Parish in Louisiana, United States
Parish in Louisiana
Catahoula Parish
(
French
:
Paroisse de Catahoula
) is a
parish
in the
U.S. state
of
Louisiana
. As of the
2020 census
, the population was 8,906.
[1]
Its
seat
is
Harrisonburg
,
[2]
on the
Ouachita River
. The parish was formed in 1808, shortly after the United States acquired this territory in the
Louisiana Purchase
of 1803.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
Prehistory
[
edit
]
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.
[4]
It once had the tallest mound in Louisiana at 82 feet (25 m) 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
.
[4]
Historic era
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
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
.
[5]
During the early 1900s,
Theodore Roosevelt
used the Catahoula when hunting.
[6]
Louisiana
Governor
Earl Kemp Long
also collected these dogs.
[5]
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
, the parish has a total area of 739 square miles (1,910 km
2
), of which 708 square miles (1,830 km
2
) is land and 31 square miles (80 km
2
) (4.2%) is water.
[7]
It is home to
Sandy Lake
.
Major highways
[
edit
]
Adjacent parishes
[
edit
]
National protected area
[
edit
]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1820
| 2,287
| | ?
|
---|
1830
| 2,581
| | 12.9%
|
---|
1840
| 4,955
| | 92.0%
|
---|
1850
| 7,132
| | 43.9%
|
---|
1860
| 11,651
| | 63.4%
|
---|
1870
| 8,475
| | ?27.3%
|
---|
1880
| 10,277
| | 21.3%
|
---|
1890
| 12,002
| | 16.8%
|
---|
1900
| 16,351
| | 36.2%
|
---|
1910
| 10,415
| | ?36.3%
|
---|
1920
| 11,074
| | 6.3%
|
---|
1930
| 12,451
| | 12.4%
|
---|
1940
| 14,618
| | 17.4%
|
---|
1950
| 11,834
| | ?19.0%
|
---|
1960
| 11,421
| | ?3.5%
|
---|
1970
| 11,769
| | 3.0%
|
---|
1980
| 12,287
| | 4.4%
|
---|
1990
| 11,065
| | ?9.9%
|
---|
2000
| 10,920
| | ?1.3%
|
---|
2010
| 10,407
| | ?4.7%
|
---|
2020
| 8,906
| | ?14.4%
|
---|
2020 census
[
edit
]
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
[
edit
]
As of the
census
[14]
of 2000, there were 10,920 people, 4,082 households, and 2,992 families residing in the parish. The
population density
was 16 people per square mile (6.2 people/km
2
). There were 5,351 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3.1/km
2
). 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
[
edit
]
Catahoula Parish School Board
operates local public schools.
National Guard
[
edit
]
The 1087TH Transportation Company of the 165TH CSS (combat service support) Battalion of the 139TH RSG (regional support group) resides in
Jonesville, Louisiana
.
