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Red River Parish, Louisiana facts for kids

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Red River Parish
The Red River Parish Courthouse is located in Coushatta, Louisiana.
The Red River Parish Courthouse is located in Coushatta, Louisiana.
Map of Louisiana highlighting Red River Parish
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Map of the United States highlighting Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Country  United States
State  Louisiana
Founded 1871
Named for Red River
Seat Coushatta
Largest city Coushatta
Area
 • Total 402 sq mi (1,041 km2)
 • Land 389 sq mi (1,008 km2)
 • Water 13 sq mi (39 km2)  3.18%%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 9,091
 • Density 25/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)

Red River Parish (French: Paroisse de la Rivière-Rouge) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,091, making it the fourth-least populous parish in Louisiana. Its seat is Coushatta. It was one of the newer parishes created in 1871 by the state legislature under Reconstruction. The plantation economy was based on cotton cultivation, highly dependent on enslaved African labor before the American Civil War.

In 1880, the parish had a population with more than twice as many blacks as whites. They were essentially disenfranchised in 1898 under a new state constitution after the white Democrats regained power in the state in the late 1870s through paramilitary intimidation at the polls. Most of the former slaves worked as sharecroppers and laborers, cultivating cotton. Because of the mechanization of agriculture, many blacks left the parish during the mid-20th century Great Migration to seek better job opportunities elsewhere. By 2000, the parish population was 9,622, with a white majority, but Coushatta itself was still two thirds black.

Communities

City Type Regions
Coushatta Rural South
Martin Rural Central
Hall Summit Rural North
Edgefield Rural South

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Parroquia de Red River para niños

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