reconstruction, as whites tried to maintain social control.

The gubernatorial election of 1872 was disputed in the state, and both the Democrats and Republicans certified their slates of local officers. Two inaugurations were held. The election was finally settled in favor of the Republican candidates, but the decision was disputed in certain areas. As social tensions rose, Republican officials took their places at the courthouse in Colfax. They were defended by freedmen and state militia (mostly made up of freedmen), who feared a Democratic Party takeover of the parish. Amid widespread rumors, whites organized a militia and advanced on the courthouse on Easter Sunday, 1873. In the ensuing violence, three whites and 120-150 blacks were killed, including 50 that night who were held as prisoners. Leading late 20th-century historians renamed the Colfax Riot, the original state designation, as the Colfax Massacre. The total number of freedmen deaths were never established because some of the bodies were thrown into the river and woods.

The white militia was led by Christopher Columbus Nash, a Confederate officer who had been a prisoner of war at Johnson's Island in Ohio. It consisted of veterans from Grant and neighboring parishes. The following year, Nash gathered many of the white militia members as the basis of the first chapter of the White League. Other chapters quickly grew up across the state. The White League's organized violence in support of the Democratic Party included widespread intimidation of black voters. The League was integral to white Democrats' regaining power in the state by 1876. Soon after, they effectively disfranchised most blacks, a situation that persisted until after federal enforcement of Civil Rights-era legislation of the mid-1960s.

Nativity scene
In December 2016, a courthouse nativity scene in Colfax drew a complaint from the New Orleans chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In a letter to the Grant Parish Police Jury, the ACLU said that officials must include secular symbols of the Christmas holiday if a nativity scene is placed alone on public property. District Attorney Jay Lemoine objected to the ACLU challenge in a statement to Alexandria Town Talk: "There have been various holiday displays presented both inside and outside the courthouse over many years. This year, as in years past, they include both secular and non-secular symbols. It is unfortunate that some are offended by these displays during this holiday season, as that was not the intent."

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 665 sqmi, of which 643 sqmi is land and 22 sqmi (3.3%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 71.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 71
 * [[Image:US 165.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 165
 * [[Image:US 167.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 167
 * [[Image:Louisiana 8 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 8
 * [[Image:Louisiana 34 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 34
 * [[Image:Louisiana 122 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 122
 * [[Image:Louisiana 123 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 123
 * [[Image:Louisiana 471 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 471
 * [[Image:Louisiana 500 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 500

Adjacent parishes

 * Winn Parish (north)
 * La Salle Parish (east)
 * Rapides Parish (south)
 * Natchitoches Parish (west)

National protected area

 * Kisatchie National Forest (part)

Fossil site
The most famous fossil sites within Louisiana are Creola Bluff at Montgomery Landing Site in the parish. The Montgomery Landing Site was a 500 m long and 14 m high bluff that was the cutbank on the east side of the Red River. It exposed the top of the Cockfield Formation, the Moodys Branch Formation, and Tullos Member of the Yazoo Clay. In 1979, it was the site of a large whale skeleton discovery.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,169 people, 6,989 households, and 4,651 families residing in the parish.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 PD/sqmi. There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 85.43% White, 11.88% Black or African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The decreases in population from 1910 to 1920, and from 1940 to 1960, were chiefly caused by different phases of the Great Migration, as African Americans left segregation and oppression of the South to seek better opportunities in the North, during the first phase, and in the West, especially California's defense industry, in the second phase. Tens of thousands of migrants left Louisiana during times of agricultural difficulties and the collapse of agricultural labor after mechanization.

In 2000, there were 7,073 households, out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.40% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 28.30% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $29,622, and the median income for a family was $34,878. Males had a median income of $31,235 versus $20,470 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,410. About 16.90% of families and 21.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.30% of those under age 18 and 16.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure
The Federal Bureau of Prisons U.S. Penitentiary, Pollock is located in an unincorporated area in the parish, near Pollock.

Politics
Today Grant Parish is majority white and votes strongly Republican. Mitt Romney polled 7,082 votes (81.7 percent) in his 2012 race against the Democrat U.S. President Barack H. Obama, who trailed with 1,422 votes (16.4 percent). In 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona swept the parish, with 6,907 votes (80.7 percent) to Obama's 1,474 (17.2 percent).

In 1992, George Herbert Walker Bush carried Grant Parish but was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection. He polled 3,214 votes (40.8 percent) to Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas's 3,122 (39.6 percent). This son of the South carried numerous other Republican-leaning jurisdictions. Ross Perot, who later founded the Reform Party, polled 1,174 (14.9 percent). In 1996, Republican Robert J. Dole narrowly won in Grant Parish over U.S. President Bill Clinton, a son of the South, with 3,117 votes (42.8 percent) to 2,980 (40.9 percent). Ross Perot polled another 1,055 (14.5 percent).

The last Democrat to win in Grant Parish at the presidential level was former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia in his 1976 defeat of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., who had Bob Dole as his vice-presidential partner.

Republican nominee Donald Trump was a runaway winner in Grant Parish in 2016 over Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton: 7,408 (84 percent) to 1,181 (13 percent).

Education
Public schools in Grant Parish are operated by the Grant Parish School Board.

National Guard
A Company 199TH FSB (Forward Support Battalion) resides in Colfax, Louisiana. This unit deployed twice to Iraq as part of the 256TH IBCT in 2004-5 and 2010.

Towns

 * Colfax (parish seat and largest municipality)
 * Montgomery
 * Pollock

Villages

 * Creola
 * Dry Prong
 * Georgetown

Census-designated places

 * Prospect
 * Rock Hill

Other communities

 * Aloha
 * Bentley
 * Fishville
 * Hargis
 * Oak Grove
 * Selma
 * Verda

Notable people

 * W. K. Brown, state representative from Grant Parish from 1960 to 1972
 * Joe T. Cawthorn (1911-1967), lawyer, businessman, and politician affiliated with the Long faction, born in Selma in Grant Parish, resided in Mansfield in DeSoto Parish
 * Billy Ray Chandler, state representative from Grant Parish, 2006-2012
 * Jesse C. Deen (1922-2015), state representative from primarily Bossier Parish, 1972–1988; reared in the Hargis Community near Montgomery
 * Stephen Lee "Steve" Gunn, former mayor of Montgomery; represented Grant Parish in the legislature as an Independent from 1992 to 1996
 * Leonard R. "Pop" Hataway, sheriff of Grant Parish, 1976 to 2008; member of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Paroles; member of the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame
 * Ed Head (1918–1980), Major League Baseball player who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers
 * Swords Lee, timber owner from Pollock and Alexandria; former Grant Parish assessor and state representative
 * W. T. McCain (1913-1993) - State representative for Grant Parish 1940 to 1948; first state court judge for only Grant Parish (1976), lawyer in Colfax
 * W.L. Rambo, member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from Georgetown.
 * Richard S. Thompson (1916-1997), state representative from Grant Parish from 1972 to 1984
 * Russ Springer, Major League baseball player

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

title: Grant Parish, Louisiana


text:
Franklin Parish, Louisiana

Franklin Parish (Paroisse de Franklin, Parroquia de Franklin) is a parish located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020, its population was 19,774. The parish seat and the most populous municipality is Winnsboro. The parish was founded in 1843 and named for Benjamin Franklin.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 635 sqmi, of which 625 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (1.7%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 425.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 425
 * [[Image:Louisiana 4 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 4
 * [[Image:Louisiana 15 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 15
 * [[Image:Louisiana 17 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 17

Adjacent parishes

 * Richland Parish (north)
 * Madison Parish (northeast)
 * Tensas Parish (southeast)
 * Catahoula Parish (south)
 * Caldwell Parish (west)

National protected area

 * Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Towns

 * Winnsboro (parish seat and largest municipality)
 * Wisner

Villages

 * Baskin
 * Gilbert

Unincorporated communities

 * Chase
 * Crowville
 * Extension
 * Fort Necessity
 * Jigger

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,774 people, 7,423 households, and 5,130 families residing in the parish.

Education
Franklin Parish School Board operates local public schools. Franklin Parish High School is the sole public high school in the parish.

The parish also hosts two private schools. One of them, Franklin Academy in Winnsboro, was opened as a segregation academy on September 14, 1970, three weeks after parish schools were ordered by a federal judge to desegregate. Franklin Academy's student body is 97% white, while Franklin Parish High School's is majority Black.

Culture
Franklin Parish hosts the annual Franklin Parish Catfish Festival with music, attractions and hundreds of vendors. The 2018 festival was attended by over 10,000 people in bad weather but usually the draw is between 15,000 and 20,000. People from across the region are attracted by the relatively high vendor count and this has an important economic contribution for local businesses. In past years the festival has included an antique car show, a zoo exhibit for children and an exhibit about Louisiana's contributions during World War II, along with performances from Grammy-winning artists Jo-El Sonnier and Jason Crabb.

