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Claiborne Parish, Louisiana
Claiborne Parish Courthouse in Homer, LA
The Claiborne Parish Courthouse was built in 1860 in Greek style. It served as a point of departure for Confederate troops.
Map of Louisiana highlighting Claiborne Parish
Location in the state of Louisiana
Map of the U.S
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded March 15, 1828
Named for William C. C. Claiborne
Seat Homer
Largest town Homer
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

767 sq mi (1,987 km²)
755 sq mi (1,955 km²)
13 sq mi (34 km²), 1.6
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

14,170
Congressional district 4th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website http://claiborneparish.org/

Claiborne Parish (French: Paroisse de Claiborne) is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828,[1] and was named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,170.[2] The parish seat is Homer.[3]

History[]

John Murrell moved his family from Arkansas to the Flat Lick Bayou area about 6 miles west of present-day Homer in 1818, and they became the first known non-natives to permanently settle in Claiborne Parish. As more settlers moved into the area, the Murrell house served as a church, school and post office. When the state legislature created Claiborne Parish out of Natchitoches Parish in 1828, all governmental business, including court, began being held in the Murrell house. This continued until the new parish's police jury selected Russellville (now a ghost town located northeast of Athens) as the parish seat.[4][5][6] As the population began swelling in what was then the western part of the parish, the seat was moved to Overton (another modern ghost town found near Minden) in 1836, because of its position at the head of the navigable portion of Dorcheat Bayou. Due to flooding and health concerns, the parish seat was moved to Athens in 1846, but an 1848 fire destroyed the courthouse and all the records in it. Soon thereafter the Claiborne Police Jury chose the present site for the parish seat, which came to be named, Homer.[7][8]

Much of the area history is preserved in the Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum, located across from the parish courthouse in Homer.

Government and infrastructure[]

Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the David Wade Correctional Center in an unincorporated section of Claiborne Parish near Homer and Haynesville.[9][10]

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 767 square miles (1,990 km2), of which 755 square miles (1,960 km2) is land and 13 square miles (34 km2) (1.6%) is water.[11]

Major highways[]

  • I-69 (Future) Future Interstate 69
  • US 79 U.S. Highway 79
  • Louisiana 2 Louisiana Highway 2
  • Louisiana 9 Louisiana Highway 9

Adjacent parishes[]

National protected area[]

  • Kisatchie National Forest (part)

Communities[]

Map of Claiborne Parish Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Towns[]

  • Haynesville
  • Homer (parish seat and largest municipality)

Villages[]

  • Athens
  • Lisbon
  • Junction City

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Arizona
  • Lake Claiborne
  • Marsalis
  • Russellville
  • Summerfield

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1830 1,764
1840 6,185 250.6%
1850 7,471 20.8%
1860 16,848 125.5%
1870 20,240 20.1%
1880 18,837 −6.9%
1890 23,312 23.8%
1900 23,029 −1.2%
1910 25,050 8.8%
1920 27,885 11.3%
1930 32,285 15.8%
1940 29,855 −7.5%
1950 25,063 −16.1%
1960 19,407 −22.6%
1970 17,024 −12.3%
1980 17,095 0.4%
1990 17,405 1.8%
2000 16,851 −3.2%
2010 17,195 2.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[12]
1790-1960[13] 1900-1990[14]
1990-2000[15] 2010-2020[2]
Claiborne Parish racial composition as of 2020[16]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 7,064 49.85%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 6,138 43.32%
Native American 43 0.3%
Asian 42 0.3%
Other/Mixed 404 2.85%
Hispanic or Latino 479 3.38%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 14,170 people, 5,917 households, and 3,718 families residing in the parish.[16]

Politics[]

With a narrow majority of African Americans in the population, Claiborne Parish in the years after the civil rights movement was primarily Democratic in political complexion. In 1988, Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush prevailed in Claiborne Parish with 3,756 votes (53.6 percent). Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts trailed with 3,158 votes (45.1 percent).[17] In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton of neighboring Arkansas, obtained 3,609 votes (53.6 percent) in Claiborne Parish. Republican Bob Dole of Kansas polled 2,500 votes (37.1 percent).[18]

