Grant Parish, Louisiana

History

Grant Parish was originally a part of the more populous Rapides Parish to the south. Prior to the American Civil War, the center of activity focused upon "Calhoun's Landing," named for the cotton and sugar planter Meredith Calhoun, a native of South Carolina. Calhoun also published the former National Democrat newspaper in what became Colfax, designated as the seat of government of the new parish.

Grant was one of several new parishes created by the Reconstruction legislature in an attempt to build the Republican Party in the state. Founded in 1869, it had a slight majority of freedmen, many of whom had worked on cotton plantations in the area. It was named for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The parish seat of Colfax was named for Grant's first vice president, Schuyler M. Colfax (whose name is pronounced COAL-facks) of Indiana. However, the town of Colfax is pronounced CAHL-facks. The parish came into existence on March 4, 1869, which also was the day of President Grant's first inauguration. The parish encompassed both cotton plantations and pinewoods. It was one of several areas along the Red River that had considerable violence during Reconstruction, as whites tried to maintain social control.

The gubernatorial election of 1872 was disputed in the state, and both the Democrats and Republicans certified their slates of local officers. Two inaugurations were held. The election was finally settled in favor of the Republican candidates, but the decision was disputed in certain areas. As social tensions rose, Republican officials took their places at the courthouse in Colfax. They were defended by freedmen and state militia (mostly made up of freedmen), who feared a Democratic Party takeover of the parish. Amid widespread rumors, whites organized a militia and advanced on the courthouse on Easter Sunday, 1873. In the ensuing violence, three whites and 120-150 blacks were killed, including 50 that night who were held as prisoners. Leading late 20th-century historians renamed the Colfax Riot, the original state designation, as the Colfax Massacre. The total number of freedmen deaths were never established because some of the bodies were thrown into the river and woods.

The white militia was led by Christopher Columbus Nash, a Confederate officer who had been a prisoner of war at Johnson's Island in Ohio. It consisted of veterans from Grant and neighboring parishes. The following year, Nash gathered many of the white militia members as the basis of the first chapter of the White League. Other chapters quickly grew up across the state. The White League's organized violence in support of the Democratic Party included widespread intimidation of black voters. The League was integral to white Democrats' regaining power in the state by 1876. Soon after, they effectively disfranchised most blacks, a situation that persisted until after federal enforcement of Civil Rights-era legislation of the mid-1960s.

Nativity scene

In December 2016, a courthouse nativity scene in Colfax drew a complaint from the New Orleans chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. In a letter to the Grant Parish Police Jury, the ACLU said that officials must include secular symbols of the Christmas holiday if a nativity scene is placed alone on public property. District Attorney Jay Lemoine objected to the ACLU challenge in a statement to Alexandria Town Talk: "There have been various holiday displays presented both inside and outside the courthouse over many years. This year, as in years past, they include both secular and non-secular symbols. It is unfortunate that some are offended by these displays during this holiday season, as that was not the intent."

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 665 sqmi, of which 643 sqmi is land and 22 sqmi (3.3%) is water.

Major highways

• [[Image:US 71.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 71
• [[Image:US 165.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 165
• [[Image:US 167.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 167
• [[Image:Louisiana 8 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 8
• [[Image:Louisiana 34 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 34
• [[Image:Louisiana 122 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 122
• [[Image:Louisiana 123 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 123
• [[Image:Louisiana 471 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 471
• [[Image:Louisiana 500 (2008).svg|25px]] Louisiana Highway 500

Adjacent parishes

• Winn Parish (north)
• La Salle Parish (east)
• Rapides Parish (south)
• Natchitoches Parish (west)

National protected area

• Kisatchie National Forest (part)

Fossil site

The most famous fossil sites within Louisiana are Creola Bluff at Montgomery Landing Site in the parish. The Montgomery Landing Site was a 500 m long and 14 m high bluff that was the cutbank on the east side of the Red River. It exposed the top of the Cockfield Formation, the Moodys Branch Formation, and Tullos Member of the Yazoo Clay. In 1979, it was the site of a large whale skeleton discovery.

Demographics

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

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 22,169 residents and a median age of 39.4 years. 20.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 15.8% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 127.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 132.2 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the parish was 79.9% White, 14.0% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian,

There were 7,823 households in the parish, of which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 48.3% were married-couple households, 19.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 25.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 8,971 housing units, of which 12.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 78.2% were owner-occupied and 21.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.9%.

Racial and ethnic composition

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 PD/sqmi. There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 /mi2. The racial makeup of the parish was 85.43% White, 11.88% Black or African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The decreases in population from 1910 to 1920, and from 1940 to 1960, were chiefly caused by different phases of the Great Migration, as African Americans left segregation and oppression of the South to seek better opportunities in the North, during the first phase, and in the West, especially California's defense industry, in the second phase. Tens of thousands of migrants left Louisiana during times of agricultural difficulties and the collapse of agricultural labor after mechanization.