Notable people

 * Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Catahoula, Franklin, and Richland parishes in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960
 * Anthony "Booger" McFarland, Winnsboro native; All-American football player at Louisiana State University; played in National Football League for Tampa Bay Buccaneers

title: Franklin Parish, Louisiana


text:
Evangeline Parish, Louisiana

Evangeline Parish (Paroisse d'Évangéline) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. the population was 32,350. The parish seat is Ville Platte.

History
The parish was created out of lands formerly belonging to St. Landry Parish in 1910. The majority of the area was originally settled by French Canadian colonists and former colonial marines (coureurs de bois) from such outposts as Fort Toulouse and Fort Kaskaskia and later included 19th-century French-speaking soldiers and immigrant families.

The early generations were born in colonial French colonies, which included the enormous Louisiana territory ('Upper and Lower' Louisiana) known as "la Nouvelle France", and later were born under Spanish rule.

Many people of Evangeline are primarily of French, English, and Spanish descent from Louisiana's colonial period. Examples of the French family names are Fontenot, Brignac, Ardoin, Bordelon, Vidrine, Courville, Gaspard, LaFleur, Chataignier, Dupre, Berza, Manuel, Ratelle, Fuselier, Landreneau, Andrepont, Guillory, Soileau, LeBas, and Gobert, among others. People of Spanish Canary Islands heritage (Isleños) can be observed to have settled in the Parish as well, bringing names like Aguillard, Casaneuva, De Soto, Ortego, Rozas, and Segura. Many English Americans as colonists came from the Eastern United States to settle in the newly purchased Louisiana Territory often married into Acadian families. Some prominent English surnames include Chapman, Kershaw, Young, Reed, Langley, Tate and Buller.

A few Acadians such as François Pitre and his wife settled the area between Evangeline and St. Landry parishes, preferring the rich pre-American and pre–Civil War era Cajun planter's lifestyle over that of the humble and isolated existence of their Acadiana cousins.

The parish was named Evangeline in honor of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's narrative poem, Evangeline. It was from this poem that founding father Paulin Fontenot was to propose the namesake of "Evangeline" for this parish, allegedly foreseeing an emerging American tourism centered upon the Acadian saga. (See Ville Platte Gazette, Sept. 2010) In 19th-century American literature, she would gain popularity through Hollywood's interest, and thus began the embryonic 'Acadian-based' tourism which sprang up in St. Martinville. Evangeline Parish is mentioned in the Randy Newman song "Louisiana 1927", in which he described the Great Mississippi Flood which covered it with six feet of water.

Ville Platte, Louisiana, the seat of Evangeline Parish, was itself so named by one of Napoleon Bonaparte's former soldiers, Adjutant Major Marcellin Garand (1781–1852), of Savoy, France. (See Napoleon's Soldiers In America, by Simone de la Souchere-Delery, 1999).

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 680 sqmi, of which 662 sqmi is land and 17 sqmi (2.5%) is water.

Major highways

 * I-49.svg Interstate 49
 * US 167.svg U.S. Highway 167
 * US 190.svg U.S. Highway 190
 * Louisiana 10 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 10
 * Louisiana 13 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 13
 * Louisiana 29 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 29

Adjacent parishes

 * Rapides Parish (north)
 * Avoyelles Parish (northeast)
 * St. Landry Parish (east)
 * Acadia Parish (south)
 * Allen Parish (west)

National protected area

 * Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (part)

State parks

 * Chicot State Park
 * Louisiana State Arboretum

City

 * Ville Platte (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

 * Basile
 * Mamou

Villages

 * Chataignier
 * Pine Prairie
 * Turkey Creek

Census-designated places

 * Reddell
 * Vidrine

Other unincorporated communities

 * Bayou Chicot
 * Saint Landry
 * Tate Cove
 * Belaire Cove
 * Beaver
 * Lone Pine
 * Lake Cove
 * Frilot Cove

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 32,350 people, 12,172 households, and 7,739 families residing in the parish.

Education
Public Schools in Evangeline Parish are operated by the Evangeline Parish School Board.
 * Bayou Chicot Elementary School (Grades PK-8) (Ville Platte)
 * Chataignier Elementary School (Grades PK-8) (Chataignier)
 * James Stephens Montessori School (Grades PK-6) (Ville Platte)
 * Mamou Elementary School (Grades PK-4) (Mamou)
 * Vidrine Elementary School (Grades PK-8) (Ville Platte)
 * Ville Platte Elementary School (Grades PK-4) (Ville Platte)
 * W. W. Stewart Elementary (Grades PK-4) (Basile)
 * Basile High School (Grades 5–12) (Basile)
 * Mamou High School (Grades 5–12) (Mamou)
 * Pine Prairie High School (Grades 9–12) (Pine Prairie)
 * Ville Platte High School (Grades 5–12) (Ville Platte)
 * Evangeline Central School (Grades 4–12) (Ville Platte)

Evangeline Parish is also served by the Diocese of Lafayette with one school:
 * Sacred Heart School (Grades K-12) (Ville Platte)

Additionally, Evangeline Parish is served by one unaffiliated private school:
 * Christian Heritage Academy (Grade K) (Ville Platte)

Evangeline Parish is served by one institutions of higher education:
 * South Louisiana Community College service area, C. B. Coreil Campus (Ville Platte

Notable people

 * Amédé Ardoin, Creole singer and Cajun accordion virtuoso
 * Danny Ardoin, former MLB catcher
 * Dewey Balfa, Cajun fiddler
 * Jeffery Broussard, zydeco musician
 * Edgar Chatman, former professional baseball player
 * Harry Choates, Cajun fiddler
 * Rene L. De Rouen, former US Representative from Louisiana's 7th congressional district from 1927-1940
 * Winston De Ville - noted genealogist and publisher of hundreds of articles and numerous books
 * Austin Deculus, NFL offensive lineman
 * J. Douglas Deshotel, Roman Catholic bishop
 * Eric LaFleur, lawyer and Senator and sponsor of several important bills and represented historic Senate Resolution #30
 * Joseph Verbis Lafleur, Roman Catholic priest and US Army chaplain and officer who died in the sinking of the SS Shinyo Maru during World War II who is also in the preliminary stages of canonization.
 * Ladislas Lazaro, former US Representative from Louisiana's 7th congressional district from 1913-1927.
 * Barry Manuel, former professional baseball pitcher
 * Tommy McClelland, athletic director at Rice University
 * Jimmy C. Newman, Cajun and country music singer-songwriter
 * Austin Pitre, Cajun musician
 * Ronald G. Richard, retired Marine Corps major general and former commandant of Camp Lejeune
 * Steve Riley, accordion player and co-founder of Steve Riley and the Mamou Playboys
 * Floyd Soileau, record producer
 * Leo Soileau, Cajun musician and recording artist
 * Keith Sonnier, artist and sculptor
 * T. Ashton Thompson, US Representative from Louisiana's 7th congressional district from 1953-1965
 * Arthur Vidrine, former dean of Louisiana State University Medical School in New Orleans and physician who operated on former Louisiana governor and then US Senator Huey P. Long after he suffered mortal wounds in an assassination attempt in 1935
 * Clyde Vidrine, famous bodyguard for former Louisiana governor Edwin Edwards

Politics
For most of the 20th Century, Evangeline 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, Evangeline turned sharply right in the 21st century based on cultural issues and Democrats' discomfort with the oil and gas industry.

National Guard
The 1086th Transportation Company of the 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion resides in Ville Platte, Louisiana. This unit belongs to the 139th RSG (regional support group).

title: Evangeline Parish, Louisiana


text:
East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

East Feliciana Parish (Paroisse de Feliciana Est, Parroquia de Feliciana Oriental) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 19,539. The parish seat is Clinton.

Established when Feliciana Parish was divided in 1824, both East and West Feliciana parishes are part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. They are also considered part of the Florida Parishes, at one time part of Spain's West Florida colony.

History
The parish was part of Feliciana Parish, which was founded and named in 1810 by Spaniards who then controlled the territory. The Spanish governor, Bernardo de Gálvez, named it in honor of his wife, Marie Felicité.

After the United States annexed this territory, population continued to increase. It had been developed for sugar cane plantations and business was thriving. In 1824, the state legislature divided the parish into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish, so that residents would have easier access to their parish seats.

The Louisiana State Insane Asylum was the first state institution in the parish, established near the town of Jackson in 1847. It was greatly enlarged and improved under the administration of Dr. John Welch Jones, who was appointed as superintendent in 1874, during the Reconstruction era. The bi-racial legislators in power at the time made commitments to public education and state welfare institutions. The facility was later called East Louisiana State Hospital.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 456 sqmi, of which 453 sqmi is land and 2.4 sqmi (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

 * US 61.svg U.S. Highway 61
 * Louisiana 10 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 10
 * Louisiana 19 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 19
 * Louisiana 63 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 63
 * Louisiana 67 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 67
 * Louisiana 68 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 68
 * Louisiana 69 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 69

Adjacent parishes and counties

 * Wilkinson County, Mississippi (northwest)
 * Amite County, Mississippi (northeast)
 * St. Helena Parish (east)
 * East Baton Rouge Parish (south)
 * West Feliciana Parish (west)

Towns

 * Clinton (parish seat)
 * Jackson (largest municipality)
 * Slaughter

Villages

 * Norwood
 * Wilson

Unincorporated communities

 * Bluff Creek
 * Ethel
 * Gurley

Demographics
At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 19,371 people living in the parish, down from 20,267 at the 2010 United States census. The 2019 census-estimated population comprised 6,959 households living in 8,487 housing units spread throughout the parish. There were 1,595 businesses operating in East Feliciana. By the 2020 United States census, there were 19,539 people, 6,959 households, and 4,777 families residing in the parish.