However, by 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona easily carried the parish in his losing race to Barack H. Obama. McCain polled 3,750 votes (54.8 percent) to Obama's 3,025 votes (44.2 percent).[19] In 2012, Mitt Romney carried the parish, with 3,649 votes (54.2 percent), nearly identical to the McCain tally four years earlier. President Obama received 3,014 votes (44.8 percent), or .6 of 1 percent greater than his earlier tabulation.[20]

United States presidential election results for Claiborne Parish, Louisiana[21]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 3,770 57.29% 2,731 41.50% 79 1.20%
2016 3,585 55.83% 2,717 42.31% 119 1.85%
2012 3,649 54.20% 3,014 44.77% 69 1.02%
2008 3,750 54.82% 3,025 44.22% 66 0.96%
2004 3,704 55.87% 2,854 43.05% 72 1.09%
2000 3,384 53.88% 2,721 43.32% 176 2.80%
1996 2,500 37.10% 3,609 53.55% 630 9.35%
1992 2,599 37.15% 3,263 46.64% 1,134 16.21%
1988 3,756 53.60% 3,158 45.07% 93 1.33%
1984 4,349 60.29% 2,788 38.65% 77 1.07%
1980 3,538 50.01% 3,443 48.67% 93 1.31%
1976 3,216 51.81% 2,891 46.58% 100 1.61%
1972 3,432 64.08% 1,551 28.96% 373 6.96%
1968 1,117 18.70% 1,545 25.87% 3,311 55.43%
1964 3,917 89.04% 482 10.96% 0 0.00%
1960 1,336 34.67% 489 12.69% 2,029 52.65%
1956 2,084 53.63% 810 20.84% 992 25.53%
1952 2,796 64.63% 1,530 35.37% 0 0.00%
1948 265 9.51% 457 16.40% 2,064 74.08%
1944 578 20.32% 2,266 79.68% 0 0.00%
1940 187 5.78% 3,049 94.22% 0 0.00%
1936 146 5.39% 2,563 94.54% 2 0.07%
1932 61 2.16% 2,765 97.84% 0 0.00%
1928 249 13.76% 1,560 86.24% 0 0.00%
1924 54 4.13% 1,252 95.87% 0 0.00%
1920 48 3.80% 1,216 96.20% 0 0.00%
1916 15 1.16% 1,276 98.76% 1 0.08%
1912 10 1.18% 785 92.24% 56 6.58%



Education[]

Claiborne Parish School Board serves the parish.

Claiborne Academy is a private institution in an unincorporated area in the parish, near Haynesville.[22]

Notable people[]

Prominent Claiborne Parish residents include or have included:

  • Alfred Goodwill, landowner in Claiborne Parish[23]
  • T. H. Harris, state education superintendent from 1908 to 1940.
  • Andrew R. Johnson was a state senator from Claiborne and Bienville parishes from 1916 to 1924.
  • John Sidney Killen, state representative for Claiborne Parish in 1871[24]
  • Joe LeSage, state senator for Caddo Parish from 1968 to 1972; Shreveport attorney born in Homer[25]
  • George H. Mahon, Former U.S. Representative
  • James T. McCalman, state senator from Claiborne and Bienville parishes from 1960 to 1964.
  • Danny Roy Moore, state senator from 1964 to 1968.
  • Dave L. Pearce, Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry from 1952-1956 and 1960-1976.
  • Larry Sale, sheriff of Claiborne Parish from 1936 to 1944; bodyguard at the assassination of Huey Pierce Long Jr.[26]
  • Richard Stalder, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
  • David Wade, Lieutenant General of the United States Air Force.[27]
  • Loy F. Weaver, state representative from 1976 to 1984.[28]
  • Mule Watson, pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1918–24.
  • Pinkie C. Wilkerson state representative from 1992 to 2000.[29]

Patrick Floyd Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln County New Mexico, and killer of Billy the Kid, lived here as a child, the family having moved from Alabama to Louisiana in late 1850s

