Bossier Parish, Louisiana

History

Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier, an ethnic French, 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.

Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War. In July 1861, at the start of the war, the Bossier Parish Police Jury appropriated $35,000 for the benefit of Confederate volunteers and their family members left behind, an amount then considered generous.

After the war, whites used violence and intimidation to maintain dominance over the newly emancipated freedmen. From the end of Reconstruction into the 20th century, violence increased as conservative white Democrats struggled to maintain power over the state. In this period, Bossier Parish had 26 lynchings of African Americans by whites, part of racial terrorism. This was the fifth-highest total of any parish in Louisiana, tied with the total in Iberia Parish in the South of the state. Overall, parishes in northwest Louisiana had the highest rates of lynchings.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 867 sqmi, of which 840 sqmi is land and 27 sqmi (3.1%) is water. Four miles east of Bossier City is Barksdale Air Force Base.

Major highways

• [[Image:I-20.svg|25px]] Interstate 20
  • [[Image:I-220.svg|25px]] Interstate 220
• [[Image:I-69 (Future).svg|25px]] Future Interstate 69
• [[Image:US 71.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 71
• [[Image:US 79.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 79
• [[Image:US 80.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 80
• [[Image:Louisiana 2 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 2
• [[Image:Louisiana 3 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 3

Adjacent counties and parishes

• Miller County, Arkansas (northwest)
• Lafayette County, Arkansas (north)
• Webster Parish (east)
• Bienville Parish (southeast)
• Red River Parish (south)
• Caddo Parish (west)

National protected area

• Red River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

Cities

• Bossier City (largest municipality)
• Shreveport (partial)

Towns

• Benton (parish seat)
• Haughton
• Plain Dealing (smallest municipality)

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

• Eastwood
• Red Chute

Unincorporated communities

• Elm Grove
• Fillmore
• Princeton
• Taylortown

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 128,746 people, 50,092 households, and 33,963 families. The median age was 36.2 years; 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18, and 14.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.7 males age 18 and over.

Of the households, 34.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 46.6% were married-couple households, 18.7% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The racial makeup of the parish was 63.0% White, 23.4% Black or African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.9% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 3.8% from some other race, and 7.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 8.0% of the population.

72.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 27.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 55,237 housing units, of which 9.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 64.1% were owner-occupied and 35.9% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 11.3%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2010 census

According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 116,979 people, 62,000 households, and 37,500 families residing in the parish. The population density was 142 PD/sqmi. There were 49,000 housing units at an average density of 48 /mi2.

The racial makeup of the parish in 2010 was 70.66% White, 18.52% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 2.18% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 1.00% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races; 8.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino American of any race.

Law, government and politics

Bossier Parish is governed by a 12-member elected body: the Bossier Parish Police Jury (which is equivalent to a county commission in other states). Members are elected from single-member districts.The current members of the police jury are:

• District 1 - Bob Brotherton
• District 2 - Glenn Benton
• District 3 - Philip Rogers
• District 4 - John Ed Jordan
• District 5 - Julianna Parks
• District 6 - Chris Marsiglia
• District 7 - Jimmy Cochran
• District 8 - Douglas E. Rimmer
• District 9 - Charles Gray
• District 10 - Jerome Darby
• District 11 - Tom Salzer
• District 12 - Paul M. "Mac" Plummer

Since the late 20th century, the non-Hispanic white population of the parish has shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party (as have most conservative whites in Louisiana and other Southern U.S. states). The state was a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party from the period after the turn of the century (when most Blacks were disenfranchised in Louisiana) to the mid-20th century.

Bossier Parish has since reliably voted for Republican candidates in most contested U.S. presidential elections. Since 1952, George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama who ran in 1968 on the American Independent Party ticket, has been the only non-Republican to carry Bossier Parish.

In 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona won in Bossier Parish with 32,713 votes (71.4 percent) over Democrat Barack H. Obama of Illinois, who received 12,703 votes (27.8 percent). In 2012, Mitt Romney polled 34,988 votes (72 percent) in Bossier Parish (2,275 more ballots than McCain drew in 2008). President Obama won 12,956 (26.6) of the votes in Bossier Parish.

National Guard

The 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion is headquartered in Bossier City. This unit was deployed to Iraq in 2008. Also located in Bossier City is the 156TH Army Band which deployed as part of the 256th Infantry Brigade in 2010 to Iraq.

Education

Bossier Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish.

It is in the service areas of Bossier Parish Community College and Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College.