In 2010, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was the following: 53.2% were White, 44.9% Black and African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races; 1.0% were Hispanic or Latin American of any race. At the 2019 census-estimates, 54.5% were non-Hispanic white, 43.6% Black and African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% some other race, and 0.9% multiracial. Hispanics and Latin Americans of any race made up 1.7% of the total population. During the 2020 census, the parish's race and ethnic composition was 58.3% non-Hispanic white, 36.38% Black and African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 2.63% other or multiracial, and 2.0% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of 2019-2021's census estimates, approximately 40% of the population was employed in the parish, and the home-ownership rate was 80.5%. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $139,300, and median gross rent was $647. Residents had a median household income of $51,803; males earned a median income of $61,105 versus $32,243 for females. At the 2000 United States census, the median household income was $31,631, and the median family income was $37,278. Males had a median income of $31,804 versus $20,243 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,428. An estimated 23.3% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line in 2019, up from 23% at the 2000 U.S. census.

According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, the Southern Baptist Convention was the parish's largest Christian denomination, Christianity being the largest religion as part of the Bible Belt. Southern Baptists were spread out in 16 congregations and numbered 5,248; following, United Methodists numbered 1,636. Roman Catholicism had 250 adherents.

Education
East Feliciana Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish. Elementary schools include Jackson Elementary School, Slaughter Elementary School, and Clinton Elementary School. Upper public schools include East Feliciana Middle and High school. Some students in the parish attend Wilkinson County Christian Academy in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.

The parish is in the service area of Baton Rouge Community College.

Silliman Institute in Clinton was established in the late 1960s as a directed response to federal courts ordering the desegregation of the East Feliciana public school system.

Government and infrastructure
The East Feliciana Parish Police Jury is the governing body of the parish and consists of nine representatives elected by district.

East Louisiana State Hospital, currently referred to as Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System is located in Jackson. Its main building is considered to be one of the largest and most significant Greek Revival buildings in Louisiana, it has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The institution was one of the first mental hospitals in the South.

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson.

Notable people

 * Donna Douglas (1932-2015), actress who starred on The Beverly Hillbillies. She is buried in Bluff Creek's Baptist Church cemetery.
 * Erick Erickson, Editor of RedState
 * John Welch Jones (1826-1916), medical doctor, Confederate cavalry officer and one-time superintendent of the Louisiana State Insane Asylum
 * Junius Wallace Jones (1890-1977), Major-General, United States Air Force
 * Lawrence Brooks (1909-2022), the oldest American veteran of World War II, was born in Norwood.
 * Eddie Robinson, football coach at Grambling State University, was born in Jackson, Louisiana.
 * John D. Travis (1940-2016), state representative for District 62, including his native East Feliciana Parish, 1984 to 2000
 * Kendell Beckwith, NFL player, currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Attended East Feliciana High School and went on to play for the LSU Tigers before being drafted by Tampa Bay.

title: East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana


text:
East Carroll Parish, Louisiana

East Carroll Parish (Paroisse de Carroll Est) is a parish located in the Mississippi Delta in northeastern Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 7,459. The parish seat is Lake Providence. An area of cotton plantations in the antebellum era, the parish in the early 21st century has about 74% of its land devoted to agriculture.

History
This area is part of the delta along the western edge of the Mississippi River, long subject to the seasonal flooding that gave the area fertile soils. It was occupied by indigenous peoples for thousands of years. European explorers encountered the historic tribes of the Caddo and Choctaw in this area, as well as the Natchez on the east side of the Mississippi River.

In the 1830s, the United States forced out most of the people of the Five Civilized Tribes from the Southeast to west of the Mississippi River in Indian Territory to make way for development by European Americans. Areas along the river were cleared and developed for cultivation of cotton, the major commodity crop in the Deep South before the Civil War. The cotton was cultivated and processed on plantations by large groups of enslaved African-American laborers.

Prior to 1814, all of the territory covered by the current East Carroll Parish was part of the now defunct Warren Parish. The original Carroll Parish, before it was divided into "East" and "West" segments after Reconstruction, was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. This and other nearby parishes along the Mississippi River were called the Natchez District, referring to the major port on the Mississippi side of the river. Both areas were developed for cotton plantations.

Given the dependence of plantation agriculture on enslaved workers, the population of this area was majority African American well before the American Civil War. Carroll Parish had 11,000 slaves in 1860, more than three times the white population of the total parish. Most were located on the plantations in the floodplain along the Mississippi River. During the war, many slaves joined Union lines and served in the United States Colored Troops; Louisiana had more former slaves enlisted in the USCT than six other southern states combined.

Carroll Parish covered a large area and the parish was split by the state legislature in 1877, following the Reconstruction era. West Carroll Parish, with territory west of the Bayou Macon, was majority-white and voted Democratic.

After the war, this area continued to be dominated by agriculture and was largely rural. Numerous black Union veterans settled in East Carroll Parish and some owned their own land, especially in an area called Soldiers' Rest, site of a former Union camp. They developed an independent community. With blacks outnumbering whites in Carroll Parish by a seven-to-one margin, and with combat experience, they resisted efforts in the 1870s to suppress their population. Voters in the larger Carroll Parrish elected blacks to the positions of sheriff, state representative, clerk of the court, and several justices of the peace, and hired black constables, giving blacks a voice at the local level.

But white conservative Democrats formed groups noted as Bulldozers, conducting violence against black voters, teachers, and supporters to suppress their activities. White conservatives succeeded in regaining control of the state legislature by the end of Reconstruction. By creating West Carroll Parish in 1877, they had an additional jurisdiction dominated by white Democrats.

Two decades later, at the end of the 19th century, the state legislature passed a new constitution in 1898 that raised barriers to voter registration, with rules applied against African Americans. They were effectively disenfranchised well into the 1960s. The legislature passed segregation and Jim Crow laws of increasing severity into the early 20th century.

In 1907 U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt came to East Carroll Parish near Lake Providence for a black bear hunt. When a particular bear managed to elude the hunters, the president's camp was moved to Bear Lake in Madison Parish near Tallulah. The 21-year-old Arthur Spencer of Richland Parish took a photograph of Roosevelt with the heavily armed hunting party. Among the hunters was John M. Parker, future governor of Louisiana and the vice-presidential choice of the Bull Moose Party ticket in the 1912 presidential election.

Law and government
From 1922 to 1962, African Americans were prohibited from registering to vote in East Carroll Parish through a combination of laws and practices such as literacy tests. The first African Americans were registered after the ruling in U.S. v. Manning (1962) found that the prohibition of voter registration for Black people violated the Civil Rights Act of 1960. It was not, however, until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 became law that large numbers of African Americans became registered to vote, and they continued to vote at high levels. They have tended to support Democratic Party candidates, as the national party had supported the civil rights movement. As East Carroll Parish is majority black, its voters still favor Democratic Party candidates. Most conservative whites have shifted since the late 20th century to the Republican Party, which candidates dominate elections in majority-white areas of the state.

In 1988, Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts carried East Carroll Parish over then Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush, 1,809 votes (52.3 percent) to 1,536 (44.4 percent). In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the Democrat John Kerry - John Edwards slate 1,980 ballots (58 percent) to 1,357 votes (40 percent) for the George W. Bush - Richard B. Cheney slate.

In 2012, U.S. President Barack H. Obama swept the parish with 2,478 votes (61.8 percent) to Republican Mitt Romney's 1,508 (37.6 percent). In 2008, Obama had handily defeated John McCain in East Carroll Parish, 2,267 (63.7 percent) to 1,254 (35.2 percent).

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 442 sqmi, of which 421 sqmi is land and 22 sqmi (4.9%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 65.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 65
 * [[Image:Louisiana 2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 2

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * Chicot County, Arkansas (north)
 * Issaquena County, Mississippi (east)
 * Warren County, Mississippi (southeast)
 * Madison Parish (south)
 * Richland Parish (southwest)
 * West Carroll Parish (west)

Towns

 * Lake Providence (parish seat and only municipality)

Unincorporated communities

 * Gassoway
 * Sondheimer
 * Transylvania

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,459 people, 2,037 households, and 1,193 families residing in the parish.

