Catahoula Parish, Louisiana

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Catahoula Parish, Louisiana
Map
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1808
Seat	Harrisonburg
Largest city	Jonesville
Area - Total - Land - Water	739 sq mi (1,915 km²) 704 sq mi (1,822 km²) 36 sq mi (93 km²), 4.84%
Population - (2000) - Density	10,920 16/sq mi (6/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Named for: Tensas word for big, clear lake

Catahoula Parish (French: Paroisse de Catahoula) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Harrisonburg, located on the Ouachita River, which forms the eastern boundary of the parish. In 2000, the population of the parish was 10,920.

Catahoula Parish was represented in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964-1972 by the Harrisonburg Democrat David I. Patten, the owner of a construction company. Patten was unseated in the 1971 primary by then State Senator J.C. "Sonny" Gilbert of Sicily Island. He failed in a comeback attempt in the 1975 jungle primary too, having been defeated by Dan Richey, then of Ferriday in Concordia Parish. The House district was enlarged effective 1968 to include both Catahoula and Concordia parishes.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Major highways
- 1.2 Adjacent parishes
2 Demographics
3 Communities
- 3.1 Cities and towns
- 3.2 Unincorporated areas
4 Claim to canine fame
5 Education
6 See also
7 References

[edit] Geography

The parish has a total area of 739 square miles (1,915 km²), of which, 704 square miles (1,822 km²) of it is land and 36 square miles (93 km²) of it (4.84%) is water. It is bordered by the Ouachita River on the east.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Adjacent parishes

Franklin Parish (north)
Tensas Parish (northeast)
Concordia Parish (east)
Avoyelles Parish (south)
La Salle Parish (west)
Caldwell Parish (northwest)

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 10,920 people, 4,082 households, and 2,992 families residing in the parish. The population density was 16 people per square mile (6/km²). There were 5,351 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile (3/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 71.78% White, 27.12% Black or African American, 0.19% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.19% from other races, and 0.59% from two or more races. 0.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,082 households out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.70% were married couples living together, 14.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.02.


Census	Pop.		%±
1900	16,351		—
1910	10,415		−36.3%
1920	11,074		6.3%
1930	12,451		12.4%
1940	14,618		17.4%
1950	11,834		−19%
1960	11,421		−3.5%
1970	11,769		3%
1980	12,287		4.4%
1990	11,065		−9.9%
2000	10,920		−1.3%
Est. 2006	10,567	^[2]	−3.2%
Catahoula Parish Census Data^[3]

In the parish the population was spread out with 25.80% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 100.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $22,528, and the median income for a family was $27,206. Males had a median income of $26,181 versus $18,427 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $12,608. About 22.60% of families and 28.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 41.80% of those under age 18 and 20.10% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Communities

[edit] Cities and towns

Map of Catahoula Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

[edit] Unincorporated areas

Enterprise
Larto

[edit] Claim to canine fame

Catahoula Parish lays claim to having the Catahoula Leopard breed of dog named after it. Also, Col. James "Jim" Bowie of Alamo fame and brother Rezin Bowie, both of Louisiana, owned the Catahoula breed.^[4]^[5]During the early 1900s, Teddy Roosevelt used the Catahoula when hunting.^[6] Louisiana Governor Earl K. Long had an interest in the breed and collected them.^[7]