Notable people

• William Benton Boggs (1854–1922), first mayor of Plain Dealing and former member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and the Louisiana State Senate
• Roy A. Burrell, state representative from District 2 (Caddo and Bossier parishes) since 2004
• E. S. Dortch, planter and politician and last surviving (1943) Bossier Parish veteran of the Confederate States Army{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Dortch&GSfn=E&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=10721958&df=all&| title=Col. E. S. Dortch Dies at Atlanta: Bossier Veteran Who Fought Under Stonewall Jackson Succumbs|publisher=The Shreveport Times through findagrave.com|access-date=March 23, 2015}}
• George Dement, former mayor of Bossier City and innkeeper and restaurateur
• Jack Favor, a rodeo star, was falsely imprisoned in 1967 at the Louisiana State Penitentiary for the murders of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Richey.
• Ryan Gatti, lawyer and former state senator for District 36
• Booker T, American professional wrestler and promoter.
• Mike Johnson, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; constitutional attorney in Benton
• Jerry Miculek, American professional speed and competition shooter known for his 20 world records; resides in Princeton
• Jimmy Boyd, former Louisiana State Representative
• Justin Wells, singer-songwriter
• Joe Waggonner, former U.S. Representative
• Willie Waggonner, former sheriff of Bossier Parish
• Judi Ann Mason, television writer, producer, and playwright
• Adam Bass, current state senator for Louisiana's 36th State Senate district.
• Harmonica Fats, blues harmonica player
• Campbell B. Hodges, former U.S. Army general and president of Louisiana State University
• Ford E. Stinson, U.S. Army officer and former Louisiana State Representative
• Vol Dooley, controversial former sheriff of Bossier Parish
• William Clark Hughes, former Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Billie Jean Horton, former country-music singer-songwriter and promoter who was married to Hank Williams and Johnny Horton
• Greg Stumon, former professional football player in the Canadian Football League
• Jared Leto, actor and singer
• Shannon Leto, drummer of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars
• Riley Stewart, former professional baseball pitcher in the Negro Leagues
• Henry Warren Ogden, former member of the United States House of Representatives and the Louisiana House of Representatives
• Myron Baker, former professional football player in the NFL
• Joe Delaney, former professional football player in the NFL and posthumous recipient of the Presidential Citizen's Medal
• Jesse Winchester, American-Canadian musician and songwriter
• Bobby Smith, former professional football defensive back in the NFL
• Brad Pye, Jr., sports journalist, broadcaster, and activist
• Willa Mae Sudduth, a founder of the Coalition of Labor Union Women
• Dodie Horton, current Louisiana State Representative
• Dak Prescott, current professional football quarterback in the NFL
• Keith Lehr, poker player and two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner
• John A. Franks, businessman and racehorse owner and breeder
• V. V. Whittington, banker and former Louisiana State Senator
• Frank Bradley, former professional baseball pitcher in the Negro Leagues
• Robert C. Smith, former political scientist and professor at San Francisco State University
• David Houston, country music singer
• Jack Clayton, former collegiate football, baseball, and basketball coach

References

References

1. "QuickFacts: Bossier Parish, Louisiana".
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. Stinson, Louise. "Bossier City History". City of Bossier City.
4. "About Bossier Parish". Bossier Parish.
5. Arnold-Tidwell House, Historical marker, Bossier Parish, Louisiana
6. "About Bossier Parish".
7. [[John D. Winters]], ''The Civil War in Louisiana'', [[Baton Rouge]]: [[Louisiana State University Press]], 1963, {{ISBN. 0-8071-0834-0, p. 38
8. [https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf ''Lynching in America, Third Edition: Supplement by County''] {{Webarchive. link. (October 23, 2017 , p. 6, Equal Justice Initiative, Mobile, AL, 2017)
9. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
10. "Kay McMahan, "Bossier Parish, LA, Towns"". usgwarchives.net.
11. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
12. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
13. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
14. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
15. "Bossier Parish, Louisiana". quickfacts.census.gov.
16. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
17. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
18. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
19. "1980 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 14 - Persons by Race and Table 15 - Total Persons and Spanish Origin Persons by Type of Spanish Origin and Race (p. 20/12-20/20)".
20. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
21. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Bossier Parish, Louisiana".
22. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Bossier Parish, Louisiana".
23. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Bossier Parish, Louisiana".
24. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
25. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
26. not an option in the 1980 Census
27. not an option in the 1990 Census
28. "Edwin T. Shell - Police Jurors - Bossier Parish Police Jury - Your Online Portal to Bossier Parish Government".
29. [http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=22&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential election Atlas (Louisiana electoral maps]
30. [http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1952.htm Geographie Electorale]
31. "Bossier Parish presidential election returns, November 4, 2008". staticresults.sos.la.gov.
32. "Bossier Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012". staticresults.sos.la.gov.
33. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
34. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Bossier Parish, LA". [[U.S. Census Bureau]].
35. "Our Colleges". [[Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges]].
36. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012". legis.state.la.us.
37. "My Hometown: Plain Dealing, Louisiana". oocities.org.
38. "Roy Burrell". house.louisiana.gov.
39. "Not Guilty". cowboysforchrist.net.
40. "List of Louisiana Wrongful Convictions Overturned since 1966, November 23, 2003". [[The Advocate (Baton Rouge).
41. "About Ryan". rayangatti.com.
42. (2012). "Booker T: From Prison to Promise: Life Before the Squared Circle". Medallion Press.
43. "Mike Johnson State Representative". mikejohnsonlouisiana.com.