Economy and poverty data
East Carroll Parish is still largely agricultural, with 74% of its land devoted to crops. As farm labor needs have been reduced by mechanization and farms have been consolidated into larger units, jobs in the area have been reduced. Agriculture may take the form of aquaculture, and row crops.

Of 3,197 counties ranked by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011 for "estimated percent of people of all ages in poverty", East Carroll Parish was fifth. It was estimated that 44 percent of the rural county's residents lived in poverty.

Education
Public schools in East Carroll Parish are operated by the East Carroll Parish School Board. In an infographic released by Graphiq, East Carroll Parish is ranked as the least educated parish in Louisiana with 32.29% of 25 year-olds without a high school diploma and 9.4% of 25 year-olds with a bachelor's degree or higher.

Notable people

 * Buddy Caldwell, District Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District in East Carroll, elected in 2007 as the attorney general of Louisiana, serving into 2016
 * William J. Jefferson, former U.S. representative from Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, was born in Lake Providence. He was convicted of corruption in 2012; in 2017, seven of 10 charges against him were dropped and he was released from prison.
 * Joseph Ransdell, a Democrat who served in Congress from 1913 to 1931. Ransdell was born in Alexandria but resided for many years in Lake Providence.
 * Norris C. Williamson, state senator from 1916 to 1932; advocate of cotton planter interest and worked to gain state funding to eradicate the cattle tick
 * John D. Winters, historian at Louisiana Tech University, author of The Civil War in Louisiana (1963), was reared in Lake Providence

Politics
Unlike neighbouring West Carroll Parish, and Louisiana generally, East Carroll Parish is a Democratic stronghold, owing primarily to its majority African-American population. It was one of just two parishes (the other being Orleans Parish, home to New Orleans) to support the Democratic candidate in the 1999 Louisiana gubernatorial election. Furthermore, in presidential elections, it has not supported a Republican since 1972, when Republican incumbent Richard Nixon carried 63 of the state's 64 parishes, and East Carroll was still Nixon's fourth weakest parish in the state. East Carroll rejected Ronald Reagan in both 1980 and 1984. The last Democratic candidate to win less than 60% of the parish's vote in a presidential was John Kerry, who ran against President George W. Bush of neighboring Texas. Four years prior, in 2000, it had been Al Gore's fourth best parish statewide. However, East Carroll was previously known to support third-party segregationists. In 1948, it gave Strom Thurmond over 60% of the vote (Republican candidate Thomas Dewey won less than a fifth as many votes as Thurmond). In 1960, it gave a plurality to George Wallace of Alabama. And in 1964, the parish gave 85% of its vote to Republican Barry Goldwater, who lost in a landslide to Lyndon Johnson nationally, compared to just 15% for Lyndon Johnson. Before 1964, like most of the south, East Carroll was powerfully Democratic, giving just 3 votes to Republican Charles Evans Hughes, and even giving 77% of its vote to Al Smith, who performed considerably worse in the south than past Democratic candidates, losing traditionally Democratic strongholds including Texas, Florida and North Carolina. More recently, East Carroll has trended further and further Democratic. In fact, in 2012 Barack Obama won more votes than Bill Clinton in 1996, and in 2016 Hillary Clinton won more votes than her husband, Bill Clinton, had won in 1992 (albeit by a very thin margin of three votes).

title: East Carroll Parish, Louisiana


text:
East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

East Baton Rouge Parish (Paroisse de Bâton-Rouge Est; Parroquia del Este de Bastón Rojo) is the most populous parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its population was 456,781 at the 2020 census. The parish seat is Baton Rouge, Louisiana's state capital. East Baton Rouge Parish is located within the Greater Baton Rouge area.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 470 sqmi, of which 15 sqmi (3.2%) are covered by water.

Bodies of water

 * Amite River
 * Bayou Manchac
 * Comite River
 * Mississippi River
 * Thompson Creek

Major highways

 * I-10.svg Interstate 10
 * * I-110.svg Interstate 110
 * I-12.svg Interstate 12
 * US 61.svg U.S. Highway 61
 * US 190.svg U.S. Highway 190
 * Louisiana 19 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 19
 * Louisiana 30 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 30
 * Louisiana 37 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 37
 * Louisiana 42 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 42
 * Louisiana 64 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 64
 * Louisiana 67 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 67
 * Louisiana 73 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 73
 * Louisiana 327 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 327
 * Louisiana 408 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 408
 * Louisiana 409 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 409
 * Louisiana 410 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 410
 * Louisiana 415 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 415
 * Louisiana 423 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 423
 * Louisiana 426 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 426
 * Louisiana 427 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 427
 * Louisiana 946 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 946
 * Louisiana 948 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 948
 * Louisiana 958 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 958
 * Louisiana 964 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 964
 * Louisiana 1209 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 1209
 * Louisiana 1248 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 1248
 * Louisiana 3006 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 3006
 * Louisiana 3034 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 3034
 * Louisiana 3064 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 3064
 * Louisiana 3164 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 3164
 * Louisiana 3246 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 3246

Adjacent parishes

 * East Feliciana Parish (north)
 * West Feliciana Parish (northwest)
 * West Baton Rouge Parish (west)
 * Iberville Parish (south)
 * Ascension Parish (southeast)
 * Livingston Parish (east)
 * St. Helena Parish (northeast)

Cities

 * Baker
 * Baton Rouge (parish seat and largest municipality)
 * Central
 * St. George
 * Zachary

Census-designated places

 * Brownfields
 * Gardere
 * Inniswold
 * Merrydale
 * Monticello
 * Oak Hills Place
 * Old Jefferson
 * Shenandoah
 * Village St. George
 * Westminster

Unincorporated communities

 * Baywood
 * Greenwell Springs
 * Port Hudson
 * Pride

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 456,781 people, 161,536 households, and 95,243 families residing in the parish. The 2019 American Community Survey estimated 443,763 people lived in East Baton Rouge, up from 440,171 at the 2010 United States census. Of the population, 5.7% were foreign-born, and 8.3% spoke a language other than English at home. There were 164,346 households and 45,760 businesses operating in the parish.

At the 2019 census estimates, the racial and ethnic makeup of East Baton Rouge Parish was 46.8% non-Hispanic white, 46.1% Black and African American, 0.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.2% Asian alone, 1.8% some other race, and 1.9% two or more races; Hispanic and Latin Americans of any race made up 4.2% of the total population. In 2010, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 45.9% Black and African American, 49.5% White American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 3.0% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 1.02% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. About 3.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latin American of any race.

Of the 164,346 households at the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 6.6% of people aged 5 and under; 77.2% were aged 18 and older, and 13.7% were 65 and older. The median age of East Baton Rouge was 34, up from 32 at the 2010 U.S. census. In 2010, for every 100 females, there were 91.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.50 males.

In the parish, the median household income was $54,948 and there were 194,326 housing units. East Baton Rouge Parish had a home-ownership rate of 59.8%, and the median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $194,000. The median gross rent for residents was $933. Males had a median income of $55,862 versus $38,817 for females.

An estimated 61.2% of the parish was employed, and of the 45,760 businesses, 19,537 were minority-owned. Veteran-owned businesses numbered approximately 4,637.

Primary and secondary education
Most sections of the parish are zoned to schools in East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Baker residents attend the City of Baker School System. Zachary residents and residents of unincorporated areas around Zachary attend the Zachary Community School Board. Central residents, and those of a section of Brownfields, as well as some other unincorporated areas, attend the Central Community School System schools.

The State of Louisiana also operates the Louisiana School for the Visually Impaired and Louisiana School for the Deaf.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge operates Catholic parochial schools.

Other education
East Baton Rouge Parish Library is the public library system. The parish is in the service area of Baton Rouge Community College.

Government
The city of Baton Rouge and the Parish of East Baton Rouge have been run by a consolidated government since 1947, which combined the city of Baton Rouge government with the rural areas of the parish. The city and parish are served by the metropolitan council and the mayor-president.

The parish courthouse in Baton Rouge is one of 26 public buildings constructed by contractor George A. Caldwell in the 1930s.

In 2010, the 19th Judicial District Court moved into the new courthouse on North Blvd.

The Jetson Center for Youth, a former juvenile prison operated by the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice, is located near Baker in an unincorporated area.

Politics
Since 1980, East Baton Rouge Parish has been a bellwether in presidential elections, voting for the winner of the presidency in all but two elections (it voted for George H. W. Bush in 1992 and Hillary Clinton in 2016), but not necessarily the winner of Louisiana. In the 2008 presidential election, the parish voted for Democrat Barack Obama, who won 51% of the vote and 99,652 votes. Republican John McCain won 48% of the votes and 95,390 votes. In the 2008 Senate election, Democrat Mary Landrieu, who kept her seat as a U.S. Senator, won 57% of the vote and 110,694 votes in East Baton Rouge Parish. Republican John Neely Kennedy won 41% of the vote and 80,222 votes. In the 2004 presidential election, East Baton Rouge Parish cast the majority of its votes for Republican George W. Bush, who won 54% of the votes and 99,943 votes. Democrat John F. Kerry won 45% of the votes and 82,298 votes.

