Richland Parish, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
 Alto Presbyterian Church | |
 Location within the U.S. state ofLouisiana | |
| Coordinates:32°25′18″N91°45′43″W / 32.421736°N 91.762070°W /32.421736; -91.762070 | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Louisiana |
| Founded | September 29, 1878 |
| Named after | Fertile (rich) land in the area |
| Seat | Rayville |
| Largest town | Rayville |
| Area | |
• Total | 576 sq mi (1,490 km2) |
| • Land | 559 sq mi (1,450 km2) |
| • Water | 9.375 sq mi (24.28 km2) 1.6% |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 20,043 |
| • Density | 35.9/sq mi (13.8/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
Richland Parish is aparish located in the North Louisiana Delta Country in the U.S. state ofLouisiana, known for its fertile, flat farmland, cane brakes, and open spaces. The parish had a population of 20,043 at the2020 United States census.[1] The name Richland was chosen due to the rich production from farming. The parish seat and largest community isRayville.
The parish was officially created on September 29, 1868.[2]Rayville, Louisiana, the parish seat, was named for John Ray, a politician from Monroe with large land holdings in present-day Rayville.[3]
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.[4]
Bayou Macon flows through the eastern areas of Richland. Other tributaries in the parish includeCrew 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.
| Interstates and State Highways | |
|---|---|
 | Interstate 20 |
 | U.S. Highway 80 |
 | U.S. Highway 425 |
.svg) | Louisiana Highway 15 |
.svg) | Louisiana Highway 17 |
.svg) | Louisiana Highway 132 |
.svg) | Louisiana Highway 133 |
.svg) | Louisiana Highway 135 |
.svg) | Louisiana Highway 585 |
| Air, Rail, Levee | |
|---|---|
 | Rayville Municipal Airport |
| Delhi Municipal Airport |
| Monroe Regional Airport |
 | Kansas City Southern Railroad |
| Tensas Basin Levee District |
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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% | |
| 2020 | 20,043 | −3.3% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[5] 1790–1960[6] 1900–1990[7] 1990–2000[8] 2010[9] | |||
As of the2020 census, the parish had a population of 20,043, a median age of 40.4 years, with 23.3% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 98.4 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males age 18 and over.[10]
There were 7,674 households in the parish, including 4,972 families; 32.4% had children under the age of 18, 42.4% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, 33.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present, 27.8% consisted of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.[10]
The racial makeup of the parish was 58.8%White, 36.6%Black or African American, 0.3%American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Asian, <0.1%Native Hawaiian andPacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 3.2% fromtwo or more races.Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.[11]
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.[12]
There were 8,628 housing units, of which 11.1% were vacant; 68.6% of occupied housing units were owner-occupied and 31.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.[10]
| Race / Ethnicity(NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 1980[13] | Pop 1990[14] | Pop 2000[15] | Pop 2010[16] | Pop 2020[17] | % 1980 | % 1990 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White alone (NH) | 14,153 | 12,910 | 12,667 | 12,714 | 11,667 | 63.79% | 62.58% | 60.37% | 61.35% | 58.21% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 7,754 | 7,492 | 7,927 | 7,406 | 7,303 | 34.95% | 36.32% | 37.78% | 35.73% | 36.44% |
| Native American orAlaska Native alone (NH) | 11 | 14 | 26 | 57 | 53 | 0.05% | 0.07% | 0.12% | 0.28% | 0.26% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 21 | 13 | 36 | 54 | 50 | 0.09% | 0.06% | 0.17% | 0.26% | 0.25% |
| Native Hawaiian orPacific Islander alone (NH) | x[18] | x[19] | 0 | 2 | 0 | x | x | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.00% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 66 | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.01% | 0.03% | 0.33% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | x[20] | x[21] | 95 | 154 | 504 | x | x | 0.45% | 0.74% | 2.51% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 246 | 199 | 227 | 332 | 400 | 1.11% | 0.96% | 1.08% | 1.60% | 2.00% |
| Total | 22,187 | 20,629 | 20,981 | 20,725 | 20,043 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| 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 |
_IMG_7439.JPG)
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 1912 | 2 | 0.46% | 393 | 89.93% | 42 | 9.61% |
| 1916 | 7 | 1.07% | 650 | 98.93% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1920 | 50 | 7.00% | 664 | 93.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1924 | 116 | 14.61% | 678 | 85.39% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1928 | 242 | 18.26% | 1,083 | 81.74% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 46 | 2.53% | 1,773 | 97.42% | 1 | 0.05% |
| 1936 | 165 | 6.36% | 2,425 | 93.48% | 4 | 0.15% |
| 1940 | 310 | 11.37% | 2,417 | 88.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1944 | 488 | 18.95% | 2,087 | 81.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 119 | 4.69% | 960 | 37.87% | 1,456 | 57.44% |
| 1952 | 1,645 | 39.70% | 2,499 | 60.30% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 1,063 | 29.88% | 1,094 | 30.76% | 1,400 | 39.36% |
| 1960 | 1,378 | 35.62% | 996 | 25.74% | 1,495 | 38.64% |
| 1964 | 4,498 | 85.76% | 747 | 14.24% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 1,031 | 15.95% | 1,017 | 15.74% | 4,415 | 68.31% |
| 1972 | 4,304 | 70.80% | 1,335 | 21.96% | 440 | 7.24% |
| 1976 | 3,630 | 49.93% | 3,495 | 48.07% | 145 | 1.99% |
| 1980 | 4,772 | 54.57% | 3,745 | 42.83% | 227 | 2.60% |
| 1984 | 5,980 | 65.84% | 2,918 | 32.13% | 185 | 2.04% |
| 1988 | 5,226 | 62.85% | 2,833 | 34.07% | 256 | 3.08% |
| 1992 | 3,808 | 42.77% | 3,706 | 41.63% | 1,389 | 15.60% |
| 1996 | 3,765 | 43.23% | 4,143 | 47.57% | 802 | 9.21% |
| 2000 | 4,895 | 57.69% | 3,282 | 38.68% | 308 | 3.63% |
| 2004 | 5,471 | 63.14% | 3,082 | 35.57% | 112 | 1.29% |
| 2008 | 5,751 | 62.64% | 3,311 | 36.06% | 119 | 1.30% |
| 2012 | 5,846 | 62.66% | 3,387 | 36.31% | 96 | 1.03% |
| 2016 | 6,287 | 65.51% | 3,157 | 32.90% | 153 | 1.59% |
| 2020 | 6,607 | 66.47% | 3,225 | 32.44% | 108 | 1.09% |
| 2024 | 6,354 | 69.12% | 2,732 | 29.72% | 107 | 1.16% |
Places adjacent to Richland Parish, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||||
Municipalities and communities ofRichland Parish, Louisiana,United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Towns |  | |
| Village | ||
| CDP | ||
| Other unincorporated communities | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent parish or parishes | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
