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| Beauregard Parish, Louisiana | |
 Location in the state of Louisiana |
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 Louisiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | June 12, 1912 |
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| Named for | Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard |
| Seat | DeRidder |
| Largest city | DeRidder |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
1,166 sq mi (3,020 km²) 1,160 sq mi (3,005 km²) 6 sq mi (15 km²), 0.51% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
32,986 28/sq mi (11/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Beauregard Parish [p] (French: Paroisse de Beauregard) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Beauregard Parish was formed on January 1, 1913. The parish seat is DeRidder. As of 2000, the population was 32,986.
Beauregard Parish is part of the DeRidder Micropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Fort Polk South–DeRidder Combined Statistical Area. The governing body is the Police Jury
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Contents
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History
The Parish was named after P.G.T. Beauregard, a Confederate general and one of the designers of the Confederate Battle Flag[1].
Neutral Ground
 Calcasieu River |
 The Neutral Ground |
All of Beauregard parish was in the area of land known as the Neutral Strip[2] from 1806 to 1821. The eastern boundary was the Calcasieu River. After the Louisiana Purchase, while the rest of Louisiana had the blessings of the U.S. Government when settling, those that settled in the No Man's Land of Louisiana were squatters. It seems that the armies in the area gave exceptions to someone running a ferry and might be the reason places like Burr's Ferry in Vernon Parish prospered. The rest of the area was pretty much lawless except for the occasional joint military ventures to rid the area of "undesirables". The Adams-Onís Treaty[3], signed in 1819 and ratified in 1821, recognized the U.S. claim, setting the border at the Sabine River. This did not stop the lawlessness until the 1840's.
Parish origin
In 1804 the United States first organized present-day Louisiana as the Territory of Orleans. In 1805 the territory was divided into 12 counties. Opelousas County included the entire southwestern section of the state and in the northeast extended almost to the Mississippi River. By 1807 the counties were reorganized into parishes. St. Landry was one of the original nineteen civil parishes(parish form of government) established by the Louisiana Legislature. St. Landry was the largest parish in Louisiana, called the Imperial St. Landry Parish. For a short period after the fall of New Orleans, during the Civil War, Opelousas was not just the county seat but was the capital until being moved to Shreveport. Calcasieu Parish was created March 24, 1840 from the western portion of Saint Landry Parish. Calcasieu Parish has since been divided into five smaller parishes. The original area of Calcasieu Parish is called Imperial Calcasieu Parish. Beauregard Parish was formed out of north area of Imperial Calasieu Parish.[4]
Parish seat
There were factions that wanted Singer to be the parish seat but DeRidder was chosen by a majority of voters on October 15, 1912. Although the community of Singer still exists with a few buildings, including a post office, store, and school, many people moved closer to DeRidder and Singer's future glory melted away.
Police Jury
The parish was organized with a police jury as the governing body. The first Police Jury was appointed as well as a judge and Justice of the Peace. On December 3, 1912, an election was held for the offices of sheriff, clerk of court, assessor, coroner, superintendent of public education, police juror, justice of the peace, constable, and members of the school board in each of the wards in the parish.
Indians
There were at least 4 tribes in Beauregard Parish around the time it was founded. One was about six miles south of Sugartown on Indian Branch, another was just north of the old W.B. Welborn home on Bundick Creek, another was along the mouth of Anacoco Creek and another at Merryville, just across the street from where Merryville High School now stands[5].
Law enforcement
The parish level police agency is the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office. The current Sheriff (2010) is Ricky Moses.
1941
A lot of things happened in 1941 that affected Beauregard Parish.
On November 28, 1941 a United Service Organizations(USO) was opened in DeRidder. Of the more than 500 USO's opened during WW II this was the first off-post USO to open in the U.S. It was followed 24 hours later by one in Galveston, Texas 89,000 soldiers visited the DeRidder USO, 15,000 had showers, and 27,000 saw movies. The building was entered into the National Register of Historic Places on February 25, 1992[6].
In August through September of 1941 the military began the Louisiana Maneuvers. The largest military maneuver in United States history with more than 500,000 soldiers training for war [7]. With so many military there were a lot of problems concerning alcohol so Beauregard Parish became a dry parish.
December 7, 1941[8] was the day the United State entered World War II
Geography
The parish has a total area of 1,166 square miles (3,020 km²), of which, 1,160 square miles (3,005 km²) of it is land and 6 square miles (15 km²) of it (0.51%) is water.
Major highways
Adjacent parishes
- Vernon Parish (north)
- Allen Parish (east)
- Jefferson Davis Parish (southeast)
- Calcasieu Parish (south)
- Newton County, Texas (west)
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Vernon Parish | |
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| Newton County, Texas |  |
Allen Parish | ||
 Beauregard Parish, Louisiana  |
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| Calcasieu Parish | Jefferson Davis Parish |
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920 | 20,767 |
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| 1930 | 14,569 | −29.8% | |
| 1940 | 14,847 | 1.9% | |
| 1950 | 17,766 | 19.7% | |
| 1960 | 19,191 | 8.0% | |
| 1970 | 22,888 | 19.3% | |
| 1980 | 29,692 | 29.7% | |
| 1990 | 30,083 | 1.3% | |
| 2000 | 32,986 | 9.6% | |
| Est. 2006 | 35,130 | [9] | 6.5% |
| Beauregard Parish Census Data[10] | |||
As of the census[11] of 2000, there were 32,986 people, 12,104 households, and 9,078 families residing in the parish. The population density was 28 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 14,501 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 84.25% White, 12.92% Black or African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.60% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 1.42% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 12,104 households out of which 36.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.60% were married couples living together, 10.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.00% were non-families. 22.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.07.
In the parish the population was spread out with 27.50% under the age of 18, 8.60% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.90 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $32,582, and the median income for a family was $37,886. Males had a median income of $35,268 versus $19,639 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,514. About 13.00% of families and 15.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.50% of those under age 18 and 15.50% of those age 65 or over.
Cities, towns, villages, and communities
City
Town
Villages
- Ragley
Communities
Education
Beauregard Parish School Board operates the parish public schools[12].
National Register of Historic Places
There are 12 places listed on the National Register of Historic Places including the Beauregard Parish Courthouse, the Beauregard Parish Jail, the Beauregard Parish Training School, the DeRidder Commercial Historic District and the Burks House[13].
See also
- DeQuincy, outside southern edge
- Beauregard Parish Courthouse
- Beauregard Parish Jail
- DeRidder Commercial Historic District
- Louisiana (New France)
- H.O. West
References
[p] - The name "Beauregard" is pronounced "bo-ruh-gard" with even emphasis on all syllables.
- ^ [1] -Naming the parish
- ^ [2] -neutral Strip
- ^ [3] -Treaty
- ^ [4] -Beauregard Parish
- ^ http://www.mylouisianagenealogy.com/la-county-beauregard.html
- ^ [5] -USO
- ^ [http://www.historynet.com/louisiana-maneuvers-1940-41.htm
- ^ [6] -December, 07 1941
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "Beauregard Parish Quickfacts". http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/22011.html. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "Louisiana Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/la190090.txt. Retrieved 2008-02-02.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ^ [7] -School Board
- ^ [National Register of Historic Places listings in Louisiana] -NRHP in louisiana
External links
Geology
- Snead, J., P. V. Heinrich, and R. P. McCulloh, 2002, De Ridder 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle. Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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