In 2016, John Kennedy lost East Baton Rouge Parish in his otherwise highly successful U.S. Senate race against Democratic Louisiana Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell, who prevailed 52-48%. By a nearly identical margin, Democrat Sharon Weston Broome defeated Republican Bodi White to claim the Baton Rouge mayor-president position to succeed Democrat Kip Holden.

Law enforcement
The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office employs approximately 850 deputies, making it one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state of Louisiana. Notable past sheriffs include politician Philemon Thomas; baseball player Terry Felton became a captain in the department after retiring from sports.

Other law enforcement agencies in the parish include:
 * Baton Rouge Police Department
 * Baton Rouge City Constable (Ward 1)
 * Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport Police Department
 * Baker Police Department
 * Baker City Marshall
 * Zachary Police Department
 * City of Central Police Department
 * Louisiana State University Police Department
 * Baton Rouge Community College Police Department
 * Southern University Police Department
 * East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Ward 2, District 1
 * East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Ward 2, District 2
 * East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Ward 2, District 3
 * East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Ward 3, District 1
 * East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Ward 3, District 2
 * East Baton Rouge Parish Constable - Ward 3, District 3

National Guard
The 769th Engineer Battalion (Combat) a unit of the 225th Engineer Brigade is located in East Baton Rouge Parish. Two companies of this battalion deployed to Iraq in 2007–2008. Another company-sized unit, the 927TH Sapper Company, deployed to Afghanistan in 2008–2009. As of 2011, yet another company, the 926TH Mobility Augmentation Company located in Baker has been alerted for overseas deployment. The 769th Engineers have two other companies, the 922nd Horizontal Engineer Company located in Gonzales, Louisiana, and the 928th Sapper Company located in Napoleonville, Louisiana.

Healthcare and Emergency Medical Services
Major Hospitals include

 * Baton Rouge General Bluebonnet
 * Baton Rouge General Mid-City
 * Ochsner Medical Center - Baton Rouge
 * Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center
 * Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital
 * Woman's Hospital

Emergency Medical Services in EBR Parish are provided by East Baton Rouge EMS and Acadian Ambulance.

title: East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana


text:
DeSoto Parish, Louisiana

DeSoto Parish (Parroquia de DeSoto; French: Paroisse DeSoto) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 26,812. Its parish seat is Mansfield. DeSoto Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area.

History
It is a typical misconception that the parish was named after Hernando de Soto, the Spaniard who explored the future southeastern United States and discovered and named the Mississippi River. The parish was in fact named after the unrelated Marcel DeSoto, who led the first group of European settlers there, to a settlement historically known as Bayou Pierre. The parish's name is also commonly misspelled following the explorer's name as "De Soto Parish," but it is properly spelled following the settler's name as "DeSoto Parish."

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 895 sqmi, of which 876 sqmi is land and 19 sqmi (2.1%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-49.svg|25px]] Interstate 49
 * [[Image:I-69 (Future).svg|25px]] Future Interstate 69
 * [[Image:US 84.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 84
 * [[Image:US 171.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 171
 * [[Image:US 371.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 371
 * [[Image:Louisiana 5 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 5

Adjacent parishes

 * Caddo Parish (north)
 * Red River Parish (east)
 * Natchitoches Parish (southeast)
 * Sabine Parish (south)
 * Shelby County, Texas (southwest)
 * Panola County, Texas (west)

National protected area

 * Red River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

City

 * Mansfield (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

 * Keachi
 * Logansport
 * Stonewall

Villages

 * Grand Cane
 * Longstreet
 * South Mansfield
 * Stanley

Census-designated places

 * Frierson
 * Gloster

Unincorporated communities

 * Carmel
 * Hunter
 * Kingston
 * Naborton
 * Pelican

Former communities

 * Oxford

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 26,812 people, 10,821 households, and 7,254 families residing in the parish. At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 10,821 households.

In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 58.8% non-Hispanic or Latino white, 35.3% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, <0.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.1% some other race, 1.9% two or more races, and 2.9% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.

There were 10,821 households at the 2019 census estimates, and the home-ownership rate was 71.3%. Of the 7,716 owner-occupied units, 3,917 were married couples living together, 365 male households with no female present, and 896 female households with no male present. There was a 17.1% vacancy rate in the parish. The average family size was 3.07, and the average household size was 2.50.

In the parish, 75.5% were aged 18 and older, and 17.2% were aged 65 and older; the median age was 39.3, and 6.5% were aged 5 and under. Approximately 0.8% of the population were foreign-born, and 2.1% spoke a language other than English at home.

The median income for a household in the parish was $46,006; families had a median income of $56,323, married couples had a median income of $78,090, and non-family households had a median income of $25,314. An estimated 22% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line, and 30.6% of people aged under 18 were at or below the poverty line.

Education
Public schools in DeSoto Parish are operated by the DeSoto Parish School Board. It is in the service area of Bossier Parish Community College.

Notable people

 * Larry Bagley (born 1949), incoming Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo, Desoto, and Sabine parishes
 * Terry Bradshaw (born 1948), Hall of Fame professional football player, sportscaster, singer, and actor
 * Richard Burford (born 1946), current Louisiana state representative
 * Vida Blue (born 1949–2023), professional baseball player
 * C.L. Bryant (born 1956), Baptist minister and radio talk show host
 * Riemer Calhoun (1909–1994), state senator from 1944 to 1952 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
 * Joe T. Cawthorn (1911–1967), state senator from 1940 to 1944 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
 * Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana State Senator
 * Joe Henry Cooper (1920–1980), Louisiana state representative
 * Kenny Ray Cox (born 1957), Louisiana state representative and former United States Army officer
 * Milton Joseph Cunningham (1842–1916), Natchitoches and New Orleans lawyer, state senator from Natchitoches and DeSoto parishes from 1880 to 1884; state attorney general for three nonconsecutive terms ending in 1900, born in what became DeSoto Parish
 * George Dement (1922–2014), mayor of Bossier City
 * Joseph Barton Elam (1821–1885), United States Representative from Louisiana's 4th congressional district
 * William Pike Hall, Sr. (1896–1945), state senator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes, 1924–1932, Shreveport attorney
 * John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), United States Air Force lieutenant general
 * Albert Lewis (1960-), professional football player
 * Curtis W. McCoy, mayor of Mansfield
 * Garnie W. McGinty (1900–1984), historian at Louisiana Tech University and school principal
 * Mack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football player
 * B. H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), politician
 * C. O. Simpkins, Sr. (1925–2019 from Mansfield), African-American state representative, dentist, and civil rights activist in Shreveport
 * O.C. Smith (1932–2001), singer

title: DeSoto Parish, Louisiana


text:
Concordia Parish, Louisiana

Concordia Parish (Parroquia de la Concordia; Paroisse de Concordia) is a parish that borders the Mississippi River in eastern central Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,687. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807.

Concordia Parish is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is historically considered part of the Natchez District, devoted to cotton cultivation as a commodity crop, in contrast to the sugar cane crop of southern Louisiana. Other Louisiana parishes of similar character are East and West Carroll, Madison and Tensas, all in this lowlying delta land. On the east side of the Mississippi River is the Natchez District around the city of Natchez, Mississippi.

Prehistory
Concordia Parish was the home to many successive Native American cultures for thousands of years before European encounter. Peoples of the Marksville culture, Troyville culture, Coles Creek culture and Plaquemine culture built villages and earthwork mound sites throughout the area. Notable examples include Cypress Grove Mound, DePrato Mounds, Frogmore Mound Site, and Lamarque Landing Mound.

Historic Native American tribes encountered by early French explorers and colonists were the following:

Historic era
Concordia was named by Anglo-American settlers for a Latin word meaning "harmony". They came mostly after the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, when the United States took over this formerly French colonial area west of the Mississippi. Like other parishes of the lands along the Mississippi River, in the antebellum era, the parish was developed for cotton cultivation on large plantations. The labor-intensive crop was profitable because of the labor of enslaved African Americans.

In 1789, Don Jose Vidal a resident of Natchez, MS and later the founder of the city of Vidalia, LA asked for land grants to move his family from Natchez to the other side of the Mississippi River. In Natchez, there was a mansion built called Concord (Natchez, Mississippi), this was a residence lived in by Spanish governors, also Vidal and his family lived there before the time era of the US began.

The Mansion started the name "Concord" and ultimately later led to the birth of what would be Concordia Parish. During the year of 1804, a ceremony of transfer was held and the citizens and Mayor of Natchez crossed over to the Louisiana side of the Mississippi to honor the new land that was founded. The Mansion was later struck by fire in the early 20th century (1901) and burned down. Natchez people also lived on both sides of the land.

"Concordia County" was a creation of the first Legislative Council held in New Orleans on December 2, 1804. Its territory that included parts of the present parishes of East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas. Land between the Mississippi, Red, Black, and Tensaw rivers comprised the early local administration of Concordia.

