The original parishes were established in 1807. For a guide to each parish's cultural and environmental resources, use the map below. The state of Louisiana has, over the last five years, seen population increases and declines across its many counties, also known in this state as parishes. The numbers were insufficient so the creation of Dugdemonia Parish never became effective. On April 14, 1807, the Civil Parishes of St. Bernard, Orleans and Plaquemines was created within Orleans County. How many parishes in Louisiana? You'll receive your first newsletter soon! Feel free to email me at. Louisiana Parishes and Administrative Cities At the 1811 constitutional convention of the state, it was decided that Louisiana should be divided into seven judicial districts, each being made up of groups of parishes.
The Louisiana Supreme Court declared the creation of Troy Parish unconstitutional because it increased the representation in the House of Representatives beyond the constitutional limit. © 2020 University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Louisiana's deaths from the coronavirus reach into dozens of the 64 parishes. The numbers were insufficient so this first attempt to create  Red River Parish failed. No boundary description for this proposal appears in the session laws.

The area's name recognizes the region's historic role as the area in which approximately 3,000 Acadian refugees sought sanctuary after a massive ethnic-cleansing operation in present-day Nova Scotia.

Louisiana has deep roots with Native American, Spanish, and French cultures, and they’ve all shaped everything from our street names to the food we eat. Spain controlled this territory until the secret Treaty of San Ildefonso was signed in 1800 between Spain and France, which gave Louisiana back to France. [2], Geographical distribution of French speakers, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Louisiana_parishes_by_French-speaking_population&oldid=919129206, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 2 October 2019, at 00:16. Of the 64 parishes in the state, 41 of them have an elected government that is called a Police Jury, which also goes back to colonial times. Biloxi Parish was never within the modern borders of Louisiana. Opelousas County was abolished on January 25, 1846, when the new constitution shifted all previous county functions to the control of the civil parishes. Today, Louisiana has 64 parishes, as shown in the table below. A red stick was used by local Native Americans to mark the boundaries between tribal territories, Felicite de Gálvez, the wife of Bernardo de Gálvez, a Spanish governor of the Louisiana Territory, Feliciana Parish was formed in 1810 from Spanish West Florida Territory, Catahoula, Natchitoches, and Rapides Parishes, In honor of Walter Winn, a Louisiana state legislator, Orleans, LaFourche, German Coast, Acadia, Iberville, Attakapas, Pointe Coupée, Opelousas, Rapides, Concordia, Natchitoches, and Ouachita counties was the original 12 counties created on.

It was located in the area which is today the coastal part of the state of Mississippi. The below counties formerly within the area of the State of Louisiana no longer exist: One of 12 original counties created on April 10, 1805 by Orleans Territory. Biloxi Parish was a U.S. territorial jurisdiction which existed for approximately one year. Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the territorial legislative council divided the Territory of Orleans into 12 counties. The area's name recognizes the region's historic role as the area in which approximately 3,000 Acadian refugees sought sanctuary after a massive ethnic-cleansing operation in present-day Nova Scotia. In 1718 the city of New Orleans was founded and four years later it became the capital of French Louisiana. Did you know about any of these? With the Organic Act of 1804, the U.S. divided their new land into the Territory of Orleans and the District of Louisiana. On April 14, 1807, the Civil Parish of Natchitoches was created within Natchitoches County.

On April 14, 1807, the Civil Parish of Assumption and Lafourche Interior was created within Lafourche County. Boundary Changes of Louisiana Parishes from 1805-1990, List of Old Former / Extinct Louisiana Parishes, Jefferson Davis Parish, (Proposed) Louisiana, Lafourche Interior Parish, Orleans Territory, Red River Parish, (Proposed 1st) Louisiana, Red River Parish, (Proposed 2nd) Louisiana, In honor of Henry Watkins Allen, the Confederate governor of Louisiana during the American Civil War, Ascension of Our Lord Catholic Church in Donaldsonville, Assumption Roman Catholic Church, the oldest in the state, in honor of General P. G. T. (Pierre Gustave Toutant) Beauregard, the first prominent general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, In honor of the founder of the city of New Orleans, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, In honor of Pierre Bossier, a U.S. Representative (1843-1844) and a State senator (1833-1843), Meaning “crying eagle”, is said to be the name of an Atakapa Native American leader, Caldwell family, which owned a large plantation and remains politically active in the state, In honor of Simon Cameron, a U.S. Secretary of War (1861-1862) for President Abraham Lincoln at the start of the American Civil War, Catahoula Lake, formerly within the parish’s boundaries and named from a Taensa word meaning “big, clear lake”, In honor of William C. C. Claiborne, the first Governor of Louisiana (1812-1816) and U.S. Lafourche County was abolished on January 25, 1846, when the new constitution shifted all previous county functions to the control of the civil parishes. In 1971, the Louisiana legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 496, which officially dubbed as Acadiana a twenty-two parish region of southern Louisiana. Louisiana Parishes were first formed while part of the Orleans Territory. For a guide to each parish's cultural resources, use the map below.

