| West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana | |
| Map | |
 Location in the state of Louisiana |
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 Louisiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Statistics | |
| Founded | 1824 |
|---|---|
| Seat | St. Francisville |
| Largest city | St. Francisville |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
426 sq mi (1,103 km²) 406 sq mi (1,052 km²) 20 sq mi (52 km²), 4.70% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
15,111 37/sq mi (14/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Named for: Felicite de Gálvez | |
West Feliciana Parish (French: Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Francisville and as of 2000, the population was 15,111. The Louisiana State Penitentiary is located in West Feliciana Parish in Angola.
West Feliciana Parish is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Baton Rouge–Pierre Part Combined Statistical Area.
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History
Following the founding of "Bayou Sara" (now under the Mississippi river) settlement by Franciscan/Cappucin monks (St. Francis of Assisi) in the late 1600's, the area was explored further by land-grabbers from Spain, France, England AND the soon-to-come United States. All told, this area has existed under at least six "federal" flags thus far. Apparently the monks couldn't handle New Orleans and wanted privacy to make their wine and try to force conversion upon the Tunica, Biloxi, and cannibalistic BayouGoula tribes of indigenous peoples. The Tunica-Biloxi have since joined in order to remain economically & politically powerful, but the BayouGoula died-out before the Civil War, causes unknown.
West Feliciana was ORIGINALLY part of Florida, but was conjoined, with the other "Florida Parishes" when the "Louisiana" parcel of land was sold to the United States by France. Spain wasn't thrilled to lose that real estate, and for a time, the independent Republic of Feliciana held-off all comers, flying under the FIRST lone-star flag on the continent. When that didn't last and the Americans came a'calling, it was made part of Feliciana Parish which was founded in 1810 and was divided in 1824 into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish. The parish was formed in 1824. West Feliciana is historically Democratic in voter preference, and it was the only Louisiana parish in 1972 to support the Democratic national ticket of George McGovern and Sargent Shriver. However, the Republican presidential ticket of George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney won the parish in 2004, 2,932 (56 percent) to 2,214 (42 percent) for the Democrats John F. Kerry and John Edwards. Bush and Cheney also won in West Feliciana in 2000, 2,512 (52 percent) to 2,187 (45 percent) for the Democratic ticket of then Vice President Albert Arnold Gore, Jr., and U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut. John McCain also won the Parish.
Geography
The parish has a total area of 1,103km² (426sq mi). 406 square miles (1,052 km²) of it is land and 20 square miles (52 km²) of it (4.70%) is water.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 61
Louisiana Highway 10
Louisiana Highway 66
Adjacent parishes
- Wilkinson County, Mississippi (north)
- East Feliciana Parish (east)
- East Baton Rouge Parish & West Baton Rouge Parish (south)
- Pointe Coupee Parish (southwest)
- Avoyelles Parish & Concordia Parish (northwest)
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Avoyelles Parish and Concordia Parish | Wilkinson County, Mississippi | |
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East Feliciana Parish | |||
 West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana  |
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| Pointe Coupee Parish | West Baton Rouge Parish and East Baton Rouge Parish |
National protected area
Demographics
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1830 | 8,629 |
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| 1840 | 10,910 | 26.4% | |
| 1850 | 13,245 | 21.4% | |
| 1860 | 11,671 | −11.9% | |
| 1870 | 10,499 | −10.0% | |
| 1880 | 12,809 | 22.0% | |
| 1890 | 15,062 | 17.6% | |
| 1900 | 15,994 | 6.2% | |
| 1910 | 13,449 | −15.9% | |
| 1920 | 12,303 | −8.5% | |
| 1930 | 10,924 | −11.2% | |
| 1940 | 11,720 | 7.3% | |
| 1950 | 10,169 | −13.2% | |
| 1960 | 12,395 | 21.9% | |
| 1970 | 11,376 | −8.2% | |
| 1980 | 12,186 | 7.1% | |
| 1990 | 12,915 | 6.0% | |
| 2000 | 15,111 | 17.0% | |
| Est. 2006 | 15,535 | [1] | 2.8% |
| West Feliciana Parish Census Data[2] | |||
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 15,111 people, 3,645 households, and 2,704 families residing in the parish. The population density was 37 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 4,485 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 48.63% White, 50.51% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.03% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 3,645 households out of which 38.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.10% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.80% were non-families. 23.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.24.
In the parish the population was spread out with 20.30% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 40.00% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 7.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 191.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 223.60 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $39,667, and the median income for a family was $47,239. Males had a median income of $35,046 versus $21,922 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $16,201. About 15.00% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.30% of those under age 18 and 23.40% of those age 65 or over.
Communities
St. Francisville is the sole incorporated city. Wakefield is an unincorporated community.
Education
West Feliciana Parish Public Schools serves the parish.
West Feliciana is home to one of Louisiana's best public school systems. The school system consistently scores among the top five districts in the state on standardized tests, and schools in the parish are growing at a rapid rate as parents seek to escape troubled school districts in neighboring East Baton Rouge and East Feliciana parishes.
Notable natives and residents
- Norman E. "Pete" Heine, served as the West Feliciana parish administrator, after having served twenty-three years as the mayor of Baker in East Baton Rouge Parish
- L.Christian Mixon, American Film and TV actor, grew up near St. Francisville.
- John Richard Rarick, late attorney and U.S. Representative from St. Francisville.
See also
References
- ^ United States Census Bureau. "West Feliciana Parish Quickfacts". http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/22125.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.; Report on the Population of the United States at the Eleventh Census, 1890. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1895.
- ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
External links
- St. Francisville and West Feliciana Parish Website
- St. Francisville and West Feliciana Tourism Commission
- Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
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