Because Concordia's alluvial soil was unusually productive for cotton growing, it attracted large plantations, whose owners enslaved a very high number of people. In 1860, slaves made up 91 percent of Concordia Parish's residents, the highest percentage of any Louisiana parish. Only two counties in the United States — Washington and Issaquena counties in Mississippi — had a higher percentage of its population enslaved. As might be expected, the small number of white cotton planters in Concordia were fierce defenders of chattel slavery and strongly backed the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

Law and government
The current elected sheriff is David Hedrick.

Concordia Parish is a bellwether for the state of Louisiana, consistently reflecting the state's presidential election outcomes since 1964. The parish trends Democratic for local offices. For national offices, the majority has favored Republican candidates. In the 2008 presidential election, the Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois received 3,766 votes (39.5 percent) in Concordia Parish to 5,668 (59.5 percent) for the Republican nominee, John McCain of Arizona. In 2004, Concordia Parish cast 5,427 votes (60 percent) for President George W. Bush and 3,446 ballots (38 percent) for his Democratic rival, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 747 sqmi, of which 697 sqmi is land and 50 sqmi (6.7%) is water.

The parish is completely agricultural bottomlands. The Ouachita River runs along the west boundary, the Red River along the south, and the Mississippi River along the east. All three rivers are contained by large levee systems.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 65.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 65
 * [[Image:US 84.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 84
 * [[Image:Louisiana 15 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 15
 * [[Image:Louisiana 566 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 566

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * Tensas Parish (north)
 * Adams County, Mississippi (northeast)
 * Wilkinson County, Mississippi (east)
 * West Feliciana Parish (southeast)
 * Pointe Coupee Parish (south)
 * Avoyelles Parish (southwest)
 * Catahoula Parish (west)

National protected area

 * Bayou Cocodrie National Wildlife Refuge

State protected area

 * Richard K. Yancey Wildlife Management Area

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 18,687 people, 7,162 households, and 4,562 families residing in the parish.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,247 people, 7,521 households, and 5,430 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 PD/sqmi. There were 9,148 housing units at an average density of 13 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 57.9% White, 40.7% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 0.8% from two or more races. 1.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,521 households, out of which 33.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.00% were married couples living together, 19.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 25.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.12.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 27.80% under the age of 18, 8.90% from 18 to 24, 25.60% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $22,742, and the median income for a family was $28,629. Males had a median income of $27,453 versus $18,678 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $11,966. About 24.30% of families and 29.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.00% of those under age 18 and 20.60% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Concordia Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish.

Libraries
The Concordia Parish Library has 3 branches and a bookmobile service for all citizens of Concordia Parish.
 * Ferriday Branch - 1609 Third Street, Ferriday, LA
 * Vidalia Branch - 408 Texas Street, Vidalia, LA
 * Clayton Branch - 31451 HWY-15 Clayton, LA

History
The Concordia Parish Library is the second oldest Parish Library in Louisiana and the first of such to be tax-supported. The library began as a movement between the President of the Tri-Parish Community Organization who had obtained a community program and a State Librarian at the time, Essae Martha Culver. The two held a dinner where they launched a library movement in Concordia Parish. The Ferriday Rotary Club and Police Jury along with the public worked with the Louisiana Library Commission on the project and in October 1928 the Concordia Parish Demonstration Library was opened. Citizens of the parish voted to implement a tax to ensure the library could continue to function after seeing the advantages provided by the library. The library moved in 1952 to its present-day main building site in Ferriday, Louisiana. In that same year the interested clubs of Ferriday and the Parish Library, The Concordia Parish Police Jury turned the Community Center over to the Concordia Parish Library to be operated as a parish library for all citizens of Concordia under the supervision of the Concordia Parish Library Board.

Library Cards
The library serves the citizens who reside in the boundaries of Concordia Parish. Any person permanently residing in Concordia Parish can use the services of a library with a library card. There are two types of library cards offered:
 * Library Card: allows patrons to check out physical materials and use electronic services. This card requires two items of price of residents AND a photo identification. Card is issued without charge.
 * Online Registration: allows access to Wi-Fi, public access, e-services, and downloadable databases.

National Guard
1086th Transportation Company of the 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion of the 139th RSG (Regional Support Group) is based in Vidalia, Louisiana on the west bank of the Mississippi River.

City

 * Vidalia (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

 * Ferriday
 * Clayton
 * Ridgecrest

Census-designated places

 * Minorca
 * Monterey
 * Spokane

Other unincorporated communities

 * Acme
 * Ashland
 * Black Hawk
 * Eva
 * Fairview
 * Mayna
 * West Ferriday

Arts and entertainment

 * Jerry Lee Lewis, musician
 * Jimmy Swaggart, televangelist
 * Mickey Gilley, musician

Journalism

 * Campbell Brown, Emmy-award-winning journalist, CNN Anchor/host.
 * Howard K. Smith, ABC and CBS commentator

Politics

 * Al Ater, State representative (1984–1988) and secretary of state (2005–2006)
 * Clifford Cleveland Brooks, planter in St. Joseph, represented Concordia Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1924 to 1932.
 * James H. "Jim" Brown, state senator (1972–1980), Louisiana secretary of state (1980–1988), and insurance commissioner (1992–2000)
 * Charles C. Cordill, Louisiana state senator representing Concordia and Tensas parishes from 1884 to 1912
 * Brenham C. Crothers, Ferriday cattleman; state senator from delta parishes from 1948 to 1952 and 1956−1960
 * Bryant Hammett, state representative, 1992–2006
 * Shelby M. Jackson, Education superintendent, 1948–1964
 * Consuelo Montagu, Duchess of Manchester (1858−1909), spent part of her childhood at Ravenswood Place plantation, in the vicinity of Lake St. John.
 * Ed Rand, late state representative (1960−1964) from Rapides Parish had a second home on Lake St. John.
 * Dan Richey, state senator, 1980–1984
 * Fred L. Schiele, state representative (1964−1968), Concordia Parish sheriff (1973−1980)
 * J. Robert Wooley, state insurance commissioner (2000−2006); practiced law in Concordia Parish with James H. "Jim" Brown in late 1970s

title: Concordia Parish, Louisiana


text:
Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

Claiborne Parish (Paroisse de Claiborne) is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,170. The parish seat is Homer.

History
John Murrell moved his family from Arkansas to the Flat Lick Bayou area about 6 miles west of present-day Homer in 1818, and they became the first known non-natives to permanently settle in Claiborne Parish. As more settlers moved into the area, the Murrell house served as a church, school and post office. When the state legislature created Claiborne Parish out of Natchitoches Parish in 1828, all governmental business, including court, began being held in the Murrell house. This continued until the new parish's police jury selected Russellville (now a ghost town located northeast of Athens) as the parish seat. As the population began swelling in what was then the western part of the parish, the seat was moved to Overton (another modern ghost town found near Minden) in 1836, because of its position at the head of the navigable portion of Dorcheat Bayou. Due to flooding and health concerns, the parish seat was moved to Athens in 1846, but an 1848 fire destroyed the courthouse and all the records in it. Soon thereafter the Claiborne Police Jury chose the present site for the parish seat, which came to be named, Homer.

Much of the area history is preserved in the Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum, located across from the parish courthouse in Homer.

Government and infrastructure
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the David Wade Correctional Center in an unincorporated section of Claiborne Parish near Homer and Haynesville.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 767 sqmi, of which 755 sqmi is land and 13 sqmi (1.6%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:I-69 (Future).svg|25px]] Future Interstate 69
 * [[Image:US 79.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 79
 * [[Image:Louisiana 2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 2
 * [[Image:Louisiana 9 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 9

Adjacent parishes

 * Columbia County, Arkansas (northwest)
 * Union County, Arkansas (northeast)
 * Union Parish (east)
 * Lincoln Parish (southeast)
 * Bienville Parish (south)
 * Webster Parish (west)

National protected area

 * Kisatchie National Forest (part)

Towns

 * Haynesville
 * Homer (parish seat and largest municipality)

Villages

 * Athens
 * Lisbon
 * Junction City

Unincorporated communities

 * Arizona
 * Lake Claiborne
 * Marsalis
 * Russellville
 * Summerfield

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,170 people, 5,917 households, and 3,718 families residing in the parish.

Politics
With a narrow majority of African Americans in the population, Claiborne Parish in the years after the civil rights movement was primarily Democratic in political complexion. In 1988, Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush prevailed in Claiborne Parish with 3,756 votes (53.6 percent). Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts trailed with 3,158 votes (45.1 percent). In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton of neighboring Arkansas, obtained 3,609 votes (53.6 percent) in Claiborne Parish. Republican Bob Dole of Kansas polled 2,500 votes (37.1 percent).

However, by 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona easily carried the parish in his losing race to Barack H. Obama. McCain polled 3,750 votes (54.8 percent) to Obama's 3,025 votes (44.2 percent). In 2012, Mitt Romney carried the parish, with 3,649 votes (54.2 percent), nearly identical to the McCain tally four years earlier. President Obama received 3,014 votes (44.8 percent), or .6 of 1 percent greater than his earlier tabulation.

