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Richland Parish, Louisiana
Alto Presbyterian Church
Alto Presbyterian Church
Map of Louisiana highlighting Richland Parish
Location in the state of Louisiana
Map of the U.S
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded September 29, 1878
Named for Fertile (rich) land in the area
Seat Rayville
Largest city Rayville
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

576 sq mi (1,492 km²)
559 sq mi (1,448 km²)
9.375 sq mi (24 km²), 1.6
Population
 - (2020)
 - Density

20,043
Time zone Central: UTC-6/-5

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 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.[1] Rayville, Louisiana, the parish seat, was named for John Ray, a politician from Monroe with large land holdings in present-day Rayville.[2]

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.[3]

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[]

Transportation[]

LA 15 bridge over Boeuf River

Bridge crossing the Boeuf River on Hwy 15 near Alto, LA

Interstates and State Highways
I-20 Interstate 20
US 80 U.S. Highway 80
Louisiana 15 Louisiana Highway 15
Louisiana 17 Louisiana Highway 17
Louisiana 585 Louisiana Highway 585
Louisiana 132 (2008) Louisiana Highway 132
Louisiana 133 (2008) Louisiana Highway 133
Louisiana 135 (2008) Louisiana Highway 135
Air, Rail, Levee
Airport icon small Rayville Municipal Airport
Airport icon small Delhi Municipal Airport
Airport icon small Monroe Regional Airport
Kansas city south lines logo Kansas City Southern Railroad
LA 15 bridge over Boeuf River Tensas Basin Levee District

Demographics[]

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1870 5,110
1880 8,440 65.2%
1890 10,230 21.2%
1900 11,116 8.7%
1910 15,769 41.9%
1920 20,860 32.3%
1930 26,374 26.4%
1940 28,829 9.3%
1950 26,672 −7.5%
1960 23,824 −10.7%
1970 21,774 −8.6%
1980 22,187 1.9%
1990 20,629 −7.0%
2000 20,981 1.7%
2010 20,725 −1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[4]
1790–1960[5] 1900–1990[6]
1990–2000[7] 2010–2020[8]

2020 census[]

Richland Parish racial composition[9]
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
  • Holli 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[]

  • Louisiana Delta Community College, (with campus locations in neighboring Tallulah, Winnsboro, Lake Providence, Bastrop, Monroe, and West Monroe.)

Regional universities[]

  • University of Louisiana at Monroe
  • Louisiana Tech University, (Ruston)
  • Grambling State University, (Grambling)

Communities[]

Towns[]

  • Delhi
  • Rayville (parish seat and largest municipality)

Village[]

  • Mangham

Unincorporated areas[]

Census-designated place[]

  • Start

Unincorporated communities[]

  • Alto
  • Archibald
  • Bardel
  • Bee Bayou
  • Buckner
  • Charlieville
  • Crew Lake
  • Dehlco
  • Dunn
  • Four Forks
  • Gilleyville
  • Girard
  • Holly Ridge
  • Jonesburg
  • Mitchiner
  • New Light
  • Rhymes
  • Sacksonia
  • Warden

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[]

  • Luke Letlow, from Start, elected Member of Congress in The United States House of Representatives.
  • Julia Letlow, from Start, elected Member of Congress in the United States House of Representatives.
  • Ralph Abraham, from Alto, elected Member of Congress in The United States House of Representatives.
  • Harry W. Addison was a Southern author and humorist who resided in Rayville from 1945 to 1957.
  • Jamar Adcock, a politician and banker in Monroe, born in Richland Parish
  • Benny Gay Christian, state representative for Richland Parish, 1964 to 1974.
  • Terry Doughty, is a federally appointed judge for the Western District of Louisiana.
  • George B. Franklin, Jr., was a prominent planter, philanthropist, and conservationist.
  • Elvin Hayes, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player, born in Rayville
  • Arlene Howell, Miss Louisiana USA 1958, Miss USA 1958
  • Fred W. Jones, Jr., city, district, and state court judge, born in Rayville; resided in Ruston, Louisiana
  • Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Richland Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960
  • William L. Kirk, of Rayville was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe.
  • Ernie Ladd, a football player/professional wrestler, born in Rayville
  • Moses J. Liddell was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as a judge for the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory.
  • Wiley Person Mangham, an American publisher and editor. He is the namesake for the town of Mangham, Louisiana
  • Charles McConnell, politician in Springhill, Louisiana; a native of Richland Parish
  • Keith Munyan, Jr., commercial photographer in North Hollywood, California
  • Tim McGraw, Country musician, born in Delhi, and raised in Start
  • Darryl Riser, editor of the Delhi Dispatch and Richland Beacon-News and, formerly, the Richland Journal
  • Robert Max Ross, was a Republican politician and activist who qualified to run for Governor, U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House, for the purpose of advancing the two-party system in Louisiana, at a time it did not exist.
  • Francis C. Thompson served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1975 until 2008; since in the Louisiana State Senate

Gallery[]

Politics[]

United States presidential election results for Richland Parish, Louisiana[10]
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[]

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

References[]

External links[]

Template:Louisiana parishes

Coordinates: 32°25′N 91°46′W / 32.42, -91.76


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