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Washington Parish, Louisiana

Coordinates: 30°51′N 90°02′W / 30.85°N 90.04°W / 30.85; -90.04
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For counties with a similar name, see Washington County (disambiguation). For the original Episcopal Church parish of the District of Columbia, see Christ Church, Washington Parish.
Not to be confused with Washington, Louisiana.
Washington Parish, Louisiana
Parish
Parish of Washington
Bogalusa City Hall
Bogalusa City Hall
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Country United States
State Louisiana
RegionFlorida Parishes
Founded1819
Named forGeorge Washington
Parish seatFranklinton
Largest cityBogalusa
Area
 • Total
1,750 km2 (676 sq mi)
 • Land1,700 km2 (670 sq mi)
 • Water17 km2 (6.4 sq mi)
 • percentage2 km2 (0.9 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total
47,168
 • Estimate 
(2018)
46,582
 • RankLA: 24th
 • Density27/km2 (70/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code985
Congressional district5th
WebsiteWashington Parish, Louisiana

Washington Parish (French: Paroisse de Washington) is a parish located in the interior southeast corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana, one of the Florida Parishes. As of the 2010 census, the population was 47,168.[1] Its parish seat is Franklinton.[2] Its largest city is Bogalusa. The parish was founded in 1819.[3]

Washington Parish comprises the Bogalusa, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the New Orleans-Metairie-Hammond, LA-MS Combined Statistical Area.

History

Washington Parish was formed in 1819 by splitting off from St. Tammany Parish. Franklinton was designated as the parish seat on February 10, 1821.

Washington Parish is the most northeasterly of what are called the Florida Parishes. Great Britain took over control of this French territory east of the Mississippi River in 1763 after defeating France in the Seven Years' War. But France had also ceded some territory to Spain. This area was under contention, and English and American settlers tried to set up an independent state here in 1810. The United States annexed the territory, later settling with Spain in a treaty. Through much of this period, the French influence remained strong in the region, especially in its former colonial cities.

This area was rural and forested with virgin longleaf pine (Pinus palustris L.) In the early 20th century, entrepreneurial brothers Frank and Charles W. Goodyear, already successful businessmen from Buffalo, New York, purchased hundreds of thousands of acres of forest in this area and in southwestern Mississippi. They established the Great Southern Lumber Company, constructed a huge sawmill (the largest in the world at the time) in the middle of the forest, and developed Bogalusa, Louisiana, as a company mill town. In the early 20th century, there were numerous confrontations as workers attempted to unionize and companies hired private militia to suppress such activities.

The company housing for workers was divided by Jim Crow custom and state laws on racial segregation into sections for "Americans" and another for "colored" and foreign workers. It also built housing for supervisors, and supporting facilities, such as several hotels, churches, a YMCA and YWCA, schools, and other services within a year, opening facilities in 1907. To access the timber and transport processed lumber from the mill to markets, the company built the New Orleans Great Northern Railroad,[4] connecting Bogalusa to the port of New Orleans.

Well before World War II, the virgin forest was harvested. Great Southern Lumber Company closed the sawmill in 1938. Its paper mill and chemical operations continued. Gradually in the late 20th century, these operations declined. As jobs left, the population dropped in such industrial towns. Some people moved to new or emerging industries in New Orleans and other major cities.

Government

The Washington Parish Government is a Home Rule Charter or "President-Council" form of Government. Its current President, elected at-large, is Richard N. Thomas, Jr. The seven council members are each elected from single-member districts.

Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[5]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 67.4% 12,556 30.6% 5,692 2.0% 380
2012 63.5% 11,798 34.8% 6,466 1.7% 317
2008 65.6% 12,215 32.9% 6,122 1.5% 287
2004 61.7% 11,006 36.7% 6,554 1.6% 281
2000 53.2% 8,983 43.8% 7,399 3.0% 505
1996 36.9% 6,642 53.3% 9,603 9.9% 1,778
1992 38.5% 7,227 48.5% 9,095 13.0% 2,431
1988 51.8% 9,374 46.3% 8,369 1.9% 351
1984 58.9% 11,185 40.5% 7,680 0.7% 123
1980 44.6% 8,681 53.5% 10,413 1.9% 378
1976 35.3% 5,677 62.2% 10,000 2.5% 396
1972 66.9% 8,162 24.2% 2,947 8.9% 1,087
1968 10.8% 1,695 19.2% 3,021 70.0% 11,002
1964 60.7% 7,438 39.4% 4,825
1960 16.2% 1,847 49.8% 5,678 34.0% 3,875
1956 38.3% 3,081 57.9% 4,658 3.8% 308
1952 24.7% 2,432 75.3% 7,420
1948 4.8% 371 41.9% 3,267 53.4% 4,163
1944 7.8% 406 92.2% 4,810
1940 4.9% 314 95.1% 6,062
1936 5.8% 350 94.2% 5,667
1932 6.6% 283 93.4% 3,997 0.0% 1
1928 43.1% 1,528 56.9% 2,020
1924 10.9% 179 77.6% 1,278 11.5% 189
1920 13.1% 165 86.9% 1,094
1916 5.6% 66 93.2% 1,094 1.2% 14
1912 3.1% 18 83.1% 491 13.9% 82

