DeSoto Parish, Louisiana

DeSoto Parish (French: Paroisse DeSoto) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 26,656.[1] Its seat is Mansfield.[2] The parish was formed in 1843.[3]

DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
Parish
Parish of DeSoto
DeSoto Parish Courthouse in Mansfield
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Country United States
State Louisiana
RegionNorth Louisiana
Founded1843
Named forsettler, Marcel DeSoto
Parish seatMansfield
Largest municipalityStonewall (area)
Mansfield (population)
Area
 • Total2,320 km2 (895 sq mi)
 • Land2,270 km2 (876 sq mi)
 • Water50 km2 (19 sq mi)
 • percentage5 km2 (2.1 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total26,656
 • Estimate 
(2018)
27,436
 • Density11/km2 (30/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC-6 (CST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (CDT)
Area code318
Congressional district4th
WebsiteDeSoto Parish Government

DeSoto Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

It is a typical misconception that the parish was named after Hernando de Soto, the Spaniard who explored the future southeastern United States and discovered and named the Mississippi River.[4] The parish was in fact named after the unrelated Marcel DeSoto, who led the first group of European settlers there, to a settlement historically known as Bayou Pierre.[5] The parish's name is also commonly misspelled following the explorer's name as "De Soto Parish," but it is properly spelled following the settler's name as "DeSoto Parish."[6]

The Battle of Mansfield was fought in DeSoto Parish on April 8, 1864. General Alfred Mouton was killed in the fighting, but his position was carried forward by Prince de Polignac, a native of France. The battle is commemorated at the Mansfield State Historic Site four miles south of Mansfield off Louisiana Highway 175. The Confederate victory prevented a planned Union invasion thereafter of Texas.[7] Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, a Confederate victory, occurred with one year and one day left in the duration of the war. Mansfield was quickly followed by the Battle of Pleasant Hill to the south.[8]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 895 square miles (2,320 km2), of which 876 square miles (2,270 km2) is land and 19 square miles (49 km2) (2.1%) is water.[9]

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

National protected area

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18508,023—
186013,29865.7%
187014,96212.5%
188015,6034.3%
189019,86027.3%
190025,06326.2%
191027,68910.5%
192029,3766.1%
193031,0165.6%
194031,8032.5%
195024,398−23.3%
196024,248−0.6%
197022,764−6.1%
198025,72713.0%
199025,346−1.5%
200025,4940.6%
201026,6564.6%
Est. 201827,436[10]2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13]
1990-2000[14] 2010-2013[1]

As of the census[15] of 2010, there were 32,000 people, 12,562 households, and 7,012 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km2). There were 11,204 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km2). The racial makeup of the parish was 56.97% White, 38.16% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 0.54% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 2.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 9,691 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.70% were married couples living together, 18.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.10% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 28.40% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 26.30% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 90.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $28,252, and the median income for a family was $33,196. Males had a median income of $30,780 versus $20,182 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $13,606. About 21.00% of families and 25.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.80% of those under age 18 and 24.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public schools in DeSoto Parish are operated by the DeSoto Parish School Board.