Communities
[
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]
Town
[
edit
]
Villages
[
edit
]
Unincorporated areas
[
edit
]
Census-designated place
[
edit
]
Unincorporated communities
[
edit
]
Notable people
[
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]
Politics
[
edit
]
United States presidential election results for Catahoula Parish, Louisiana
[15]
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
3,541
|
72.89%
|
1,269
|
26.12%
|
48
|
0.99%
|
2016
|
3,479
|
71.64%
|
1,322
|
27.22%
|
55
|
1.13%
|
2012
|
2,744
|
65.44%
|
1,408
|
33.58%
|
41
|
0.98%
|
2008
|
3,486
|
66.72%
|
1,659
|
31.75%
|
80
|
1.53%
|
2004
|
3,219
|
64.98%
|
1,673
|
33.77%
|
62
|
1.25%
|
2000
|
2,912
|
61.11%
|
1,718
|
36.05%
|
135
|
2.83%
|
1996
|
1,770
|
34.26%
|
2,692
|
52.11%
|
704
|
13.63%
|
1992
|
1,976
|
36.12%
|
2,570
|
46.97%
|
925
|
16.91%
|
1988
|
2,862
|
57.82%
|
1,916
|
38.71%
|
172
|
3.47%
|
1984
|
3,640
|
67.52%
|
1,649
|
30.59%
|
102
|
1.89%
|
1980
|
2,942
|
53.19%
|
2,414
|
43.64%
|
175
|
3.16%
|
1976
|
2,086
|
43.76%
|
2,547
|
53.43%
|
134
|
2.81%
|
1972
|
2,683
|
73.15%
|
823
|
22.44%
|
162
|
4.42%
|
1968
|
755
|
17.97%
|
769
|
18.31%
|
2,677
|
63.72%
|
1964
|
2,387
|
81.00%
|
560
|
19.00%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1960
|
971
|
45.54%
|
558
|
26.17%
|
603
|
28.28%
|
1956
|
845
|
46.89%
|
707
|
39.23%
|
250
|
13.87%
|
1952
|
884
|
39.82%
|
1,336
|
60.18%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1948
|
86
|
5.16%
|
515
|
30.91%
|
1,065
|
63.93%
|
1944
|
291
|
19.41%
|
1,208
|
80.59%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1940
|
134
|
8.14%
|
1,512
|
91.86%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1936
|
98
|
6.71%
|
1,363
|
93.29%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1932
|
29
|
2.12%
|
1,340
|
97.88%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1928
|
341
|
32.45%
|
710
|
67.55%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1924
|
78
|
26.35%
|
218
|
73.65%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1920
|
176
|
25.40%
|
517
|
74.60%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1916
|
20
|
4.17%
|
459
|
95.63%
|
1
|
0.21%
|
1912
|
11
|
2.96%
|
275
|
73.92%
|
86
|
23.12%
|
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
.
[16]
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
.
[17]
Local officials are almost entirely Democratic in affiliation. Republicans rarely contest such elections.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Census - Geography Profile: Catahoula Parish, Louisiana"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
January 21,
2023
.
- ^
"Find a County"
. National Association of Counties. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2011
. Retrieved
June 7,
2011
.
- ^
"Catahoula Parish"
. Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism.
Archived
from the original on August 20, 2008
. Retrieved
September 6,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"Indian Mounds of Northeast Louisiana : Troyville Earthworks"
. Archived from
the original
on November 10, 2013
. Retrieved
October 22,
2011
.
- ^
a
b
Cracker Catahoulas
Archived
June 23, 2009, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Molosser World: Catahoula Bulldog
Archived
April 18, 2010, at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"2010 Census Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2013
. Retrieved
August 27,
2014
.
- ^
"U.S. Decennial Census"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
August 27,
2014
.
- ^
"Historical Census Browser"
. University of Virginia Library.
Archived
from the original on August 11, 2012
. Retrieved
August 27,
2014
.
- ^
"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990"
. United States Census Bureau.
Archived
from the original on September 15, 2014
. Retrieved
August 27,
2014
.
- ^
"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000"
(PDF)
. United States Census Bureau.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on December 18, 2014
. Retrieved
August 27,
2014
.
- ^
"State & County QuickFacts"
. United States Census Bureau. Archived from
the original
on June 6, 2011
. Retrieved
August 20,
2013
.
- ^
"Explore Census Data"
.
data.census.gov
. Retrieved
December 29,
2021
.
- ^
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
Leip, David.
"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections"
.
uselectionatlas.org
.
Archived
from the original on March 23, 2018
. Retrieved
March 7,
2018
.
- ^
"Louisiana general election returns, November 4, 2008"
. sos.louisiana.gov
. Retrieved
June 15,
2010
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Louisiana general election returns, November 2, 2004"
. sos.louisiana.gov
. Retrieved
June 15,
2010
.
[
dead link
]
External links
[
edit
]
Places adjacent to Catahoula Parish, Louisiana
|
---|
|
31°40′N
91°51′W
/
31.67°N 91.85°W
/
31.67; -91.85
|
---|
International
| |
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National
| |
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Other
| |
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