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East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
Clinton Courthouse, Saint Helena Street, Clinton (East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana)
East Feliciana Parish Courthouse
Map of Louisiana highlighting East Feliciana Parish
Location in the state of Louisiana
Map of the U.S
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded 1824
Named for Marie Felice de Gálvez
Seat Clinton
Largest town Jackson
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

456 sq mi (1,181 km²)
453 sq mi (1,173 km²)
2.4 sq mi (6 km²), 0.5
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

19,531
Congressional districts 5th, 6th
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5
Website https://www.eastfelicianaclerk.org/

East Feliciana Parish (French: Paroisse de Feliciana Est, Spanish: Parroquia de East Feliciana) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 20,267,[1] and 19,531 in 2020.[2] The parish seat is Clinton.[3]

Established when Feliciana Parish was divided in 1824, both East and West Feliciana parishes are part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area. They are also considered part of the Florida Parishes, at one time part of Spain's West Florida colony.

History[]

The parish was part of Feliciana Parish, which was founded and named in 1810 by Spaniards who then controlled the territory. The Spanish governor, Bernardo de Gálvez, named it in honor of his wife, Marie Felicité.[4]

After the United States annexed this territory, population continued to increase. It had been developed for sugar cane plantations and business was thriving. In 1824, the state legislature divided the parish into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish, so that residents would have easier access to their parish seats.

The Louisiana State Insane Asylum was the first state institution in the parish, established near the town of Jackson in 1847. It was greatly enlarged and improved under the administration of Dr. John Welch Jones, who was appointed as superintendent in 1874, during the Reconstruction era. The bi-racial legislators in power at the time made commitments to public education and state welfare institutions. The facility was later called East Louisiana State Hospital.

The Margaret Dixon Correctional Institute is located in Jackson, as well. It opened in 1976 and is named for the crusading managing editor of the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (now called The Advocate). She had argued for the decentralization of the massive Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, in neighboring West Feliciana Parish.

Geography[]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 456 square miles (1,180 km2), of which 453 square miles (1,170 km2) is land and 2.4 square miles (6.2 km2) (0.5%) is water.[5]

Major highways[]

  • US 61 U.S. Highway 61
  • Louisiana 10 Louisiana Highway 10
  • Louisiana 19 Louisiana Highway 19
  • Louisiana 63 Louisiana Highway 63
  • Louisiana 67 Louisiana Highway 67
  • Louisiana 68 Louisiana Highway 68
  • Louisiana 69 Louisiana Highway 69

Adjacent parishes and counties[]

Communities[]

Towns[]

  • Clinton (parish seat)
  • Jackson (largest municipality)
  • Slaughter

Villages[]

  • Norwood
  • Wilson

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Bluff Creek
  • Ethel
  • Gurley

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1830 8,247
1840 11,893 44.2%
1850 13,598 14.3%
1860 14,697 8.1%
1870 13,499 −8.2%
1880 15,132 12.1%
1890 17,903 18.3%
1900 20,443 14.2%
1910 20,055 −1.9%
1920 17,487 −12.8%
1930 17,449 −0.2%
1940 18,039 3.4%
1950 19,133 6.1%
1960 20,198 5.6%
1970 17,657 −12.6%
1980 19,015 7.7%
1990 19,211 1.0%
2000 21,360 11.2%
2010 20,267 −5.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]
1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8]
1990-2000[9] 2010-2020[1]
East Feliciana Parish racial composition as of 2020[10]
Race Number Percentage
White (non-Hispanic) 11,411 58.4%
Black or African American (non-Hispanic) 7,108 36.38%
Native American 60 0.31%
Asian 46 0.24%
Pacific Islander 9 0.05%
Other/Mixed 514 2.63%
Hispanic or Latino 391 2.0%

At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 19,371 people living in the parish, down from 20,267 at the 2010 United States census. The 2019 census-estimated population comprised 6,959 households living in 8,487 housing units spread throughout the parish. There were 1,595 businesses operating in East Feliciana.[11] As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,539 people, 6,959 households, and 4,777 families residing in the parish.

In 2010, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was the following: 53.2% were White, 44.9% Black and African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races; 1.0% were Hispanic or Latin American of any race. At the 2019 census-estimates, 54.5% were non-Hispanic white, 43.6% Black and African American, 0.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, 0.2% some other race, and 0.9% multiracial. Hispanics and Latin Americans of any race made up 1.7% of the total population.[11]

Of the 6,959 households in East Feliciana Parish, 4.8% were aged 5 and under, 81.8% 18 and older, and 17.1% 65 and older. The median age was 42.9.

Approximately 40% of the population was employed in the parish, and the home-ownership rate was 80.5%. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $139,300, and median gross rent was $647. Residents had a median household income of $51,803; males earned a median income of $61,105 versus $32,243 for females.[11] At the 2000 United States census, the median household income was $31,631, and the median family income was $37,278. Males had a median income of $31,804 versus $20,243 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,428. An estimated 23.3% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line in 2019, up from 23% at the 2000 U.S. census.

Education[]

East Feliciana Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish. Elementary schools include Jackson Elementary School, Slaughter Elementary School, and Clinton Elementary School. Upper public schools include East Feliciana Middle and High school. Some students in the parish attend Wilkinson County Christian Academy in Wilkinson County, Mississippi.[12]

The parish is in the service area of Baton Rouge Community College.[13]

Silliman Institute in Clinton was established in the late 1960s as a directed response to federal courts ordering the desegregation of the East Feliciana public school system.

