List of parishes of Louisiana

The state of Louisiana is divided into parishes in the same way that the other states of the United States are divided into counties.

Contents

1 History 2 Alphabetical listing 3 Defunct Parishes 4 Counties (1805-45) 5 Fictional Parishes 6 Source

History

In colonial Louisiana, which was officially Roman Catholic under both France and Spain, civil government was centered on the ecclesiastical governing unit.

After the Louisiana Purchase, Territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne and his Legislative Council in 1805 divided Orleans Territory into twelve counties. Their boundaries were somewhat indefinite, but they generally coincided with the old church parishes, and kept the same names. In 1807, the territorial legislature passed an act dividing the territory into nineteen parishes — but without abolishing the earlier twelve counties. For several years following this, both terms were used pretty much interchangeably. When a constitutional convention met in 1811 to prepare for Louisiana's admission as a state, they organized the state into seven judicial districts — as groups of parishes. The first official map of the state, in 1816, continued the use of the term, as did the revised Constitution of 1845. Louisiana's primary civil divisions have been officially known as parishes ever since.

Alphabetical listing

1. Acadia Parish formed in 1886 from part of St. Landry Parish.
2. Allen Parish formed in 1912 from part of Calcasieu Parish.
3. Ascension Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
4. Assumption Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
5. Avoyelles Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
6. Beauregard Parish formed in 1912 from part of Calcasieu Parish.
7. Bienville Parish formed in 1848 from part of Claiborne Parish.
8. Bossier Parish formed in 1843 from part Claiborne Parish.
9. Caddo Parish formed in 1838 from part of Natchitoches Parish.
10. Calcasieu Parish formed in 1840 from part of St. Landry Parish.
11. Caldwell Parish formed in 1838 from part of Catahoula Parish and Ouachita Parish.
12. Cameron Parish formed in 1870 from parts of Calcasieu Parish and Vermilion Parish.
13. Catahoula Parish formed in 1808 from parts of Ouachita Parish and Rapides Parish.
14. Claiborne Parish formed in 1828 from part of Natchitoches Parish.
15. Concordia Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
16. De Soto Parish formed in 1843 from parts of Caddo Parish and Natchitoches Parish.
17. East Baton Rouge Parish formed in 1810 from West Florida territory.
18. East Carroll Parish formed in 1877 when Carroll Parish was divided.
19. East Feliciana Parish formed in 1824 when Feliciana Parish was divided.
20. Evangeline Parish formed in 1910 from part of St. Landry Parish.
21. Franklin Parish formed in 1843 from parts of Carroll Parish, Catahoula Parish, Madison Parish and Ouachita Parish.
22. Grant Parish formed in 1869 from parts of Rapides Parish and Winn Parish.
23. Iberia Parish formed in 1868 from parts of St. Martin Parish and St. Mary Parish.
24. Iberville Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
25. Jackson Parish formed in 1845 from parts of Claiborne Parish, Ouachita Parish and Union Parish.
26. Jefferson Parish formed in 1825 from part of Orleans Parish.
27. Jefferson Davis Parish formed in 1912 from part of Calcasieu Parish.
28. La Salle Parish formed in 1908 from part of Catahoula Parish.
29. Lafayette Parish formed in 1823 from part of St. Martin Parish.
30. Lafourche Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807. Was named Interior Parish until 1812 and Lafourche Interior Parish until 1853.
31. Lincoln Parish formed in 1873 from parts of Bienville Parish, Claiborne Parish, Jackson Parish and Union Parish.
32. Livingston Parish formed in 1832 from part of St. Helena Parish.
33. Madison Parish formed in 1838 from Concordia Parish.
34. Morehouse Parish formed in 1844 from parts of Carroll Parish and Ouachita Parish.
35. Natchitoches Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
36. Orleans Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
37. Ouachita Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
38. Plaquemines Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
39. Pointe Coupee Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
40. Rapides Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
41. Red River Parish formed in 1871 from parts of Bienville Parish, Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish and Natchitoches Parish.
42. Richland Parish formed in 1868 from parts of Carroll Parish, Franklin Parish, Morehouse Parish and Ouachita Parish.
43. Sabine Parish formed in 1843 from parts of Caddo Parish and Natchitoches Parish.
44. St. Bernard Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
45. St. Charles Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
46. St. Helena Parish formed in 1810 from West Florida territory.
47. St. James Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
48. St. John the Baptist Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
49. St. Landry Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
50. St. Martin Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807.
51. St. Mary Parish formed in 1811 from part of St. Martin County.
52. St. Tammany Parish formed in 1810 from West Florida territory.
53. Tangipahoa Parish formed in 1868 from parts of Livingston Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. Tammany Parish and Washington Parish.
54. Tensas Parish formed in 1843 from part of Concordia Parish.
55. Terrebonne Parish formed in 1822 from part of Lafourche Parish.
56. Union Parish formed in 1839 from part of Ouachita Parish.
57. Vermilion Parish formed in 1844 from part of Lafayette Parish.
58. Vernon Parish formed in 1871 from parts of Natchitoches Parish, Rapides Parish and Sabine Parish.
59. Washington Parish formed in 1819 from part of St. Tammany Parish.
60. Webster Parish formed in 1871 from parts of Bienville Parish, Bossier Parish and Claiborne Parish.
61. West Baton Rouge Parish One of the original 19 parishes formed in 1807. Was named Baton Rouge Parish until 1812.
62. West Carroll Parish formed in 1877 when Carroll Parish was divided.
63. West Feliciana Parish formed in 1824 when Feliciana Parish was divided.
64. Winn Parish formed in 1852 from parts of Catahoula Parish, Natchitoches Parish and Rapides Parish.

Defunct Parishes

1. Biloxi Parish formed in 1811 from West Florida territory. Eliminated in 1812 when part of West Florida was transferred to Mississippi Territory.
2. Carroll Parish formed in 1838 from part of Ouachita Parish. Divided in 1877 into East Carroll Parish and West Carroll Parish.
3. Feliciana Parish formed in 1810 from West Florida territory. Divided in 1824 into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish.
4. Pascagoula Parish formed in 1811 from West Florida territory. Eliminated in 1812 when part of West Florida was transferred to Mississippi Territory.
5. Warren Parish formed in 1811 from part of Concordia Parish. Merged into Concordia Parish and Ouachita Parish in 1814.

Counties (1805-45)

1. Acadia County
2. Attakapas County
3. Concordia County
4. Feliciana County established in 1810 from West Florida territory.
5. German Coast County
6. Iberville County
7. Lafourche County
8. Natchitoches County
9. Opelousas County
10. Orleans County
11. Ouachita County
12. Pointe Coupee County
13. Rapides County

Fictional Parishes

In the novel A Confederacy of Dunces, author John Kennedy Toole created the fictional "St. Odo of Cluny Parish".

Source

Louisiana County Formation Maps (http://www.segenealogy.com/louisiana/la_maps/la_cf.htm)de:Liste der Parishes in Louisiana fr:Paroisses de l'État de Louisiane ja:ルイジアナ州の郡一覧