Communities
Map of DeSoto Parish, with municipal labels

City
  • Mansfield (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

Villages

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Notable people
  • Larry Bagley (born 1949), incoming Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo, Desoto, and Sabine parishes
  • Terry Bradshaw (born 1948), Hall of Fame professional football player, sportscaster, singer, and actor
  • Richard Burford (born 1946), current Louisiana state representative
  • Vida Blue (born 1949), professional baseball player
  • C.L. Bryant (born 1956), Baptist minister and radio talk show host
  • Riemer Calhoun (1909–1994), state senator from 1944 to 1952 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
  • Joe T. Cawthorn (1911–1967), state senator from 1940 to 1944 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
  • Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana State Senator
  • Joe Henry Cooper (1920–1980), Louisiana state representative
  • Kenny Ray Cox (born 1957), Louisiana state representative and former United States Army officer
  • Milton Joseph Cunningham (1842–1916), Natchitoches and New Orleans lawyer, state senator from Natchitoches and DeSoto parishes from 1880 to 1884; state attorney general for three nonconsecutive terms ending in 1900, born in what became DeSoto Parish
  • George Dement (1922–2014), mayor of Bossier City
  • John H. Eastman (1861–1938), mayor of Shreveport
  • Joseph Barton Elam (1821–1885), United States Representative from Louisiana's 4th congressional district
  • William J. Fleniken (1908–1979), U.S. attorney and state 1st Judicial District Court judge in Shreveport; born in DeSoto Parish[16]
  • William Pike Hall, Sr. (1896–1945), state senator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes, 1924-1932, Shreveport attorney[17]
  • John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), United States Air Force lieutenant general
  • Albert Lewis (1960-), professional football player
  • Walter M. Lowrey (1921–1980), historian at Centenary College of Louisiana
  • Curtis W. McCoy, mayor of Mansfield
  • Garnie W. McGinty (1900–1984), historian at Louisiana Tech University and school principal
  • Mack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football player
  • Jayson Richardson, elected Sheriff of DeSoto Parish as a No Party candidate in 2018
  • B. H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), politician
  • C. O. Simpkins, Sr. (1925–2019 from Mansfield), African-American state representative, dentist, and civil rights activist in Shreveport[18]
  • O.C. Smith (1932–2001), singer

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[19]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 59.8% 8,068 38.3% 5,165 2.0% 267
2012 56.3% 7,353 42.6% 5,553 1.1% 145
2008 56.2% 6,883 42.8% 5,242 1.1% 132
2004 54.8% 6,211 44.3% 5,026 0.9% 99
2000 49.6% 5,260 47.5% 5,036 2.8% 300
1996 33.5% 3,526 59.1% 6,221 7.4% 773
1992 33.1% 3,643 51.5% 5,671 15.5% 1,707
1988 47.8% 5,022 51.0% 5,366 1.2% 128
1984 55.8% 5,989 43.2% 4,642 1.0% 108
1980 42.1% 4,349 56.8% 5,861 1.1% 117
1976 43.1% 3,601 55.5% 4,630 1.4% 117
1972 56.2% 4,017 36.3% 2,596 7.6% 540
1968 11.4% 974 39.7% 3,400 48.9% 4,190
1964 75.9% 3,954 24.1% 1,254
1960 36.1% 1,603 26.7% 1,183 37.2% 1,653
1956 53.3% 2,011 32.0% 1,206 14.7% 554
1952 57.9% 2,303 42.2% 1,678
1948 9.7% 270 22.2% 617 68.1% 1,891
1944 22.5% 538 77.6% 1,858
1940 6.8% 211 93.2% 2,872
1936 3.8% 93 96.2% 2,337
1932 3.5% 87 96.5% 2,416 0.1% 2
1928 26.3% 517 73.6% 1,445 0.1% 2
1924 9.3% 118 89.9% 1,146 0.9% 11
1920 4.4% 56 95.6% 1,219
1916 1.5% 17 98.5% 1,104
1912 1.2% 11 88.7% 815 10.1% 93

See also

References
  1. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on 2011-05-31. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  3. "DeSoto Parish". www.sfasu.edu. Center for Regional Heritage Research. Retrieved September 3, 2014.
  4. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 105.
  5. Means, Emilia Gay Griffith, and Liz Chrysler. DeSoto Parish. Arcadia Publishing, 2011, p. 8.
  6. "DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court – Honorable Jeremy M. Evans". www.desotoparishclerk.org. Archived from the original on 2019-07-27. Retrieved 2018-03-07.
  7. Brochure, Mansfield State Historic Site, 15149 Highway 175, Mansfield, Louisiana 71052
  8. John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN 0-8071-0834-0, pp. 340-347
  9. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  10. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 27, 2014.
  15. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  16. "Retired Caddo district judge dies at 70, The Shreveport Times, May 6, 1979, p. 16-A
  17. "Funeral for Pike Hall at 11 A.M. Today – Prominent Attorney, Civic Leader Succumbs After Brief Illness". The Shreveport Times. December 17, 1945. pp. 1, 6. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  18. "C. O. Simpkins, Sr.: Civil Rights Champion". cosimpkins.com. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  19. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-03-07.

Further reading

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