Government and infrastructure[]

The East Feliciana Parish Police Jury is the governing body of the parish and consists of nine representatives elected by district.

East Louisiana State Hospital, currently referred to as Eastern Louisiana Mental Health System is located in Jackson. Its main building is considered to be one of the largest and most significant Greek Revival buildings in Louisiana, it has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The institution was one of the first mental hospitals in the South.

The Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections operates the Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson.[14]

United States presidential election results for East Felicina Parish, Louisiana[15]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2020 6,064 57.70% 4,280 40.73% 165 1.57%
2016 5,569 55.46% 4,235 42.17% 238 2.37%
2012 5,397 52.87% 4,648 45.53% 164 1.61%
2008 5,432 54.61% 4,383 44.06% 132 1.33%
2004 5,021 54.57% 4,091 44.46% 89 0.97%
2000 4,051 50.02% 3,870 47.78% 178 2.20%
1996 2,949 35.10% 4,714 56.11% 738 8.78%
1992 2,813 35.63% 4,093 51.84% 989 12.53%
1988 3,527 47.99% 3,659 49.79% 163 2.22%
1984 4,166 49.59% 4,122 49.07% 113 1.35%
1980 2,650 38.56% 4,033 58.68% 190 2.76%
1976 1,668 31.34% 3,485 65.47% 170 3.19%
1972 1,992 48.98% 1,603 39.41% 472 11.61%
1968 457 11.17% 1,409 34.44% 2,225 54.39%
1964 1,900 79.63% 486 20.37% 0 0.00%
1960 313 16.76% 415 22.23% 1,139 61.01%
1956 912 37.45% 1,304 53.55% 219 8.99%
1952 876 46.23% 1,019 53.77% 0 0.00%
1948 127 10.29% 267 21.64% 840 68.07%
1944 220 20.20% 869 79.80% 0 0.00%
1940 164 13.41% 1,059 86.59% 0 0.00%
1936 102 8.80% 1,057 91.20% 0 0.00%
1932 65 5.23% 1,178 94.77% 0 0.00%
1928 160 20.46% 622 79.54% 0 0.00%
1924 25 4.73% 504 95.27% 0 0.00%
1920 30 5.37% 529 94.63% 0 0.00%
1916 21 4.11% 489 95.69% 1 0.20%
1912 1 0.23% 422 95.91% 17 3.86%



Notable people[]

  • Donna Douglas (1932-2015), actress who starred on The Beverly Hillbillies. She is buried in Bluff Creek's Baptist Church cemetery.
  • Erick Erickson, Editor of RedState[16]
  • Thomas Jackson, Sr. (1757-1844), fought in Revolutionary War.[17]
  • John Welch Jones (1826-1916), medical doctor, Confederate cavalry officer and one-time superintendent of the Louisiana State Insane Asylum
  • Junius Wallace Jones (1890-1977), Major-General, United States Air Force
  • Lawrence Brooks (1909-2022), the oldest American veteran of World War II, was born in Norwood.
  • Tom McVea, former state representative and former member of the East Feliciana Parish Police Jury
  • Eddie Robinson, legendary football coach at Grambling State University, was born in Jackson, Louisiana.
  • Richard Stalder, former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections from 1992 to 2008; former warden of Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson
  • E. M. Toler, physician and coroner who served in the Louisiana State Senate for East and West Feliciana parishes from 1944 to 1954
  • John D. Travis (1940-2016), state representative for District 62, including his native East Feliciana Parish, 1984 to 2000[18]
  • Kendell Beckwith, NFL player, currently plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Attended East Feliciana High School and went on to play for the LSU Tigers before being drafted by Tampa Bay.

See also[]

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana
  • Louisville, New Orleans and Texas Railway – Clinton and Port Hudson Railroad

References[]

  1. ^ a b "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/22037.html. 
  2. ^ "QuickFacts: East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana". https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/eastfelicianaparishlouisiana/POP010220. 
  3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx. 
  4. ^ Demajo, J. "History of East Feliciana". East Feliciana Tourist Commission. http://www.felicianatourism.org/history.htm. 
  5. ^ "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. 
  6. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html. 
  7. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu. 
  8. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/la190090.txt. 
  9. ^ "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. 
  10. ^ "Explore Census Data". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US22037&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2. 
  11. ^ a b c "Geography Profile: East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana". https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US22037. 
  12. ^ "About the School" ( Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine). Wilkinson County Christian Academy. Retrieved on April 15, 2015.
  13. ^ "Our Colleges". Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges. https://www.lctcs.edu/our-colleges. Retrieved 2021-06-03. 
  14. ^ "Dixon Correctional Institute Archived 2010-09-24 at the Wayback Machine." Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Retrieved on August 29, 2010.
  15. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS. 
  16. ^ "The most influential US conservatives 2007: 61-80". The Daily Telegraph (London). 2007-10-30. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/exclusions/uselection/nosplit/uscons61-80.xml. 
  17. ^ "Thomas Jackson, Sr (1757-1844) - Find A Grave...". https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75562924. 
  18. ^ "John D. Travis Obituary". The Baton Rouge Advocate. April 22, 2016. http://obits.theadvocate.com/obituaries/theadvocate/obituary.aspx?n=john-d-travis&pid=179715075&fhid=13745. 

External links[]

Template:Louisiana parishes

Coordinates: 30°51′N 91°03′W / 30.85, -91.05



This page uses content from the English language Wikipedia. The original content was at East Feliciana 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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