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Louisiana

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.

Bossier Parish, Louisiana

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

County Seat: Benton
Year Organized: 1843
Square Miles: 838

Court House:

P.O. Box 70
Parish Courthouse
Benton, LA 71006-0070

Etymology - Origin of Parish Name

the parish was named in honor of General Pierre Evariste John Baptiste Bossier, who was elected to congress from this district the same year Bossier Parish was created. General Bossier, who received his title as a general of the Louisiana Militia, was born in Natchitoches in 1797 of a Creole family which was one of the first to settle in this community.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

County History

Bossier Parish was created on February 24, 1843, was created on, from an area cut out of Claiborne Parish by Act 33 of 1843 and the parish was named in honor of General Pierre Evariste John Baptiste Bossier, who was elected to congress from this district the same year Bossier Parish was created. General Bossier, who received his title as a general of the Louisiana Militia, was born in Natchitoches in 1797 of a Creole family which was one of the first to settle in this community. The Parish seat is Bossier City. Claiborne Parish was part of Natchitoches Parish, one of the original nineteen parishes established in 1807. In 1888, the courthouse at Bellevue was partly burned.

The first parish seat was Freedonia; however, within a short time it was renamed Society Hill, and finally Bellevue. The first police jury was organized on June 19, 1843. In the early days of Bossier Parish, the police jury exercised powers of government long since taken away from the parishes. In 1850 the first official census was taken and the population of Bossier Parish was listed as 6,952. Benton has been the parish seat of government since 1888, when the courthouse at Bellevue was partly burned. Since Bellevue had no railroad, it became necessary that the parish seat be moved to a place where transportation could be utilized to the best advantage of the public. At that time there arose much rivalry between Haughton, Benton and Cane's Landing (modern-day Bossier City). The necessary steps were taken by the police jury to authorize relocating the parish seat, and eventually election results showed that the majority favored Benton. However, some members of the police jury, being disgruntled at the outcome, refused to meet and promulgate the official returns of the election. While this controversy was being carried on, a wide-awake citizenry from Benton slipped into Bellevue at the crack of dawn and loaded the remains of the records belonging in the courthouse and successfully transported them to Benton. After some time, the police jury met and authorized the construction of a courthouse, and in 1890 moved into the structure. This courthouse, with the addition of a jail and several adjacent structures, served the parish until its age and overcrowding necessitated a change.

The existing Bossier Parish courthouse was constructed in the early 1970's. The population of Bossier Parish has increased from 7,000 in 1840 to approximately 100,000 in the 2000 census. Bossier has long been regarded as the fastest growing parish in the state of Louisiana.

Neighboring Parishes:

North: Lafayette County, Ark.
East: Webster Parish
Southeast: Bienville Parish; Red River Parish
Southwest: Caddo Parish
Northwest: Miller County, Ark.

Cities and Towns:

- Benton (County Seat)	town	Incorporated Area
- Bossier City	city	Incorporated Area
- Haughton	town	Incorporated Area
- Plain Dealing	town	Incorporated Area
- Shreveport	city	Incorporated Area

Parish Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

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."