Fort Towson

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 parish had a population of 20,043 at the 2020 United States census.[1] The name Richland was chosen due to the rich production from farming. The parish seat and largest community is Rayville.

History

The parish was officially created on September 29, 1868.[2] Rayville, Louisiana, the parish seat, was named for John Ray, a politician from Monroe with large land holdings in present-day Rayville.[3]

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.[4]

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

Communities

Towns

Village

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated place

Unincorporated communities

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

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
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%
202020,043−3.3%
U.S. Decennial Census[5]
1790–1960[6] 1900–1990[7]
1990–2000[8] 2010[9]

2020 census

Richland Parish racial composition[10]
Race Num. Perc.
White (non-Hispanic) 11,667 58.21%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 7,303 36.44%
Native American 53 0.26%
Asian 50 0.25%
Other/Mixed 570 2.84%
Hispanic or Latino 400 2.0%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 20,043 people, 7,459 households, and 4,972 families residing in the parish.

Education

Public schools

  • Delhi Elementary
  • Delhi Junior High
  • Delhi High School
  • Holly 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

Government

Parish Administration Administrators
Sheriff Gary Gilley, No Party
Coroner Dr. Matt Prine, Republican
Assessor Lee Brown, III, Democrat
School Board Superintendent Sheldon Jones
Homeland Security Dawn Williams
Parish Police Jury Police Jurors
District 1, Delhi Steve Craig, Republican
District 2, Delhi Patrick Stubblefield, Democrat
District 3, Rayville Sharon Gee, Democrat
District 4, Rayville Steve Lofton, Republican
District 5, Rayville Paul Slayter, Republican
District 6, Rayville Althan Smith, Democrat
District 7, Alto Cecil Reddick, Republican
District 8, Start Elliot Colvin, Republican
District 9, Mangham Roy Wiggins, Jr., Republican
5th Judicial District Parish Judicial Leaders
Division "A" Clay Hamilton, Republican
Division "B" Will Rhymes Barham, Republican
Division "C" Steve Dean, Republican
Clerk of Court Stacie Williamson, Republican
Parish School Board Board Members
District 1, Delhi Billy Calvert, No Party
District 2, Delhi Eugene Young, Jr., Democrat
District 3, Rayville Moses "DeJohn" Wilkins, Democrat
District 4, Rayville James Hough, Republican
District 5, Rayville Alece Copeland, No Party
District 6, Rayville Marie Lewis, Democrat
District 7, Archibald Joe Chapman, No Party
District 8, Start Kevin Eppinette, No Party
District 9, Mangham Chris Pruitt, Republican

Notable people

Gallery

Politics

United States presidential election results for Richland Parish, Louisiana[11]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 6,607 66.47% 3,225 32.44% 108 1.09%
2016 6,287 65.51% 3,157 32.90% 153 1.59%
2012 5,846 62.66% 3,387 36.31% 96 1.03%
2008 5,751 62.64% 3,311 36.06% 119 1.30%
2004 5,471 63.14% 3,082 35.57% 112 1.29%
2000 4,895 57.69% 3,282 38.68% 308 3.63%
1996 3,765 43.23% 4,143 47.57% 802 9.21%
1992 3,808 42.77% 3,706 41.63% 1,389 15.60%
1988 5,226 62.85% 2,833 34.07% 256 3.08%
1984 5,980 65.84% 2,918 32.13% 185 2.04%
1980 4,772 54.57% 3,745 42.83% 227 2.60%
1976 3,630 49.93% 3,495 48.07% 145 1.99%
1972 4,304 70.80% 1,335 21.96% 440 7.24%
1968 1,031 15.95% 1,017 15.74% 4,415 68.31%
1964 4,498 85.76% 747 14.24% 0 0.00%
1960 1,378 35.62% 996 25.74% 1,495 38.64%
1956 1,063 29.88% 1,094 30.76% 1,400 39.36%
1952 1,645 39.70% 2,499 60.30% 0 0.00%
1948 119 4.69% 960 37.87% 1,456 57.44%
1944 488 18.95% 2,087 81.05% 0 0.00%
1940 310 11.37% 2,417 88.63% 0 0.00%
1936 165 6.36% 2,425 93.48% 4 0.15%
1932 46 2.53% 1,773 97.42% 1 0.05%
1928 242 18.26% 1,083 81.74% 0 0.00%
1924 116 14.61% 678 85.39% 0 0.00%
1920 50 7.00% 664 93.00% 0 0.00%
1916 7 1.07% 650 98.93% 0 0.00%
1912 2 0.46% 393 89.93% 42 9.61%

See also

References

  1. ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Richland Parish, Louisiana". Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  2. ^ "Richland Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Richland Library First To Form Under New Law". No. page 3. The Town Talk (Alexandria, Louisiana). Newspapers.com. January 13, 1928. Retrieved July 21, 2018.
  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. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  9. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  10. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  11. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.

External links

32°25′N 91°46′W / 32.42°N 91.76°W / 32.42; -91.76