In 2000, there were 7,073 households, out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.40% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 28.30% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $29,622, and the median income for a family was $34,878. Males had a median income of $31,235 versus $20,470 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,410. About 16.90% of families and 21.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.30% of those under age 18 and 16.20% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Federal Bureau of Prisons U.S. Penitentiary, Pollock is located in an unincorporated area in the parish, near Pollock.

Politics

Today Grant Parish is majority white and votes strongly Republican. Mitt Romney polled 7,082 votes (81.7 percent) in his 2012 race against the Democrat U.S. President Barack H. Obama, who trailed with 1,422 votes (16.4 percent). In 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona swept the parish, with 6,907 votes (80.7 percent) to Obama's 1,474 (17.2 percent). In every election since then, the Republican candidate has broken the record for the strongest performance by a candidate from that party in Parish history.

In 1992, George Herbert Walker Bush carried Grant Parish but was unsuccessful in his bid for reelection. He polled 3,214 votes (40.8 percent) to Democratic Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas's 3,122 (39.6 percent). This son of the South carried numerous other Republican-leaning jurisdictions. Ross Perot, who later founded the Reform Party, polled 1,174 (14.9 percent). In 1996, Republican Robert J. Dole narrowly won in Grant Parish over U.S. President Bill Clinton, a son of the South, with 3,117 votes (42.8 percent) to 2,980 (40.9 percent). Ross Perot polled another 1,055 (14.5 percent).

The last Democrat to win in Grant Parish at the presidential level was former Governor Jimmy Carter of Georgia in his 1976 defeat of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford, Jr., who had Bob Dole as his vice-presidential partner.

Education

Public schools in Grant Parish are operated by the Grant Parish School Board.

National Guard

A Company 199TH FSB (Forward Support Battalion) resides in Colfax, Louisiana. This unit deployed twice to Iraq as part of the 256TH IBCT in 2004-5 and 2010.

Communities

Towns

• Colfax (parish seat and largest municipality)
• Montgomery
• Pollock

Villages

• Creola
• Dry Prong
• Georgetown

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

• Prospect
• Rock Hill

Other communities

• Aloha
• Antonia
• Bentley
• Fishville
• Hargis
• Oak Grove
• Selma
• Verda

Prison

Notable people

• W. K. Brown, state representative from Grant Parish from 1960 to 1972
• Joe T. Cawthorn (1911-1967), lawyer, businessman, and politician affiliated with the Long faction, born in Selma in Grant Parish, resided in Mansfield in DeSoto Parish
• Billy Ray Chandler, state representative from Grant Parish, 2006-2012
• Ed Head (1918–1980), Major League Baseball player who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers
• Russ Springer, Major League baseball player

References

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Grant Parish, Louisiana". [[United States Census Bureau]].
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
3. "Grant Parish". Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism.
4. "Calhoun, Meredith". Louisiana Historical Association.
5. Gannett, Henry. (1905). "The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States". Govt. Print. Off..
6. [[Charles Lane (journalist). Lane, Charles]], ''[[The Day Freedom Died: The Colfax Massacre, the Supreme Court, and the Betrayal of Reconstruction]]'', 2008, page 42
7. Melissa Gregory. (December 20, 2016). "ACLU to Grant Parish: Courthouse display needs to change". [[The Town Talk (Alexandria).
8. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
9. Underwood, Angela. (July 26, 2022). "States with the most dinosaur fossils".
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
12. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
13. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
14. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
15. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
16. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
17. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
18. "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)".
19. "1990 Census of Population - General Population Characteristics - Louisiana - Table 6 - Race and Hispanic Origin".
20. "P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Grant Parish, Louisiana".
21. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Grant Parish, Louisiana".
22. "P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Grant Parish, Louisiana".
23. included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census
24. included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census
25. not an option in the 1980 Census
26. not an option in the 1990 Census
27. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
28. link. (November 4, 2013 , accessed April 24, 2008)
29. "[http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/pol/index.jsp USP Pollock]." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on May 29, 2010.
30. link. (May 27, 2010 ." [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]]. Retrieved on May 29, 2010.)
31. "Grant Parish election returns, November 6, 2012". staticresults.sos.la.gov.
32. "Grant Parish election returns, November 4, 2008". staticresults.sos.la.gov.
33. "Grant Parish election returns, November 3, 1992". staticresults.sos.la.gov.
34. "Grant Parish election returns, November 5, 1996". staticresults.sos.la.gov.
35. Louisiana Secretary of State, Presidential election returns, November 2, 1976
36. "General Election Returns". Louisiana Secretary of State.
37. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".
38. (November 16, 1967). "Joe T. Cawthorn". Sabine Index.