Gallery[]

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Claiborne Parish, Louisiana

References[]

  1. ^ Harris, D. W.; Hulse, B. M. (1886). The History of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. New Orleans, LA: W. H. Stansbury & Company. http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/claiborne/history/parish/hulse.txt. 
  2. ^ a b "QuickFacts Caliborne Parish, Louisiana". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/claiborneparishlouisiana,LA/PST045221. 
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  4. ^ Burr, Murphy J.. "Murrell family pioneered in Claiborne Parish". The Piney Woods Journal. http://www.thepineywoods.com/MurrellN06.htm. 
  5. ^ Volentine, Linda; Herring, Susan T.. "Bridges Mill School Remembered". The Guardian-Journal. http://www.kcwd.com/gj/2005/briefs-2005-12-01.html. 
  6. ^ Herring, Susan T. (29 April 1999). ""Father Of Claiborne Parish" John Murrell Arrived In August Of 1819". The Guardian-Journal. http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/claiborne/history/parish/murrell.txt. 
  7. ^ Harris, D. W.; Hulse, B. M., eds (1886). The History of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, From Its Incorporation in 1828 to the Close of the Year 1885. New Orleans: W. B. Stansbury & Co.. pp. 19–20, 103. https://archive.org/details/historyofclaibor00harr. 
  8. ^ "Russellville: Ghost Town of Claiborne Parish". claiborneone.org. http://www.claiborneone.org/homer/russellville.html. 
  9. ^ "David Wade Corr. Center Archived 2011-01-27 at the Wayback Machine." Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Accessed September 14, 2008.
  10. ^ "Inmate wants his privileges restored." The Advocate. January 11, 1990. Retrieved on October 2, 2010. "But Mule was transferred to Wade Correctional Center in Haynesville[...]"
  11. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_22.txt. 
  12. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  13. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  14. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/la190090.txt. 
  15. ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf. 
  16. ^ a b "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US22027&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  17. ^ "Claiborne Parish presidential election returns, November 8, 1988". staticresults.sos.la.gov. http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11081988/11081988_14.html. 
  18. ^ "Claiborne Parish presidential election returns, November 5, 1996". staticresults.sos.la.gov. http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11051996/11051996_14.html. 
  19. ^ "Claiborne Parish presidential election returns". staticresults.sos.la.gov. http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11042008/11042008_14.html. 
  20. ^ "Claiborne Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012". staticresults.sos.la.gov. http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11062012/11062012_14.html. 
  21. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
  22. ^ "image007.gif Archived 2011-06-27 at the Wayback Machine." Claiborne Academy. Retrieved on October 2, 2010. "6741 Highway 19, Haynesville, LA 71038."
  23. ^ "Capt. Alfred Goodwill". findagrave.com. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Goodwill&GSfn=Alfred&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=56088538&df=all&. 
  24. ^ "John Killen Home". Minden Memories. http://www.mindenmemories.org/Residential%20M-Z.htm. 
  25. ^ "Joe C. LeSage, Jr., obituary". The Shreveport Times. September 24, 2015. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=joe-c-lesage&pid=175914028&fhid=6593. 
  26. ^ Exhibit, Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum, Homer, Louisiana
  27. ^ Wade Room, Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum, Homer, Louisiana
  28. ^ "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012". house.louisiana.gov. http://house.louisiana.gov/H_PDFdocs/HouseMembers1812_2008.pdf. 
  29. ^ "State Rep. Wilkerson Killed in Auto Accident". house.legis.state.la.us. August 1, 2000. http://house.legis.state.la.us/pubinfo/Press_Releases/wilkerson_auto_accident.htm. 
  30. ^ "Restaurant inspired by popular Lake Claiborne eatery coming to Cross Lake". Shreveport Times. http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20140211/LIVING01/302110038/. 

External links[]

Template:Louisiana parishes

Coordinates: 32°49′N 92°59′W / 32.82, -92.99



This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at Claiborne Parish, Louisiana. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with this Familypedia wiki, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons License.
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