Education
Claiborne Parish School Board serves the entire parish.

Claiborne Academy is a private institution in an unincorporated area in the parish, near Haynesville.

Notable people
Prominent Claiborne Parish residents include or have included:
 * Henry Walton Bibb American author, abolitionist, and former slave from 1839 to 1841
 * T. H. Harris, state education superintendent from 1908 to 1940.
 * Andrew R. Johnson was a state senator from Claiborne and Bienville parishes from 1916 to 1924.
 * John Sidney Killen, state representative for Claiborne Parish in 1871
 * Joe LeSage, state senator for Caddo Parish from 1968 to 1972; Shreveport attorney born in Homer
 * George H. Mahon, Former U.S. Representative.
 * James T. McCalman, state senator from Claiborne and Bienville parishes from 1960 to 1964.
 * Danny Roy Moore, state senator from 1964 to 1968.
 * Dave L. Pearce, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry from 1952 to 1956 and 1960–1976.
 * Larry Sale, sheriff of Claiborne Parish from 1936 to 1944; bodyguard at the assassination of Huey Pierce Long Jr.
 * Richard Stalder, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
 * David Wade, Lieutenant General of the United States Air Force.
 * Loy F. Weaver, state representative from 1976 to 1984.
 * Mule Watson, pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1918 to 1924.
 * Pinkie C. Wilkerson state representative from 1992 to 2000.
 * Patrick Floyd Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln County New Mexico, and killer of Billy the Kid.

title: Claiborne Parish, Louisiana


text:
Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

Catahoula Parish (Paroisse de Catahoula) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,906. Its seat is Harrisonburg, on the Ouachita River. The parish was formed in 1808, shortly after the United States acquired this territory in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803.

Prehistory
Catahoula Parish was the home to many succeeding Native American groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Peoples of the Marksville culture, Troyville culture, Coles Creek culture and Plaquemine culture built villages and mound sites throughout the area. Notable examples include Peck Mounds, and the Troyville Earthworks. The Troyville Earthworks have components dating from 100 BCE to 700 CE during the Baytown to the Troyville-Coles Creek periods.

It once had the tallest mound in Louisiana at 82 ft in height; it was the second-tallest mound in North America (after Monk's Mound at Cahokia Mounds). This mound was destroyed to make way for the Jonesville bridge over the Black River.

Historic era
The parish was founded in 1808 and originally incorporated a very large area. As population increased in the region, new parishes were organized from the territory first included in Catahoula Parish. The parish was divided by the state in 1910, when La Salle Parish was formed from its old western section. As one of the new parishes organized during early United States settlement of this part of the state, it has had the third most boundary changes since that time. Only Natchitoches and Ouachita parishes have had more revisions of boundaries.

This area was settled primarily by migrants from the southern United States after the Louisiana Purchase, when the US acquired the vast, former French-claimed territory west of the Mississippi River. White migrants to north and central Louisiana were from the South, and were mainly of British descent and Protestant religions. They brought a new influence into Louisiana. Some also brought or purchased African-American slaves to work on larger plantations. Many of these were from the Upper South, which sold slaves through the domestic market. They brought their own cultural influences as well.

The plantations included the Battleground Plantation, Ferry Place Plantation, and Marengo Plantation, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The other listed buildings include Catahoula Parish Courthouse, Harrisonburg Methodist Church, Sargent House, and Spring Ridge Baptist Church.

Catahoula dog
Catahoula Parish lays claim to its namesake Catahoula Leopard dog breed. The Catahoula breed was owned by Colonel James "Jim" Bowie of the Alamo and his brother Rezin Bowie, both of Louisiana. During the early 1900s, Theodore Roosevelt used the Catahoula when hunting. Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long also collected these dogs.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 739 sqmi, of which 708 sqmi is land and 31 sqmi (4.2%) is water. It is home to Sandy Lake.

Adjacent parishes

 * Franklin Parish (north)
 * Tensas Parish (northeast)
 * Concordia Parish (east)
 * Avoyelles Parish (south)
 * La Salle Parish (west)
 * Caldwell Parish (northwest)

National protected area

 * Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge (part)

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,906 people, 3,364 households, and 2,421 families residing in the parish.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,920 people, 4,082 households, and 2,992 families residing in the parish. The population density was 16 /mi2. There were 5,351 housing units at an average density of 8 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 71.78% White, 27.12% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,082 households, out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $22,528, and the median income for a family was $27,206. Males had a median income of $26,181 versus $18,427 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $12,608. About 22.60% of families and 28.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.80% of those under age 18 and 20.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Catahoula Parish School Board operates local public schools.

National Guard
The 1087TH Transportation Company of the 165TH CSS (combat service support) Battalion of the 139TH RSG (regional support group) resides in Jonesville, Louisiana.

Town

 * Jonesville

Villages

 * Harrisonburg
 * Sicily Island

Census-designated place

 * Wallace Ridge

Unincorporated communities

 * Aimwell
 * Enterprise
 * Foules
 * Larto
 * Leland
 * Manifest
 * Sandy Lake

Notable people

 * Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Catahoula Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960
 * Moses J. Liddell was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as a judge for the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory
 * St. John Richardson Liddell, Confederate general in the American Civil War, owned large plantation in Catahoula Parish
 * Sara T. Mayo, physician and humanitarian reformer
 * Joe Raymond Peace, football coach
 * William S. Peck, Sr., politician
 * Chris Shivers, two-time (2000, 2003) PBR World Champion bull rider

Politics
Catahoula Parish has proven to be an accurate bellwether for the state, consistently reflecting the statewide presidential election outcomes in every election since 1964. Although the parish trends Democratic in local elections, in the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama of Illinois received only 1,659 votes (31.8 percent) compared to 3,486 (66.7 percent) for the Republican nominee, John S. McCain of Arizona. The 2008 totals mirrored those of 2004, when Catahoula Parish cast 3,219 (65.0 percent) for President George W. Bush and 1,673 ballots (34.8 percent) for his Democratic rival, Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts. Local officials are almost entirely Democratic in affiliation. Republicans rarely contest such elections.

title: Catahoula Parish, Louisiana


text:
Cameron Parish, Louisiana

Cameron Parish (Paroisse de Cameron) is a parish in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,617. The parish seat is Cameron. Although it is the largest parish by area in Louisiana, it has the second-smallest population in the state, ahead of only Tensas. Cameron Parish is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area.

History
This was part of La Louisiane, colonized by the French beginning in the 17th and early 18th centuries. They encountered the Atakapa and Choctaw indigenous peoples, who had occupied this area for thousands of years.

18th century
In the late 1700s, after France had ceded New France (Canada) and other holdings east of the Mississippi River to Great Britain following its defeat in 1763 in the Seven Years' War, a number of French-speaking refugee families from Acadia settled in this part of coastal Louisiana. Some had fought against the British with Indian allies during the war in Acadia. Among them were Joseph "Beausoleil" Broussard, his brothers Alexander and Pierre, and their wives and families, who first went to Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) before settling in Louisiana. The British expelled many Acadians for their resistance, particularly their refusal to make loyalty oaths to Great Britain. Numerous other French-speaking families settled here and their descendants populate the smaller towns.

In the 18th century, France ceded its holdings in Louisiana and other areas west of the Mississippi River to Spain, and the Spanish colonial government made grants of land to the Acadians. France took control of this territory again at the turn of the nineteenth century for a short period under Napoleon Bonaparte.

19th century
In 1803, Napoleon sold all the French territory west of the Mississippi River to the United States in the Louisiana Purchase. The US was particularly intent on getting control of New Orleans, an important port for its large agricultural interests in what is now the Midwest. Early Anglo-American settlers after the Louisiana Purchase included John M. Smith, Millege McCall, John William Sweeney, George W. Wakefield, William Doxey, James Hale, James Root, and John M. Miller.

In 1807, this territory became part of Calcasieu Parish, established by the new Louisiana Territory legislature. The western part of this coastal area was included in what was called No Man's Land, a disputed area of control between Spain and the US after the Purchase. In the 1806 Neutral Ground agreement, both parties agreed to leave this free of military occupation or civil law enforcement. The area between the Calcasieu River (at the time known to the Spanish as the Arroyo Hondo) on the east and the Sabine River on the west became a hotbed of outlaws, pirates including Jean Lafitte, and other nefarious characters for many years. It was finally acquired by the United States in 1819 under the Adams-Onis Treaty with Spain. (In 1870 these two rivers were designated as the eastern and western boundaries, respectively, of the new Cameron Parish, taken from the southern part of Calcasieu Parish.)

During the American Civil War, loyalties in this area and in the greater coastal area were divided between Unionists and Confederates. Bands of local "Jayhawkers," also known as bushwhackers, were active in the area. There were numerous Unionists near Sabine Lake and Leesburg (now Cameron). Others were located near the mouth of the Calcasieu and near Grand Chenier, then in Vermilion Parish. The Union Navy had forces at Sabine Lake.

