East Carroll Parish, Louisiana

East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1877
Named for	Charles Carroll of Carrollton
Seat	Lake Providence
Largest city	Lake Providence
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	442 sq mi (1,146 km²) 421 sq mi (1,092 km²) 21 sq mi (54 km²), 4.75%
Population  - (2010)  - Density	7,759 17.55/sq mi (6.77/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

East Carroll Parish (French: Paroisse de Carroll Est) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Providence; as of 2010, the county had a population of 7,759.

The original Carroll Parish, before it was divided into "East" and "West" segments, was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Maryland, the only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence and the last surviving signer of the document.

Law and government

East Carroll Parish is heavily Democratic in political configuration.

In 1988, Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts carried East Carroll Parish over then Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush, himself a Massachusetts native, 1,809 votes (52.3 percent) to 1,536 (44.4 percent). In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the George W. Bush - Richard B. Cheney electors 1,357 votes (40 percent) to 1,980 ballots (58 percent) for the Democrat John Kerry - John Edwards slate.

In 2012, U.S. President Barack H. Obama swept the parish with 2,478 votes (61.8 percent) to Republican Mitt Romney's 1,508 (37.6 percent). In 2008, Obama handily defeated John S. McCain in East Carroll Parish, 2,267 (63.7 percent) to 1,254 (35.2 percent).

Geography

The parish has a total area of 442 square miles (1,144.8 km²), of which 421 square miles (1,090.4 km²) is land and 21 square miles (54.4 km²) (4.75%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 65
• Louisiana Highway 2

Adjacent parishes

• Chicot County, Arkansas (north)
• Issaquena County, Mississippi (east)
• Warren County, Mississippi (southeast)
• Madison Parish (south)
• Richland Parish (southwest)
• West Carroll Parish (west)

Demographics

Census	Pop.		%±
1900	11,373		—
1910	11,637		2.3%
1920	11,231		−3.5%
1930	15,815		40.8%
1940	19,023		20.3%
1950	16,302		−14.3%
1960	14,433		−11.5%
1970	12,884		−10.7%
1980	11,772		−8.6%
1990	9,709		−17.5%
2000	9,421		−3.0%
2010	7,759		−17.6%
East Carroll Parish Census Data

2010

Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:

• 28.9% White
• 69.0% Black
• 0.2% Native American
• 0.6% Asian
• 0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
• 0.7% Two or more races
• 1.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race)

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,421 people, 2,969 households, and 2,140 families residing in the parish. The population density was 22 people per square mile (9/km²). There were 3,303 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 31.60% White, 67.29% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 0.35% from two or more races. 1.19% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,969 households out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.00% were married couples living together, 27.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.90% were non-families. 25.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.82 and the average family size was 3.40.

In the parish the population was spread out with 30.30% under the age of 18, 11.50% from 18 to 24, 27.20% from 25 to 44, 18.50% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 104.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.90 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $20,723, and the median income for a family was $24,554. Males had a median income of $22,099 versus $18,672 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $9,629. About 32.60% of families and 40.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 56.80% of those under age 18 and 32.70% of those age 65 or over. The county's per-capita income makes it one of the poorest counties in the United States.

Cities and towns

Map of East Carroll Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

• Lake Providence
• Transylvania

Education

Public schools in East Carroll Parish are operated by the East Carroll Parish School Board.

Notable natives and residents

• Buddy Caldwell, District Attorney in East Carroll, later elected attorney general of Louisiana.
• Vail M. Delony, state representative, 1950–1967; Speaker of the Louisiana House, 1964–1967
• Mose Jefferson, convicted felon, older brother of William J. Jefferson, was born in Lake Providence.
• William J. Jefferson, convicted felon, former U.S. representative from Louisiana's 2nd Congressional District, was born in Lake Providence.
• Don Johnson, a Transylvania farmer who has run unsuccessfully as a Republican for state agriculture commissioner in 1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, and 2007.
• Joseph Ransdell, a Democrat who served in Congress from 1913 to 1931. Ransdell was born in Alexandria but resided for many years in Lake Providence.
• Charles L. Vining, Jr., state representative from East and West Carroll parishes, 1968–1972
• John D. Winters, historian at Louisiana Tech University, author of The Civil War in Louisiana (1963), was born in Mississippi but reared in Lake Providence.
• Captan Jack Wyly, Democratic political activist

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in East Carroll Parish, Louisiana