Catahoula Parish, Louisiana Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Catahoula Parish
Parish
Historic Marker Signs at Ferry Place and Peck Mounds.
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
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 (2020)
• Total	8,906
• Density	12.051/sq mi (4.653/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 2020 census, the population was 8,906. 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.

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

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, when 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.

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 plantations included the Battleground Plantation, Ferry Place Plantation, and Marengo Plantation, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The other listed buildings include Catahoula Parish Courthouse, Harrisonburg Methodist Church, Sargent House, and Spring Ridge Baptist Church.

Catahoula 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

US 84
US 425 / LA 15
LA 8
LA 28
LA 124
LA 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

Catahoula National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

Historical population
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%
2020	8,906	−14.4%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010

2020 census

Catahoula Parish racial composition
Race	Number	Percentage
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.

Education

Catahoula Parish School Board operates local public schools.

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

Map of Catahoula Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Town

Jonesville

Villages

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated place

Wallace Ridge

Unincorporated communities

Aimwell
Enterprise
Foules
Larto
Leland
Manifest
Sandy Lake

Notable people

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
Sara T. Mayo, physician and humanitarian reformer
Joe Raymond Peace, football coach
William S. Peck, Sr., politician
Chris Shivers, two-time (2000, 2003) PBR World Champion bull rider

Catahoula Parish, Louisiana facts for kids

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