Richland Parish, Louisiana

Richland Parish is a parish located in the North Louisiana Delta Country in the U.S. state of Louisiana, known for its fertile, flat farmland, cane brakes, and open spaces. The name Richland was chosen due to the rich production from farming. The parish seat and largest community is Rayville.

Richland Parish
Parish
Parish of Richland
Alto Presbyterian Church
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32.421736°N 91.762070°W / 32.421736; -91.762070
Country United States
State Louisiana
FoundedSeptember 29, 1878
Named forFertile (rich) land in the area
SeatRayville
Largest townRayville
Area
 • Total576 sq mi (1,490 km2)
 • Land559 sq mi (1,450 km2)
 • Water9.375 sq mi (24.28 km2)  1.6%
Population
 (2010)
 • Total20,725
 • Estimate 
(2018)
20,192
 • Density36/sq mi (14/km2)
Time zoneUTC−6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−5 (CDT)

History

The parish was officially created on September 29, 1868.[1] Rayville, Louisiana, the parish seat, was named for John Ray, a politician from Monroe with large land holdings in present-day Rayville.[2]

Richland Parish is home to the first public parish library in the State of Louisiana, the Rhymes Memorial Library. The library was built in 1925 by the Lambda Kappa Club of Rayville. R.R. Rhymes donated the original building in memory of his wife, Nonnie Roark Rhymes.[3]

Geography

Bayou Macon flows through the western areas of Richland. Other tributaries in the parish include Crew Lake, and the Lafourche Diversion Canal are located in the western portion of the parish. Boeuf River flows from the northern end to the southern end in the center of the parish.

Adjacent parishes

Parks and Wildlife management areas

Transportation
Bridge crossing the Boeuf River on Hwy 15 near Alto, LA
Interstates and State Highways
Interstate 20
U.S. Highway 80
Louisiana Highway 15
Louisiana Highway 17
Louisiana Highway 585
Louisiana Highway 132
Louisiana Highway 133
Louisiana Highway 135
Air, Rail, Levee
Rayville Municipal Airport
Delhi Municipal Airport
Monroe Regional Airport
Kansas City Southern Railroad
Tensas Basin Levee District
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
18705,110—
18808,44065.2%
189010,23021.2%
190011,1168.7%
191015,76941.9%
192020,86032.3%
193026,37426.4%
194028,8299.3%
195026,672−7.5%
196023,824−10.7%
197021,774−8.6%
198022,1871.9%
199020,629−7.0%
200020,9811.7%
201020,725−1.2%
Est. 201820,192[4]−2.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790–1960[6] 1900–1990[7]
1990–2000[8] 2010–2013[9]

As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,725.[9] The parish seat is Rayville.[10]

Education

Public schools
  • Delhi Elementary
  • Delhi Junior High
  • Delhi High School
  • Holli Ridge Elementary
  • Mangham Elementary
  • Mangham Junior High
  • Mangham High School
  • Rayville Elementary
  • Rayville Junior High
  • Rayville, High School
  • Start Elementary

Private schools
  • Riverfield Academy, K-12

Charter schools
  • Delhi Charter, K-12

Community and Technical Colleges

Regional Universities

Communities

Towns

Village

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Government
Parish AdministrationAdministrators
SheriffGary Gilley, No Party
CoronerDr. Matt Prine, Republican
AssessorEmmett "Lee" Brown, III, Democrat
School Board SuperintendentSheldon Jones
Homeland SecurityDawn Williams
Parish Police JuryPolice Jurors
District 1, DelhiSteve" Craig, Republican
District 2, DelhiPatrick Stubblefield, Democrat
District 3, RayvilleSharon Gee, Democrat
District 4, RayvilleJames "Steve" Lofton, Republican
District 5, RayvillePaul Slayter, Republican
District 6, RayvilleAlthan Smith, Democrat
District 7, AltoCecil Reddick, Republican
District 8, StartElliot Colvin, Republican
District 9, ManghamRoy Wiggins, Jr., Republican
5th Judicial DistrictParish Judicial Leaders
Division "A"Clay Hamilton, Republican
Division "B"Will Rhymes Barham, Republican
Division "C""Steve" Dean, Republican
Clerk of CourtStacie Williamson, Republican
Parish School BoardBoard Members
District 1, Delhi"Billy" Calvert, No Party
District 2, DelhiEugene Young, Jr., Democrat
District 3, RayvilleMoses "DeJohn" Wilkins, Democrat
District 4, RayvilleJames Hough, Republican
District 5, RayvilleAlece Copeland, No Party
District 6, RayvilleMarie Lewis, Democrat
District 7, ArchibaldJoe Chapman, No Party
District 8, StartKevin Eppinette, No Party
District 9, Mangham"Chris" Pruitt, Republican