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 676 square miles (1,750 km2), of which 670 square miles (1,700 km2) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km2) (0.9%) is water.[6]

Adjacent counties and parishes

Major highways

National protected area

State park

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18202,517—
18302,286−9.2%
18402,64915.9%
18503,40828.7%
18604,70838.1%
18703,330−29.3%
18805,19055.9%
18906,70029.1%
19009,62843.7%
191018,88696.2%
192024,16427.9%
193029,90423.8%
194034,44315.2%
195038,37111.4%
196044,01514.7%
197041,987−4.6%
198044,2075.3%
199043,185−2.3%
200043,9261.7%
201047,1687.4%
2018 (est.)46,582[7]−1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[8]
1790-1960[9] 1900-1990[10]
1990-2000[11] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 43,926 people, 16,467 households, and 11,642 families residing in the parish. The population density was 66 people per square mile (25/km2). There were 19,106 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile (11/km2). The racial makeup of the parish was 67.42% White, 31.53% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 16,467 households, out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.30% were married couples living together, 17.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 26.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $24,264, and the median income for a family was $29,480. Males had a median income of $27,964 versus $17,709 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $12,915. About 19.40% of families and 24.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.20% of those under age 18 and 20.40% of those age 65 or over. Washington Parish has the second highest level of poverty in the state after Orleans Parish.

Economy

Washington Parish is currently known for its agriculture, particularly watermelons. Through much of the 20th century, its economy was based on its timber and paper industry.

In 1906, The Great Southern Lumber Company, founded by the Goodyear brothers from New York, purchased huge tracts of forest and established a sawmill in Bogalusa to harvest the local virgin pine forests. This company was the first to introduce reforestation in order to sustain the timber industry locally. Taken over by Crown Zellerbach, it later started a paper mill and chemical businesses in the area.

The local business passed through several hands as the lumber and related industries restructured through the late 20th century. In the 21st century, Temple-Inland Corporation is the largest employer in the parish.

Education

Students residing outside of Ward 4 attend Washington Parish School System. Students within Ward 4 attend Bogalusa City Schools.

Northshore Technical Community College is located in Bogalusa.

Corrections

Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the B.B. "Sixty" Rayburn Correctional Center in an unincorporated section of Washington Parish.[13]

National Guard

Bogalusa is home to the headquarters of the 205th Engineer Battalion of the 225th Engineer Brigade. Franklinton is the home of the 843rd Engineer Company.

Communities

Map of Washington Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

City

Town

Villages

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

  • Oneal Moore (1931-1965), US Army veteran and first African-American deputy sheriff in Washington Parish Sheriff's Office; murdered while in uniform in a drive-by shooting, June 2, 1965. Case never solved.
  • Henry "Tank" Powell (born 1945), state representative from Tangipahoa Parish from 1996 to 2008; member of the Louisiana Board of Pardons since 2008
  • Weldon Russell (born 1946), former state representative for Tangipahoa and St. Helena parishes; born in Washington Parish
  • Malinda Brumfield White (born 1967), state representative for Washington and St. Tammany parishes, effective 2016
  • Katherine Haik (born 2000), from Franklinton, named Miss Teen USA 2015 at the age of fifteen

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  2. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ^ "Washington Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  4. ^ Mississippi Rails: New Orleans Great Northern Railroad Retrieved 2013-11-23
  5. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-08.
  6. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  7. ^ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  8. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  9. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  10. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  11. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  12. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  13. ^ "B.B. Rayburn Corr. Center Archived 2008-09-15 at the Wayback Machine." Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Accessed September 14, 2008.

Sources

Geology

30°51′N 90°02′W / 30.85°N 90.04°W / 30.85; -90.04

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