Parish in Louisiana, United States
Parish in Louisiana
St. Helena Parish
(
French
:
Paroisse de Sainte-Helene
;
Spanish
:
Parroquia de Santa Elena
) is a
parish
in the
U.S. state
of
Louisiana
. At the
2020 United States census
, the population was 10,920.
[1]
Its
seat
is
Greensburg
.
[2]
The parish was created in 1810.
[3]
St. Helena Parish is part of the
Baton Rouge metropolitan area
.
History
[
edit
]
The parish is one of the eight
Florida Parishes
, a region which was once part of colonial
West Florida
. The area was annexed to the
Territory of Orleans
in 1810, after the short-lived
Republic of West Florida
capitulated to the
United States
.
In 1832, the southern section of the parish was taken to form
Livingston Parish
and the St. Helena parish seat was redesignated as Greensburg, where it remains today. St. Helena lost another portion of land in 1866, which was subsequently added to land from other parishes to form
Tangipahoa Parish
.
From 1964 to 1984, St. Helena Parish was represented in the
Louisiana State Senate
by the
Democrat
businessman
W. E. "Bill" Dykes
. In 1983, as a casualty of
redistricting
, Dykes bowed out of contention in a race which would have pitted him against long-term Senate President Sixty Rayburn of
Bogalusa, Louisiana
. Rayburn himself lost his senate seat in 1995.
[4]
In recent years, St. Helena experienced a series of scandals involving parish officials. In 1997, Sheriff Eugene Holland (October 13, 1954 ? December 14, 2010)
[5]
was found guilty of misuse of government funds and property and using prison inmates for personal labor; he spent time in prison as a result.
[6]
His replacement, Chaney L. Phillips (born
c.
1950
), served for only a year as sheriff before he was convicted of fraud and
money laundering
that he had committed while serving as the parish assessor.
[7]
He was given an eight-year prison sentence on conviction in 1998 of having placed a political supporter on his assessor office staff; the individual performed no duties. Phillips was assigned to the
Federal Correctional Institution
in
Englewood, Colorado
.
[8]
He was released on May 23, 2003.
[9]
Ronald "Gun" Ficklin, former mayor of Greensburg, took over the sheriff's office from Phillips in 1998, but on February 5, 2007, Ficklin himself pleaded guilty on multiple counts involving his role in operating "
chop shops
" ? reselling stolen automobiles and parts ? using state prisoners to staff these activities and as a pit crew for his race car.
[10]
[11]
Ficklin died of cancer while in prison (October 21, 2011).
[12]
In 2007,
Nat Williams
was elected as Ficklin's replacement, the first
African American
to hold the office in that parish.
[13]
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
United States Census Bureau
, the parish has a total area of 409 square miles (1,060 km
2
), of which 408 square miles (1,060 km
2
) is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km
2
) (0.3%) is water.
[14]
It is located in the northern tier of the
Florida Parishes
, and within the
Baton Rouge metropolitan area
.
Major highways
[
edit
]
Adjacent parishes and counties
[
edit
]
Communities
[
edit
]
Town
[
edit
]
Village
[
edit
]
Unincorporated communities
[
edit
]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1820
| 3,026
| | ?
|
---|
1830
| 4,028
| | 33.1%
|
---|
1840
| 3,525
| | ?12.5%
|
---|
1850
| 4,561
| | 29.4%
|
---|
1860
| 7,130
| | 56.3%
|
---|
1870
| 5,423
| | ?23.9%
|
---|
1880
| 7,504
| | 38.4%
|
---|
1890
| 8,062
| | 7.4%
|
---|
1900
| 8,479
| | 5.2%
|
---|
1910
| 9,172
| | 8.2%
|
---|
1920
| 8,427
| | ?8.1%
|
---|
1930
| 8,492
| | 0.8%
|
---|
1940
| 9,542
| | 12.4%
|
---|
1950
| 9,013
| | ?5.5%
|
---|
1960
| 9,162
| | 1.7%
|
---|
1970
| 9,937
| | 8.5%
|
---|
1980
| 9,827
| | ?1.1%
|
---|
1990
| 9,874
| | 0.5%
|
---|
2000
| 10,525
| | 6.6%
|
---|
2010
| 11,203
| | 6.4%
|
---|
2020
| 10,920
| | ?2.5%
|
---|
At the
2010 United States census
, there were 11,203 people living in the parish, and at the 2000 U.S. census, there were 10,525 people. The 2019
American Community Survey
estimated 10,297 people lived in the parish. The
2020 census
tabulated a total of 10,920 residents. In 2019, there were 3,857 households, down from 3,873 at the 2000 census.