Notable people
  • Ralph Abraham, from Alto, elected Member of Congress in The United States House of Representatives.
  • Harry W. Addison was a Southern author and humorist who resided in Rayville from 1945-1957.
  • Jamar Adcock, a politician and banker in Monroe, born in Richland Parish
  • Benny Gay Christian, state representative for Richland Parish, 1964 to 1974.
  • Terry Doughty, is a federally appointed judge for the Western District of Louisiana.
  • George B. Franklin, Jr., was a prominent planter, philanthropist, and conservationist.
  • Elvin Hayes, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player, born in Rayville
  • Arlene Howell, Miss Louisiana USA 1958, Miss USA 1958
  • Fred W. Jones, Jr., city, district, and state court judge, born in Rayville; resided in Ruston, Louisiana
  • Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Richland Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960
  • William L Kirk, of Rayville was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe.
  • Ernie Ladd, a football player/professional wrestler, born in Rayville
  • Moses J. Liddell was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as a judge for the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory.
  • Wiley Person Mangham, an American publisher and editor. He is the namesake for the town of Mangham, Louisiana
  • Charles McConnell, politician in Springhill, Louisiana; a native of Richland Parish
  • Keith Munyan, Jr., commercial photographer in North Hollywood, California
  • Tim McGraw, Country musician, born in Delhi, and raised in Start
  • Darryl Riser, editor of the Delhi Dispatch and Richland Beacon-News and, formerly, the Richland Journal
  • Robert Max Ross, was a Republican politician and activist who qualified to run for Governor, U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House, for the purpose of advancing the two-party system in Louisiana, at a time it did not exist.
  • Francis C. Thompson served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1975 until 2008; since in the Louisiana State Senate
  • Former Rayville High School, operated by the Richland Parish School Board and originally designed by the Shreveport architect Edward F. Neild, was renovated into an apartment complex
  • Holly Ridge High School in Holly Ridge in rural Richland Parish
  • Veteran's Memorial in Mangham
  • Rhymes Memorial Library in Rayville was the first parish wide public library in Louisiana.
  • Poverty Point Reservoir in Delhi.
  • Start Baptist Church
  • Richland Parish Courthouse, in Rayville
  • Alto Presbyterian Church, built in 1873
  • Richland Parish Detention Center near Alto, Louisiana
  • First Baptist Church in Delhi
  • Northeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery

Politics
Presidential elections results
Presidential elections results[11]
Year Republican Democratic Third parties
2016 65.5% 6,287 32.9% 3,157 1.6% 153
2012 62.7% 5,846 36.3% 3,387 1.0% 96
2008 62.6% 5,751 36.1% 3,311 1.3% 119
2004 63.1% 5,471 35.6% 3,082 1.3% 112
2000 57.7% 4,895 38.7% 3,282 3.6% 308
1996 43.2% 3,765 47.6% 4,143 9.2% 802
1992 42.8% 3,808 41.6% 3,706 15.6% 1,389
1988 62.9% 5,226 34.1% 2,833 3.1% 256
1984 65.8% 5,980 32.1% 2,918 2.0% 185
1980 54.6% 4,772 42.8% 3,745 2.6% 227
1976 49.9% 3,630 48.1% 3,495 2.0% 145
1972 70.8% 4,304 22.0% 1,335 7.2% 440
1968 16.0% 1,031 15.7% 1,017 68.3% 4,415
1964 85.8% 4,498 14.2% 747
1960 35.6% 1,378 25.7% 996 38.6% 1,495
1956 29.9% 1,063 30.8% 1,094 39.4% 1,400
1952 39.7% 1,645 60.3% 2,499
1948 4.7% 119 37.9% 960 57.4% 1,456
1944 19.0% 488 81.1% 2,087
1940 11.4% 310 88.6% 2,417
1936 6.4% 165 93.5% 2,425 0.2% 4
1932 2.5% 46 97.4% 1,773 0.1% 1
1928 18.3% 242 81.7% 1,083
1924 14.6% 116 85.4% 678
1920 7.0% 50 93.0% 664
1916 1.1% 7 98.9% 650
1912 0.5% 2 89.9% 393 9.6% 42

See also

Further reading

References
  1. "Richland Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  2. Leeper, Clare D’Artois (2012). Louisiana Place Names: Popular, Unusual, and Forgotten Stories of Towns, Cities, Plantations, Bayous, and Even Some Cemeteries. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 204.
  3. "Richland Library First To Form Under New Law" (page 3). The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana). Newspapers.com. January 13, 1928. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved October 28, 2019.
  5. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on April 26, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  6. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  7. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  8. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  9. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  10. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  11. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.

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