Catahoula Parish, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catahoula Parish
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| Parish of Catahoula | |
Historic Marker Signs at Ferry Place and Peck Mounds.
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Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
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 Louisiana's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Louisiana |
| Founded | March 23, 1808 |
| Named for | Tensas word for big, clear lake |
| Seat | Harrisonburg |
| Largest town | Jonesville |
| Area | |
| • Total | 739 sq mi (1,910 km2) |
| • Land | 708 sq mi (1,830 km2) |
| • Water | 31 sq mi (80 km2) 4.2% |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 10,407 |
| • Estimate
(2018)
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9,608 |
| • Density | 14.083/sq mi (5.437/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 5th |
Catahoula Parish (French: Paroisse de Catahoula) is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,407. 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.
Contents
History
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 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.
Historic era
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 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, after 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.
At the start of the American Civil War, James G. Taliaferro, a delegate to the Louisiana state secessionist convention from Catahoula Parish, argued strongly against leaving the American Union. Taliaferro "denied the constitutional right [of a state] to leave the Union and painted a gloomy picture of economic chaos, blighted prosperity, staggering taxation and 'fatal prostration of Louisiana's interests under a southern Confederation,' and he could see no way ahead to prevent final anarchy and war. So 'radical' were the ideas of Taliaferro that the convention refused to print his protest in the pages of [its journal]."
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.
Catahoula Hog 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 square miles (1,910 km2), of which 708 square miles (1,830 km2) is land and 31 square miles (80 km2) (4.2%) is water. It is home to Sandy Lake.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 84
Louisiana Highway 8
Louisiana Highway 15
Louisiana Highway 126
Adjacent parishes
- Franklin Parish (north)
- Tensas Parish (northeast)
- Concordia Parish (east)
- Avoyelles Parish (south)
- La Salle Parish (west)
- Caldwell Parish (northwest)
National protected area
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 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% | |
| 2018 (est.) | 9,608 | −7.7% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013 |
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2020 census
| Race | Number | Percentage |
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| White (non-Hispanic) | 5,738 | 64.43% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 2,275 | 25.54% |
| Native American | 34 | 0.38% |
| Asian | 26 | 0.29% |
| Pacific Islander | 6 | 0.07% |
| Other/Mixed | 213 | 2.39% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 614 | 6.89% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,906 people, 3,364 households, and 2,421 families residing in the parish.
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.
Communities
Town
Villages
Census-designated place
Unincorporated communities
- Aimwell
- Enterprise
- Foules
- Larto
- Leland
- Manifest
- Sandy Lake
Education
Catahoula Parish School Board operates local public schools.
Notable people
- William B. Atkins, former member of both houses of the state legislature; resident of Jonesville
- Leo Boothe, longest serving District Judge of Catahoula Parish and Concordia Parish. (1991-2015)
- J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert, late state senator and state representative
- 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
- Charles A. Marvin, late judge based in Webster Parish
- Sara T. Mayo, physician and humanitarian reformer
- David I. Patten, late state representative
- Joe Raymond Peace, football coach
- William S. Peck, Jr., politician
- William S. Peck, Sr., politician
- Dan Richey, former member of both houses of the state legislature
- Chris Shivers, two-time (2000, 2003) PBR World Champion bull rider
See also
In Spanish: Parroquia de Catahoula para niños
