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Louisiana Parishes

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Louisiana Parishes

Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes in the same way that 48 of the other states of the United States are divided into counties (Alaska is divided into boroughs and census areas).
On March 31, 1807, the territorial legislature divided the state into 19 parishes, without getting rid of the old counties (which continued to exist until 1845).In 1811, a constitutional convention organized the state into seven judicial districts, each consisting of groups of parishes. In 1816, the first official map of the state used the term, as did the 1845 constitution. Since then, the official term has been parishes.

Acadia Parish, Louisiana

Acadia Parish History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Crowley
Year Organized: 1886
Square Miles: 655

Court House:

P.O. Box A
Parish Courthouse
Crowley, LA 70527-6001

Etymology - Origin of Parish Name

The name Acadia was suggested by a priest from Rayne, Father Anthoioz.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Acadia Parish was created on 1887, from St. Landry Parish and the parish was named in honor of the Acadians, descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia. The Parish seat is Crowley.

The first settlement of what is now Acadia Parish was made by the exiled Acadians who were induced by the Spanish Government to come to this area with gifts of large tracts of land, cattle, and agricultural implements. Life was simple, their homes were constructed of mud mixed with moss, their food was plain, and there was little trade. They engaged in stock raising, and later raised corn and cotton.

Acadia Parish was part of St. Landry Parish. In those days of poor transportation, people found it a real hardship to travel by horseback, canoe, or priogue to distant Opelousas, the parish seat. In 1886, the Rayne newspaper, The Rayne Signal, proposed a division of the old parish with the creation of a new one. The proposal was soon supported by many prominent men throughout the area, and in an election, the people voted in its favor, almost two to one. Thus was born Acadia Parish on October 2, 1886. The name Acadia was suggested by a priest from Rayne, Father Anthoioz.

Neighboring Parishes:

North: Evangeline Parish
Northeast: St. Landry Parish
Southeast: Lafayette Parish
South: Vermilion Parish
West: Jefferson Davis Parish

Cities and Towns:

- Church Point	town	Incorporated Area
- Crowley (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area
- Estherwood	village	Incorporated Area
- Iota	town	Incorporated Area
- Mermentau	village	Incorporated Area
- Morse	village	Incorporated Area
- Rayne	city	Incorporated Area

Parish Resources:

MyLouisianaGenealogy.com - Acadia Parish

County Resources

The history of our nation was a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names given the counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of this country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."