[21]
The racial and ethnic makeup at the 2019 census-estimates was 52.5%
Black and African American
, 45.7%
non-Hispanic white
, 1.1%
American Indian and Alaska Native
, 0.3%
Asian
, 0.2% some other race, and 0.2%
multiracial
;
Hispanics and Latin Americans
of any race made up 1.8% of the total population. In 2010, the racial and ethnic makeup was 53.3% Black and African American, 44.9%
White American
, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 0.5% of some other race and 0.8% of two or more races; 0.9% were Hispanic and Latin American of any race.
Of the 3,857 households at the 2019 census-estimates, 78.7% were aged 18 and older, 5.4% aged 5 and under, and 18.9% aged 65 and older.
[21]
The median age was 39.4, up from 35 at the 2000 census.
The parish had an employment rate of 45.9%, and the population was spread throughout 5,330 housing units. An estimated 78.9% of the population owned their housing units. The median value of an owner-occupied housing unit was $100,100, and the median gross rent was $656. The
median income
for a household in the parish was $43,886; males had a median income of $52,398 versus $31,003 for females. An estimated 24.3% of the parish population lived at or below the
poverty line
in 2019.
Education
[
edit
]
The Elementary and High School in St. Helena Parish are part of the
St. Helena Parish School System
. The Middle School in St. Helena Parish is part of the
Recovery School District of Louisiana
.
[
citation needed
]
It is in the service area of
Baton Rouge Community College
.
[22]
Brushy Creek Crater
[
edit
]
St. Helena Parish contains the only identified
meteorite
impact crater
in the state of Louisiana. This suspected impact crater is a roughly circular depression about 1.2 miles/2 km in diameter. Shocked quartz and intensely fractured quartz have been recovered from fractured and possibly altered sediments comprising its rim. Its age is estimated to be between 11 and 30
ka
.
[23]
It lies about 5.8 miles/9.3 kilometers southwest of
Greensburg
, in the southwest corner of the parish. Louisiana Highway 37 cuts through the northern edge of this feature.
[23]
[24]
[25]
Politics
[
edit
]
United States presidential election results for St. Helena Parish, Louisiana
[26]
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
2,714
|
44.07%
|
3,346
|
54.34%
|
98
|
1.59%
|
2016
|
2,497
|
41.87%
|
3,353
|
56.22%
|
114
|
1.91%
|
2012
|
2,529
|
39.55%
|
3,780
|
59.12%
|
85
|
1.33%
|
2008
|
2,522
|
40.78%
|
3,567
|
57.68%
|
95
|
1.54%
|
2004
|
2,235
|
40.58%
|
3,173
|
57.61%
|
100
|
1.82%
|
2000
|
1,965
|
37.40%
|
3,059
|
58.22%
|
230
|
4.38%
|
1996
|
1,455
|
25.95%
|
3,692
|
65.83%
|
461
|
8.22%
|
1992
|
1,515
|
26.97%
|
3,416
|
60.80%
|
687
|
12.23%
|
1988
|
2,006
|
38.93%
|
3,013
|
58.47%
|
134
|
2.60%
|
1984
|
2,366
|
43.53%
|
2,956
|
54.39%
|
113
|
2.08%
|
1980
|
1,531
|
31.55%
|
3,183
|
65.60%
|
138
|
2.84%
|
1976
|
1,046
|
27.61%
|
2,622
|
69.22%
|
120
|
3.17%
|
1972
|
1,446
|
52.00%
|
943
|
33.91%
|
392
|
14.10%
|
1968
|
219
|
6.50%
|
1,351
|
40.09%
|
1,800
|
53.41%
|
1964
|
1,319
|
65.14%
|
706
|
34.86%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1960
|
296
|
16.36%
|
678
|
37.48%
|
835
|
46.16%
|
1956
|
545
|
32.27%
|
997
|
59.03%
|
147
|
8.70%
|
1952
|
586
|
39.57%
|
895
|
60.43%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1948
|
59
|
4.95%
|
469
|
39.38%
|
663
|
55.67%
|
1944
|
108
|
13.65%
|
683
|
86.35%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1940
|
80
|
7.36%
|
1,007
|
92.64%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1936
|
102
|
7.84%
|
1,199
|
92.16%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1932
|
26
|
2.63%
|
962
|
97.37%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1928
|
145
|
19.23%
|
609
|
80.77%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1924
|
18
|
8.87%
|
185
|
91.13%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1920
|
36
|
8.96%
|
366
|
91.04%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1916
|
9
|
2.69%
|
319
|
95.51%
|
6
|
1.80%
|
1912
|
13
|
5.39%
|
214
|
88.80%
|
14
|
5.81%
|
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"QuickFacts: St. Helena Parish, Louisiana"
.