The boundaries dividing the territories generally coincided with church parishes. The U.S. state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes in the same way that 48 of the other … The 19 Louisiana parishes established on April 14, 1807 were civil divisions which reused the earlier ecclesiastical boundaries and names. The New Orleans area alone has most of the COVID-19 deaths. In 1812 the Territory of Orleans had grown enough to achieve statehood, becoming the state of Louisiana.

The list of Louisiana parishes by French-speaking population was created from the 2000 Census of the United States. Just before the end of the Seven Years' War (1754-63), France seceded most of French Louisiana to Spain, who was also heavily Roman Catholic. Louisiana was officially Roman Catholic under the rule of both France and Spain. Orleans County was abolished on January 25, 1846, when the new constitution shifted all previous county functions to the control of the civil parishes. Was named Baton Rouge Parish until 1812. Surprisingly, St. Tammany was not named after a patron saint. One of 12 original counties created on April 10, 1805 by Orleans Territory  to “comprehend all that portion of the country lying on both sides of the river Mississippi from the Balize to the beginning of the parishes of Saint Bernard and Saint Louis.”. This first attempt to create Iberia Parish was unsuccessful.

The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was created on October 1, 1804, until the State of Louisiana entered the union as the 18th state on April 30, 1812 with 25 parishes. In 1816, the first official map of the state used the term parish, as did the 1845 constitution. SUBSCRIBE NOW. Tangipahoa comes from an Acolapissa word meaning "ear of corn" or "those who gather corn". When Louisiana became a State in 1812, Biloxi Parish was eliminated when it was transferred to the Mississippi Territory. Responses "French" and "Cajun" are included. The refugees' descendants are now called Cajuns, and the region is still home to the nation's largest concentration of Cajuns. By 1807 the territorial legislature created 19 parishes without technically abolishing the counties. Louisiana’s 10 largest cities are New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Metairie, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Kenner, Bossier City, Monroe and Alexandria. In 1971, the Louisiana legislature adopted House Concurrent Resolution 496, which officially dubbed as Acadiana a twenty-two parish region of southern Louisiana. Acadiana, however, is also home to the country's largest rural Creole population. Senator for Louisiana (1817), The county name is of uncertain origin; may be from an early land grant called New Concordia, from the “concord” reached by local authorities over a mutual surrender of slaves, or for a mansion called Concord which was owned by Spanish Governor Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, Originally created on April 10, 1805 as Concordia County, Louisana Territory as one of the original 12 counties, In honor of the famous Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto, The french phrase “bâton rouge” meaning red stick.
Local government in Louisiana consists of: Parishes: Parishes are Louisiana's equivalent to counties in … Because of France's ties to the Catholic Church, all of New France was under the authority of a single Catholic diocese based in Quebec. Catahoula is derived from a Tensas word meaning a big, clear lake, referring to Catahoula Lake which was originally within the boundaries of Catahoula Parish, but now is located in La Salle Parish and Rapides Parish.

The parish was named for General Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century soldier, plantation owner, and politician.

Legislature authorized creation on March 16, 1848 from Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto and Natchitoches Parishes. The vote failed and the act was not ratified. Legislature authorized creation on June 28, 1910 from Calcasieu Parish. French phrase “bâton rouge” meaning red stick. On April 14, 1807, the Civil Parish of Ouachita was created within Ouachita County. It was dependent on a survey “to decide whether or not a new parish can be created in conformity to article eighth of the Constitution.”. Legislature authorized creation on July 10, 1890 from Catahoula Parish. Crafty. The 19 original Louisiana parishes were joined by Catahoula Parish in 1808, and in 1810 four additional parishes were created from the formerly Spanish West Florida territory. Known as West Florida the disputed area was claimed by the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase but actually controlled by Spain. Baton Rouge comes from the French phrase meaning "red stick".

The remaining 26 parishes have various other forms of government, including: council-president, council-manager, parish commission, and consolidated parish/city. The map above is a Landsat satellite image of Louisiana with Parish boundaries superimposed.