Allen Parish, Louisiana facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Allen Parish
Parish
Parish of Allen
Allen Parish Courthouse in Oberlin (near sunset)
Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Founded	1912
Named for	Henry Watkins Allen
Seat	Oberlin
Largest city	Oakdale
Area
• Total	766 sq mi (1,980 km2)
• Land	762 sq mi (1,970 km2)
• Water	4.1 sq mi (11 km2)  0.5%
Population  (2010)
• Total	25,764
• Estimate  (2018)	25,605
• Density	33.634/sq mi (12.986/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	4th

Allen Parish (French: Paroisse d'Allen) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,764. The parish seat is Oberlin and the largest city is Oakdale. Allen Parish is in southwestern Louisiana, southwest of Alexandria.

Allen Parish is named for former Confederate States Army general and Governor of Louisiana Henry Watkins Allen. It was separated in 1912 from the larger Calcasieu Parish to the southwest.

Leatherwood Museum

On September 27, 2008, the Allen Parish Tourist Commission opened Leatherwood Museum in Oakdale in a two-story house which served during the early 20th century as a hospital where women waited on the second-floor balcony to deliver their babies.

The museum focuses on the history of agriculture and timber. Upstairs exhibits include photographs and a machine for cutting rice stalks, displays of early dental and medical equipment, pictures of war maneuvers during World War II, and a letter from Confederate States of America soldier David Dunn to his wife. Dunn was the grandfather of William T. Dunn, founder of Dunnsville, which became Oakdale. An education room contains displays on Louisiana High School Hall of Fame sports figures Curtis Cook of Oakdale, Johnny Buck of Kinder, and Hoyle Granger of Oberlin. Granger, an inductee of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame who starred for the Houston Oilers, addressed the grand opening of the museum. Other exhibits focus on the Coushatta Indians and Courir de Mardi Gras or the country way of celebrating Mardi Gras in Allen Parish.

Adagria Haddock, director of the Allen Parish Tourist Commission, said that in addition to a hospital, the building formerly served as a boarding house and the home of the Leatherwood family. The house dates to July 3, 1888. The Leatherwoods turned the building into a museum in 1986, but it closed a decade later because of a lack of funding. In 2005, the house was donated to the Allen Parish Tourist Commission.

The downstairs contains the furnishings of a typical family house of the time, with displays of clothing and other period artifacts. "We just wanted you to feel like home when you walked in and then go explore the museum part [upstairs]," Haddock told Alexandria Daily Town Talk. The facility is handicapped-accessible with an elevator. A state grant of $65,000 helped fund restoration.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 766 square miles (1,980 km²), of which 762 square miles (1,970 km²) is land and 4.1 square miles (11 km²) (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 165
• U.S. Highway 190
• Louisiana Highway 10
• Louisiana Highway 26

Adjacent parishes

• Vernon Parish (northwest)
• Rapides Parish (northeast)
• Evangeline Parish (east)
• Jefferson Davis Parish (south)
• Beauregard Parish (west)

Waterways

• Bundick Creek
• Calcasieu River
• Ouiski Chitto Creek
• Six Mile Creek
• Ten Mile Creek

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,750 people, 7,925 households, and 5,566 families residing in the parish.

National Guard

B Company 3-156TH Infantry Battalion of the 256TH IBCT resides in Oakdale, Louisiana. This unit deployed twice to Iraq in 2004-5 and 2010.

Communities

Map of Allen Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities

• Oakdale

Towns

• Elizabeth
• Kinder
• Oberlin (parish seat)

Villages

• Reeves

Education

Residents are zoned to Allen Parish Schools

It is in the service area of Sowela Technical Community College.

Notable people

• Hoyle Granger (1944-), former American football player in the NFL. Member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame
• William J. "Bill" Dodd (1909–1991), Louisiana lieutenant governor from 1948-1952 and Louisiana state representative from 1940-1948
• Faye Emerson (1917-1983), film and stage actress and television interviewer
• Gilbert Franklin Hennigan (1883-1960), Louisiana state senator from 1944 to 1956.
• Dorothy Sue Hill (1939-), rancher and retired educator. Current Louisiana state representative for the 32nd District.
• E. Holman Jones (1926-2014), United States Navy veteran of World War II and Louisiana state representative from 1968-1972
• Coleman Lindsey (1892–1968), Louisiana state senator from 1924-1928 and 1932-1939. Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana from 1939-1940
• Mary Evelyn Parker (1920-2015), first female Treasurer of Louisiana from 1968-1987
• Douglas B. Fournet (1943-1968), United States Army officer and posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War
• Beau Jocque (1953-1999), Louisiana French Creole zydeco musician and songwriter
• Blake Trahan (1993-), former professional baseball shortstop with the Cincinnati Reds
• Roy Brown (1925-1981), R&B singer, songwriter, and musician

See also

In Spanish: Parroquia de Allen para niños