The Mermentau Jayhawkers were made up of a band of "200 mounted draft dodgers, bushwhackers, cattle thieves, runaway slaves, and Confederate deserters from Texas and Louisiana." They regularly raided federal supply lines and plundered from the local people, earning the enmity of both Union and Confederate regulars. If caught by Confederate forces, Jayhawker deserters were quickly court-martialed and executed. Local forces also organized as Regulators in an effort to protect women and children of local families, and repulse the Jayhawkers. After the end of the war, some of the vigilante Regulators turned to suppressing blacks and resisting Reconstruction.

Cameron Parish was organized in 1870 during the Reconstruction era and was made up of portions of Calcasieu and Vermilion parishes. It was one of several new parishes organized by the Republican-dominated legislature to create new centers of Republican political strength. Cameron Parish is named for Republican Simon Cameron, a Pennsylvanian who was President Abraham Lincoln's first secretary of war. Today its population is overwhelmingly majority white and Republican in the 21st-century realignment.

This is among the largest civil parishes in Louisiana, yet the least populated, owing to the high proportion of land area made up of marsh and wetlands. Cameron Parish comprises a large portion of the Louisiana Chenier Plain; it is home to numerous cheniers, and elevated fertile ridges that occur in certain coastal regions, particularly in Louisiana. These were developed for cotton plantations both before and after the Civil War; settlers also raised stock.

20th century
In 1937, the Pure Oil Company discovered the first Louisiana offshore oil field, the Creole Field, 1.2 mi from the shore of Cameron Parish, from a platform built on timber pilings in 10 to 15 ft water.

Some of southwest Louisiana was developed for industrial processing and export of oil products. In some areas, wetlands were drained and bayous dredged for navigation. This has been found to increase erosion of the wetlands and loss to area soils, with loss of coastline. Small farmers and hunters continued to make subsistence living in some rural areas.

From the mid-20th century to the early 21st century, the parish was severely damaged four times and its history was marked by hurricanes Audrey, Rita, Ike, and Laura.

It was devastated by Hurricane Audrey on June 27, 1957, which caused more than 390 deaths. Authors Nola Mae Ross and Susan McFillen Goodson chronicled the stories of many survivors in their book Hurricane Audrey (1997). National press coverage at the time recounted tales of tragedy and heroism. The American Medical Association honored a local Cameron physician, Cecil Clark, as the 'General Practitioner of the Year' in recognition of his dedicated service despite the great personal loss. Hurricane Audrey was a defining event for Cameron Parish for nearly 50 years, with local history being divided into "before" and "after" the storm.

21st century
On September 24, 2005, much of the parish was destroyed by Hurricane Rita. The movie Little Chenier was filmed in Southwest Louisiana just prior to Hurricane Rita. It contains some of the only film images of the area before it was destroyed.

In 2008, three years after Rita, Hurricane Ike came ashore at High Island, TX with a 22 ft storm surge, which was far worse than Rita's 10 ft surge. Nearly all of the coastline in that area was flooded heavily, with surge and floodwaters reaching 60 miles inland, as far north as Lake Charles. In Cameron Parish the communities of Cameron, Holly Beach, Hackberry, Creole, and Grand Chenier were essentially destroyed. From 2000 to 2010, the population in the parish dropped by nearly one-third as a result of the two hurricanes in 2005 and 2008.

In 2020, Hurricane Laura made landfall near Cameron, boasting winds of over 150 mph winds and 9 ft storm surge early on August 27, with the water reaching northwards towards Lake Charles. Hurricane Delta made landfall in Creole six weeks later as a Category 2 hurricane with 100 mph winds on October 9, 2020.

There are tourist destinations for hunting and fishing.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1937 sqmi, of which 1285 sqmi is land and 652 sqmi (34%) is water. It is the third-largest parish in Louisiana by land area and fourth-largest by total area. Most of the water is associated with marsh on the Gulf of Mexico.

Major highways

 * Louisiana 14 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 14
 * Louisiana 27 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 27
 * Louisiana 82 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 82

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * Calcasieu Parish (northwest)
 * Jefferson Davis Parish (northeast)
 * Vermilion Parish (east)
 * Jefferson County, Texas (southwest)
 * Orange County, Texas (west)

National protected areas

 * Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge
 * East Cove National Wildlife Refuge
 * Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge (part)
 * Sabine National Wildlife Refuge

Communities
There are no incorporated communities in Cameron Parish.

Census-designated places

 * Cameron (parish seat)
 * Hackberry

Unincorporated communities

 * Creole
 * Grand Chenier
 * Grand Lake
 * Holly Beach
 * Johnson Bayou

Demographics
The population of the parish dropped by nearly one-third in the decade from 2000 to 2010; it was marked in 2005 and 2008 by extensive damage from hurricanes Rita and Ike. According to the 2020 United States census, there were 5,617 people, 2,734 households, and 2,110 families residing in the parish. During the 2010 United States census, there were 6,839 people living in the parish; among them, 95.7% were White, 1.7% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.8% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 2.3% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 46.5% were of French, French Canadian or Cajun ancestry, 18.7% American, 5.8% English and 5.0% Irish ancestry. By 2020, its racial makeup was 92.11% non-Hispanic white, 1.26% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.23% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.37% other or mixed, and 3.51% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Education
Cameron Parish School Board operates local public schools within all of Cameron Parish.

Cameron Parish is in the service area of Sowela Technical Community College.

Cameron Parish Public Library is a public library system in Cameron Parish. All of the libraries are located in unincorporated areas.

The main Cameron Parish Library is at 512 Marshall Street. It was formerly at 469 Marshall Street in the Cameron CDP.

The system operates six
 * Grand Chenier Branch at 2863 Grand Chenier Highway in the Grand Chenier area
 * Grand Lake Branch at 10200 Gulf Hwy in the Grand Lake area
 * Hackberry Branch at 613 Main Street in the Hackberry CDP
 * Johnson Bayou Branch at 4586 Gulf Beach Highway in the Johnson Bayou area
 * Lowry Branch at 454 Lowry Highway in the Lowry area

Politics
Cameron Parish, once solidly Democratic, has trended sharply Republican in recent years. Like other Acadian parishes with large Cajun populations, Cameron has turned sharply right in the 21st century based on cultural issues and Democrats' discomfort with the oil and gas industry. The Republican nominee has won upwards of 80% of the vote in every presidential election since 2008. With Donald Trump receiving almost 91% of the vote in 2020 in Cameron, it was the ‘reddest’ parish in the State.

Notable people

 * Gilbert Franklin Hennigan, represented Cameron Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1956; he resided at the time in DeRidder in Beauregard Parish.
 * Doug Kershaw, musician, was born in Cameron Parish on January 24, 1936.
 * Conway LeBleu, Lake Charles native, represented Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in the Louisiana House from 1964 to 1988

title: Cameron Parish, Louisiana


text:
Caldwell Parish, Louisiana

Caldwell Parish (Paroisse de Caldwell) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of 2020, its population was 9,645. The parish seat is Columbia.

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 541 sqmi, of which 529 sqmi is land and 11 sqmi (2.1%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:US 165.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 165
 * [[Image:Louisiana 4 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 4

Adjacent parishes

 * Jackson Parish (northwest)
 * Ouachita Parish (north)
 * Richland Parish (northeast)
 * Franklin Parish (east)
 * Catahoula Parish (southeast)
 * La Salle Parish (south)
 * Winn Parish (southwest)

Town

 * Columbia (parish seat)

Villages

 * Clarks
 * Grayson

Census-designated place

 * Banks Springs

Unincorporated communities

 * Copenhagen
 * Corey
 * Hebert
 * Kelly
 * Ward 5
 * Bosco

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,645 people, 3,665 households, and 2,534 families residing in the parish. As of the census of 2000, there were 10,560 people, 3,941 households, and 2,817 families residing in the parish. The population density was 20 /mi2. There were 5,035 housing units at an average density of 10 /mi2.

In 2000, the racial makeup of the parish was 80.43% White, 17.90% Black or African American, 0.45% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.47% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.49% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. In 2020, its racial makeup was 78.29% non-Hispanic white, 15.84% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.445 Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.91% multiracial or other, and 2.29% Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Law enforcement
The Caldwell Parish Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency of the parish.

Notable people

 * Buddy Caldwell, Louisiana State Attorney General, 2008–2016
 * Graves B. Erskine, Marine Corps General Officer (4-Star)
 * Garland Gregory, LA Tech Football
 * Pam Kelly, recipient of the Wade Trophy
 * John J. McKeithen, Governor of Louisiana (1964–1972)
 * W. Fox McKeithen, Louisiana House of Representatives (1984–1988)
 * Clay Parker, LSU baseball pitcher and football punter (1981-1985)
 * Neil Riser, Louisiana State Senator elected in 2007
 * Chet D. Traylor, Louisiana Supreme Court, 1997–2009

title: Caldwell Parish, Louisiana