Bossier Parish, Louisiana

Bossier Parish, Louisiana

Renovated Bossier Parish Courthouse in Benton
Map of Louisiana highlighting Bossier Parish
Location in the state of Louisiana
Map of the United States highlighting Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded February 24, 1843
Named for Pierre Bossier
Seat Benton
Largest city Bossier City
Area
 • Total 867 sq mi (2,246 km2)
 • Land 840 sq mi (2,176 km2)
 • Water 27 sq mi (70 km2), 3.1%
Population
 • (2010) 116,979
 • Density 139/sq mi (54/km²)
Congressional district 4th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website www.bossierparishla.gov

Bossier Parish (/ˈboʊʒər/;[1]French: Paroisse de Bossier) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 116,979.[2] The parish seat is Benton.[3] The principal city is Bossier City, which is located east of the Red River from Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The parish was formed in 1843 from the western portion of Claiborne Parish.[4][5]

Bossier Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Shreveport–Bossier City–Minden Combined Statistical Area.

Lake Bistineau and Lake Bistineau State Park are included in parts of Bossier and neighboring Webster and Bienville parishes. Loggy Bayou flows south from Lake Bistineau in southern Bossier Parish, traverses western Bienville Parish, and in Red River Parish joins the Red River.

History

Arnold-Tidwell House near the Cypress Lake recreational area is one of three antebellum homes still standing in Bossier Parish.[6]
Willis Knighton Hospital in Bossier City serves much of northern Bossier Parish.
Swimmers at Cypress Lake on a cloudy summer day

Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, a 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.

Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War. In July 1861, at the start of the war, the Bossier Parish Police Jury appropriated $35,000 for the benefit of Confederate volunteers and their family members left behind, an amount then considered generous.[7]

Law, government, and politics

Bossier Parish is governed by a 12-member elected body, the Bossier Parish Police Jury (equivalent to county commission in other states). Eddy Shell, a prominent Bossier City educator, served on the police jury from 1992 until his death in 2008. Here is the current makeup of the police jury:

Bossier Parish is reliably Republican in most contested elections. Since 1952, George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama running in 1968 on the American Independent Party ticket, is the only non-Republican to have carried Bossier Parish.[9][10]

In 2008, U.S. Senator John S. McCain of Arizona won in Bossier Parish with 32,713 votes (71.4 percent) over the Democrat Barack H. Obama of Illinois, who polled 12,703 votes (27.8 percent).[11] In 2012, Mitt Romney polled 34,988 votes (72 percent) in Bossier Parish, or 2,275 more ballots than McCain drew in 2008. President Obama trailed in Bossier Parish with 12,956 votes (26.7 percent), or 253 more votes than he had received in 2008,[12]

In 2011, Bossier Parish elected a Republican, Julian C. Whittington, as sheriff to succeed the long-term Larry Deen, a Democrat who later re-registered as a Republican.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 867 square miles (2,250 km2), of which 840 square miles (2,200 km2) is land and 27 square miles (70 km2) (3.1%) is water.[13] Four miles east of Bossier City is Barksdale Air Force Base.

Major highways

Adjacent counties and parishes

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18506,962—
186011,34863.0%
187012,67511.7%
188016,04226.6%
189020,33026.7%
190024,15318.8%
191021,738−10.0%
192022,2662.4%
193028,38827.5%
194033,16216.8%
195040,13921.0%
196057,62243.6%
197064,51912.0%
198080,72125.1%
199086,0886.6%
200098,31014.2%
2010116,97919.0%
Est. 2014125,064[14]6.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[15]
1790-1960[16] 1900-1990[17]
1990-2000[18] 2010-2013[2]

As of the census of 2010, there were 116,979 people, 62,000 households, and 37,500 families residing in the parish. The population density was 142 people per square mile (45/km²). There were 49,000 housing units at an average density of 48 per square mile (19/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 70.66% White, 18.52% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 2.18% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 1.00% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races. 8.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 46,020 households out of which 36.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.60% were married couples living together, 14.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 22.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.80% 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 3.09.

In the parish the population was spread out with 28.00% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 10.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $39,203, and the median income for a family was $45,542. Males had a median income of $32,305 versus $23,287 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $18,119. About 10.60% of families and 13.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.00% of those under age 18 and 12.50% of those age 65 or over.

National Guard

The 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion is headquartered in Bossier City. This unit was deployed to Iraq in 2008. Also located in Bossier City is the 156TH Army Band which deployed as part of the 256th Infantry Brigade in 2010 to Iraq.

Education

Bossier Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish.

Communities

Map of Bossier Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities

Towns

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Notable people

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ bō′·zhər
  2. 1 2 "Bossier Parish, Louisiana". quickfacts.census.gov. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. ↑ Stinson, Louise. "Bossier City History". http://www.bossiercity.org. City of Bossier City. Retrieved September 3, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  5. ↑ Anonymous. "About Bossier Parish". http://www.bossierparishla.gov. Bossier Parish. Retrieved December 14, 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  6. ↑ Arnold-Tidwell House, Historical marker, Bossier Parish, Louisiana
  7. ↑ John D. Winters, The Civil War in Louisiana, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963, ISBN 0-8071-0834-0, p. 38
  8. ↑ http://policejury.mybossier.com/pj/jurors_details.asp?ID=12
  9. ↑ David Leip's Presidential election Atlas (Louisiana electoral maps
  10. ↑ Geographie Electorale
  11. ↑ "Bossier Parish presidential election returns, November 4, 2008". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Bossier Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012". staticresults.sos.la.gov. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
  13. ↑ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 20, 2014.
  19. ↑ "Kay McMahan, "Bossier Parish, LA, Towns"". usgwarchives.net. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  20. ↑ "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012" (PDF). legis.state.la.us. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  21. ↑ "My Hometown: Plain Dealing, Louisiana". oocities.org. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Dewey E. Burchett, Jr.". The Shreveport Times. November 22, 2009. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Roy Burrell". house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Notes for Harvey Locke Carey". familytreemaker.genealogy.com. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  25. ↑ "James L. Cathey, Jr.". findagrave. Retrieved December 24, 2014.
  26. ↑ "Curry, Robert H.". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved July 24, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Col. E. S. Dortch Dies at Atlanta: Bossier Veteran Who Fought Under Stonewall Jackson Succumbs". The Shreveport Times through findagrave.com. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Not Guilty" (PDF). cowboysforchrist.net. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  29. ↑ "List of Louisiana Wrongful Convictions Overturned since 1966, November 23, 2003". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  30. ↑ "Connell Fort Dies Saturday Night at His Residence Here: Was Great Civic Worker and Builder of This City," Webster Signal-Tribune, March 5, 1937, pp. 1, 6
  31. ↑ "About Ryan". rayangatti.com. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  32. ↑ Clifton D. Cardin (November 19, 2000). "Hickman Family of Bossier Parish". archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Mike Johnson State Representative". mikejohnsonlouisiana.com. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  34. ↑ ""John A. W. Lowry of Bossier Parish, Louisiana" in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana". Chicago and Nashville, Tennessee: Southern Publishing Company. 1890. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  35. ↑ "William Washington Vance". findagrave.com based on Baton Rouge newspaper clipping. February 17, 1900. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

External links

 Miller County, Arkansas Lafayette County, Arkansas
Caddo Parish Webster Parish
   Bossier Parish, Louisiana  
Red River Parish Bienville Parish

Coordinates: 32°41′N 93°36′W / 32.68°N 93.60°W / 32.68; -93.60

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