U.S. Census Bureau
.
- ^
"Saint Helena Parish/homepage"
. Saint Helena Parish
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
"St. Helena Parish"
. Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism
. Retrieved
September 6,
2014
.
- ^
Ed Anderson (March 5, 2008).
"Longtime State Senator BB 'Sixty' Rayburn dead at 91"
. Times-Picayune
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
"Eugene Holland Obituary"
. The Advocate. December 16, 2010
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
Jush Auzenne (December 15, 2010).
"Former St. Helena Sheriff passes away"
. WAFB9/Baton Rouge
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
"USA v. Chaney L Phillips"
. Federal Reporter (3rd series). July 13, 2000
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
"ES&S, Diebold lobbyists"
. bbvforums.org. Archived from
the original
on October 2, 2013
. Retrieved
June 26,
2013
.
- ^
"Chaney L. Phillips"
. bop.gov
. Retrieved
June 26,
2013
.
- ^
Brown, Penny (February 5, 2007).
"St. Helena sheriff pleads guilty to role in illegal chop shop"
.
The Advocate
. Baton Rouge.
Archived
from the original on February 8, 2007
. Retrieved
February 6,
2007
.
- ^
"Sheriff pleads guilty in chop shop case"
. Associated Press (via Yahoo! News). February 6, 2007
. Retrieved
February 6,
2007
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Former Sheriff "Gun" Ficklin dies in prison"
.
WAFB9 News/Baton Rouge
. October 21, 2011
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
"Sheriff Williams"
. Sheriff's Office, Saint Helena Parish. June 19, 2021
. Retrieved
June 19,
2021
.
- ^
"2010 Census Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2013
. Retrieved
September 1,
2014
.
- ^
"U.S. Decennial Census"
. US Census Bureau. Archived from
the original
on April 26, 2015
. Retrieved
September 1,
2014
.
- ^
"Historical Census Browser"
. University of Virginia Library
. Retrieved
September 1,
2014
.
- ^
"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990"
. US Census Bureau
. Retrieved
September 1,
2014
.
- ^
"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000"
(PDF)
. US Census Bureau.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on March 27, 2010
. Retrieved
September 1,
2014
.
- ^
"State & County QuickFacts"
. US Census Bureau
. Retrieved
August 18,
2013
.
- ^
"Explore Census Data"
.
data.census.gov
. Retrieved
December 28,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
"Geography Profile: St. Helena Parish, Louisiana"
.
data.census.gov
. Retrieved
August 4,
2021
.
- ^
"Our Colleges"
.
Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
Heinrich, P.V. (2003)
Possible Meteorite Impact Crater in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana.
Search and Discovery Article. no. 50006. American Association of Petroleum Geologist, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^
Heinrich, P.V. (2003)
Origin of a Circular Depression and Associated Fractured and Shocked Quartz, St. Helena Parish, LA.
Transactions of the Gulf Association of Geological Societies. vol. 53, pp. 313-322.
- ^
LGS Researcher Featured in Meteor Crater News Story.
Archived
March 21, 2012, at the
Wayback Machine
Center for Energy Studies, Louisiana State University Baton Rouge. Retrieved March 27, 2011.
- ^
Leip, David.
"Atlas of US Presidential Elections"
.
uselectionatlas.org
. Retrieved
March 8,
2018
.
External links
[
edit
]
Places adjacent to St. Helena Parish, Louisiana
|
---|
|
|
---|
International
| |
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National
| |
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Other
| |
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30°49′N
90°43′W
/
30.82°N 90.71°W
/
30.82; -90.71