Lincoln Parish, Louisiana

Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Lincoln Parish Courthouse in Ruston
Flag
Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1873
Named for	Abraham Lincoln
Seat	Ruston
Largest city	Ruston
Area
• Total	472 sq mi (1,222 km2)
• Land	472 sq mi (1,222 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (2 km2), 0.2%
Population
• (2010)	46,735
• Density	99/sq mi (38/km²)
Congressional district	5th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

Autrey Dogtrot House, built in 1849 by Absalom and Elizabeth Norris Autrey, formerly of Selma, Alabama is located west of Dubach. The oldest restored dogtrot house in Lincoln Parish, it was listed in 1980 on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Pacific Railroad depot in downtown Ruston; Robert Edwin Russ, the founder of Ruston, sold land to the railroad in 1883.

Lincoln Parish (French: Paroisse de Lincoln) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 46,735. The parish seat is Ruston. The parish was created on February 24, 1873 from parts of Bienville, Claiborne, Union, and Jackson parishes, and its boundaries have changed only once (in 1877). This makes Lincoln parish one of the Reconstruction parishes.

Lincoln Parish comprises the Ruston, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Since the late 20th century, archeologists have dated eleven sites in northern Louisiana where thousands of years ago, indigenous cultures built complexes with multiple, monumental earthwork mounds during the Middle Archaic period, long before the development of sedentary, agricultural societies. At sites such as Watson Brake, Frenchman's Bend, and Caney, generations of hunter-gatherers worked for hundreds of years to build and add to mound complexes. Hedgepeth Site, located in Lincoln Parish, is dated about 5200-4500 BP (about 3300-2600 BCE), from the latter part of this period. Such finds are changing the understanding of early human cultures.

The parish was one of several new ones established by the state legislature during Reconstruction; in 1873 it was formed from land that had belonged to Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson and Union parishes to create one in which newly elected representatives might have more ties to the Republican Party. It was an attempt to break up the old order of political power, and to capitalize on the arrival of the railroad line. The parish is named for the late U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.

In 1934, the historian Robert W. Mondy of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston completed a thesis entitled "A History of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana" as part of the requirements for his Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Another Louisiana Tech faculty member, Robert C. Snyder, was instrumental in the establishment in 1962 of the Lincoln Parish Library. He served as the library board president for many years.

Lincoln Parish is usually Republican in contested elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the parish with 10,739 votes (56.5 percent) to U.S. President Barack H. Obama, the Democrat who polled 7,956 ballots (41.9 percent).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 472 square miles (1,220 km²), of which 472 square miles (1,220 km²) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km²) (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

• Interstate 20
• U.S. Highway 80
• U.S. Highway 167
• Louisiana Highway 33

Adjacent parishes

• Union Parish (north)
• Ouachita Parish (east)
• Jackson Parish (south)
• Bienville Parish (southwest)
• Claiborne Parish (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	11,075		—
1890	14,753		33.2%
1900	15,898		7.8%
1910	18,485		16.3%
1920	16,962		−8.2%
1930	22,822		34.5%
1940	24,790		8.6%
1950	25,782		4.0%
1960	28,535		10.7%
1970	33,800		18.5%
1980	39,763		17.6%
1990	41,745		5.0%
2000	42,509		1.8%
2010	46,735		9.9%
Est. 2014	47,617		1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2013

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 46,735 people residing in the parish. 55.2% were White, 40.5% Black or African American, 1.7% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.3% of some other race and 1.1% of two or more races. 2.5% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race).

As of the census of 2000, there were 42,509 people, 15,235 households, and 9,689 families residing in the parish. The population density was 90 people per square mile (35/km²). There were 17,000 housing units at an average density of 36 per square mile (14/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 57.42% White, 39.84% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 1.28% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.52% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 15,235 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.50% were married couples living together, 15.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.40% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the parish the population was spread out with 22.10% under the age of 18, 25.70% from 18 to 24, 23.20% from 25 to 44, 17.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 26 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $26,977, and the median income for a family was $38,972. Males had a median income of $32,376 versus $20,877 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,313. About 18.20% of families and 26.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.10% of those under age 18 and 18.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Lincoln Parish residents are zoned to Lincoln Parish School Board schools.

The parish is home to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, and Grambling State University in Grambling.

Bethel Christian School is located in Ruston.

National Guard

527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana, the parish seat. This battalion is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard.

Attractions

• Eddie Robinson Museum
• Lincoln Parish Park
• Dixie Center for the Arts
• North Central Louisiana Arts Council
• Ruston Community Theatre
• Celebrity Theatre (movie theater)
• Annual Peach Festival held in Ruston, LA
• Annual Chicken Festival held in Dubach, LA
• Annual Watermelon Festival held in Farmerville, LA

Communities

Map of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

Cities

• Grambling
• Ruston (parish seat)

Towns

• Dubach
• Vienna

Villages

• Choudrant
• Downsville
• Simsboro

Unincorporated communities

• Corinth
• Mount Zion
• Pleasant Hill
• Hilly

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
• Paul M. Davis, Jr.
• Dan Hollingsworth
• George M. Lomax
• Ragan Madden
• L.D. "Buddy" Napper
• Elton C. Pody

External links

• Lincoln Parish