Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

Lincoln Parish Courthouse in Ruston

Flag
Map of Louisiana highlighting Lincoln Parish
Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana
Map of the United States highlighting Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded 1873
Named for Abraham Lincoln
Seat Ruston
Largest city Ruston
Area
 • Total 472 sq mi (1,222 km2)
 • Land 472 sq mi (1,222 km2)
 • Water 0.7 sq mi (2 km2), 0.2%
Population
 • (2010) 46,735
 • Density 99/sq mi (38/km²)
Congressional district 5th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.lincolnparish.org
Autrey Dogtrot House, built in 1849 by Absalom and Elizabeth Norris Autrey, formerly of Selma, Alabama is located west of Dubach. The oldest restored dogtrot house in Lincoln Parish, it was listed in 1980 on the National Register of Historic Places.
Historic Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Pacific Railroad depot in downtown Ruston; Robert Edwin Russ, the founder of Ruston, sold land to the railroad in 1883.

Lincoln Parish (French: Paroisse de Lincoln) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,735.[1] The parish seat is Ruston.[2] The parish was created on February 24, 1873 from parts of Bienville, Claiborne, Union, and Jackson parishes, and its boundaries have changed only once (in 1877). This makes Lincoln parish one of the Reconstruction parishes.[3]

Lincoln Parish comprises the Ruston, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Since the late 20th century, archeologists have dated eleven sites in northern Louisiana where thousands of years ago, indigenous cultures built complexes with multiple, monumental earthwork mounds during the Middle Archaic period, long before the development of sedentary, agricultural societies. At sites such as Watson Brake, Frenchman's Bend, and Caney, generations of hunter-gatherers worked for hundreds of years to build and add to mound complexes. Hedgepeth Site, located in Lincoln Parish, is dated about 5200-4500 BP (about 3300-2600 BCE), from the latter part of this period. Such finds are changing the understanding of early human cultures.[4]

The parish was one of several new ones established by the state legislature during Reconstruction; in 1873 it was formed from land that had belonged to Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson and Union parishes to create one in which newly elected representatives might have more ties to the Republican Party. It was an attempt to break up the old order of political power, and to capitalize on the arrival of the railroad line. The parish is named for the late U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.[5]

In 1934, the historian Robert W. Mondy of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston completed a thesis entitled "A History of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana" as part of the requirements for his Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin.[6] Another Louisiana Tech faculty member, Robert C. Snyder, was instrumental in the establishment in 1962 of the Lincoln Parish Library. He served as the library board president for many years.[7]

Lincoln Parish is usually Republican in contested elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the parish with 10,739 votes (56.5 percent) to U.S. President Barack H. Obama, the Democrat who polled 7,956 ballots (41.9 percent).[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 472 square miles (1,220 km2), of which 472 square miles (1,220 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2) (0.2%) is water.[9]

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
188011,075—
189014,75333.2%
190015,8987.8%
191018,48516.3%
192016,962−8.2%
193022,82234.5%
194024,7908.6%
195025,7824.0%
196028,53510.7%
197033,80018.5%
198039,76317.6%
199041,7455.0%
200042,5091.8%
201046,7359.9%
Est. 201547,774[10]2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13]
1990-2000[14] 2010-2013[1]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 46,735 people residing in the parish. 55.2% were White, 40.5% Black or African American, 1.7% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 2.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the census[15] of 2000, there were 42,509 people, 15,235 households, and 9,689 families residing in the parish. The population density was 90 people per square mile (35/km²). There were 17,000 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile (14/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 57.42% White, 39.84% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,235 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.50% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.40% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the parish the population was spread out with 22.10% under the age of 18, 25.70% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 17.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $26,977, and the median income for a family was $38,972. Males had a median income of $32,376 versus $20,877 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,313. About 18.20% of families and 26.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.10% of those under age 18 and 18.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Lincoln Parish residents are zoned to Lincoln Parish School Board schools.

The parish is home to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, and Grambling State University in Grambling.

Bethel Christian School is located in Ruston.

National Guard

527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana, the parish seat. This battalion is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard.

Attractions

Communities

Map of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities

Towns

Villages

Unincorporated communities

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. ↑ http://historical-county.newberry.org/website/Louisiana/viewer.htm
  4. ↑ Robert W. Preucel, Stephen A. Mrozowski, Contemporary Archaeology in Theory: The New Pragmatism, John Wiley and Sons, 2010, p. 177
  5. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 187.
  6. ↑ "Louisiana parish books". Archived from the original on 2009-10-25. Retrieved June 19, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Robert C. Snyder Obituary". Shreveport Times, June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 21, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Lincoln Parish election returns, November 6, 2012". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
  9. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  10. ↑ "County Totals Dataset: Population, Population Change and Estimated Components of Population Change: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  15. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
 Claiborne Parish Union Parish
Ouachita Parish
   Lincoln Parish, Louisiana  
Bienville Parish Jackson Parish

Coordinates: 32°36′N 92°40′W / 32.60°N 92.66°W / 32.60; -92.66

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