DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
Parish in Louisiana, United States
Parish in Louisiana, United States
DeSoto Parish (Spanish : Parroquia de DeSoto ; French : Paroisse DeSoto ) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana . The parish was formed in 1843.[ 1] 2020 U.S. census , the population was 26,812.[ 2] parish seat and most populous municipality is Mansfield .[ 3] Shreveport –Bossier City metropolitan statistical area .
History
It is a typical misconception that the parish was named after Hernando de Soto , the Spaniard who explored the future southeastern United States and discovered and named the Mississippi River .[ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the parish has a total area of 895 square miles (2,320 km2 ), of which 876 square miles (2,270 km2 ) is land and 19 square miles (49 km2 ) (2.1%) is water.[ 7]
Major highways
Adjacent parishes
National protected area
Communities
Map of DeSoto Parish, with municipal labels
City
Mansfield (parish seat and largest municipality)
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated areas
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
Demographics
Historical population
Census Pop. Note %± 1850 8,023 — 1860 13,298 65.7% 1870 14,962 12.5% 1880 15,603 4.3% 1890 19,860 27.3% 1900 25,063 26.2% 1910 27,689 10.5% 1920 29,376 6.1% 1930 31,016 5.6% 1940 31,803 2.5% 1950 24,398 −23.3% 1960 24,248 −0.6% 1970 22,764 −6.1% 1980 25,727 13.0% 1990 25,346 −1.5% 2000 25,494 0.6% 2010 26,656 4.6% 2020 26,812 0.6% 2021 (est.) 26,919 [ 2] 0.4%
As of the 2020 United States census , there were 26,812 people, 10,821 households, and 7,254 families residing in the parish. At the 2019 American Community Survey ,[ 14]
In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 58.8% non-Hispanic or Latino white , 35.3% Black or African American , 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native , 0.1% Asian , <0.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander , 0.1% some other race, 1.9% two or more races , and 2.9% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.[ 15]
There were 10,821 households at the 2019 census estimates, and the home-ownership rate was 71.3%. Of the 7,716 owner-occupied units, 3,917 were married couples living together, 365 male households with no female present, and 896 female households with no male present. There was a 17.1% vacancy rate in the parish. The average family size was 3.07,[ 14] [ 2]
In the parish, 75.5% were aged 18 and older, and 17.2% were aged 65 and older; the median age was 39.3, and 6.5% were aged 5 and under. Approximately 0.8% of the population were foreign-born, and 2.1% spoke a language other than English at home.
The median income for a household in the parish was $46,006; families had a median income of $56,323, married couples had a median income of $78,090, and non-family households had a median income of $25,314. An estimated 22% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line, and 30.6% of people aged under 18 were at or below the poverty line.
Education
Public schools in DeSoto Parish are operated by the DeSoto Parish School Board . It is in the service area of Bossier Parish Community College .[ 16]
Notable people
Larry Bagley (born 1949), incoming Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo, Desoto, and Sabine parishesTerry Bradshaw (born 1948), Hall of Fame professional football player, sportscaster, singer, and actorRichard Burford (born 1946), current Louisiana state representativeVida Blue (born 1949–2023), professional baseball playerC.L. Bryant (born 1956), Baptist minister and radio talk show hostRiemer Calhoun (1909–1994), state senator from 1944 to 1952 for DeSoto and Caddo parishesJoe T. Cawthorn (1911–1967), state senator from 1940 to 1944 for DeSoto and Caddo parishesSherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana State Senator Joe Henry Cooper (1920–1980), Louisiana state representativeKenny Ray Cox (born 1957), Louisiana state representative and former United States Army officerMilton Joseph Cunningham (1842–1916), Natchitoches and New Orleans lawyer, state senator from Natchitoches and DeSoto parishes from 1880 to 1884; state attorney general for three nonconsecutive terms ending in 1900, born in what became DeSoto ParishGeorge Dement (1922–2014), mayor of Bossier CityJoseph Barton Elam (1821–1885), United States Representative from Louisiana's 4th congressional district William Pike Hall, Sr. (1896–1945), state senator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes, 1924–1932, Shreveport attorney[ 17] John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), United States Air Force lieutenant generalAlbert Lewis (1960-), professional football playerCurtis W. McCoy, mayor of Mansfield
Garnie W. McGinty (1900–1984), historian at Louisiana Tech University and school principalMack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football playerB. H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), politicianC. O. Simpkins, Sr. (1925–2019 from Mansfield), African-American state representative, dentist, and civil rights activist in Shreveport[ 18] O.C. Smith (1932–2001), singer
Politics
United States presidential election results for DeSoto Parish, Louisiana[ 19]
Year
Republican
Democratic
Third party(ies)
No.
%
No.
%
No.
%
2024 9,359
67.27%
4,426
31.81%
128
0.92%
2020 9,112
61.83%
5,457
37.03%
167
1.13%
2016 8,068
59.76%
5,165
38.26%
267
1.98%
2012 7,353
56.34%
5,553
42.55%
145
1.11%
2008 6,883
56.16%
5,242
42.77%
132
1.08%
2004 6,211
54.79%
5,026
44.34%
99
0.87%
2000 5,260
49.64%
5,036
47.53%
300
2.83%
1996 3,526
33.52%
6,221
59.13%
773
7.35%
1992 3,643
33.06%
5,671
51.46%
1,707
15.49%
1988 5,022
47.76%
5,366
51.03%
128
1.22%
1984 5,989
55.77%
4,642
43.23%
108
1.01%
1980 4,349
42.11%
5,861
56.75%
117
1.13%
1976 3,601
43.14%
4,630
55.46%
117
1.40%
1972 4,017
56.16%
2,596
36.29%
540
7.55%
1968 974
11.37%
3,400
39.70%
4,190
48.93%
1964 3,954
75.92%
1,254
24.08%
0
0.00%
1960 1,603
36.11%
1,183
26.65%
1,653
37.24%
1956 2,011
53.33%
1,206
31.98%
554
14.69%
1952 2,303
57.85%
1,678
42.15%
0
0.00%
1948 270
9.72%
617
22.21%
1,891
68.07%
1944 538
22.45%
1,858
77.55%
0
0.00%
1940 211
6.84%
2,872
93.16%
0
0.00%
1936 93
3.83%
2,337
96.17%
0
0.00%
1932 87
3.47%
2,416
96.45%
2
0.08%
1928 517
26.32%
1,445
73.57%
2
0.10%
1924 118
9.25%
1,146
89.88%
11
0.86%
1920 56
4.39%
1,219
95.61%
0
0.00%
1916 17
1.52%
1,104
98.48%
0
0.00%
1912 11
1.20%
815
88.68%
93
10.12%
See also
References
^ "DeSoto Parish" . www.sfasu.edu . Center for Regional Heritage Research. Retrieved September 3, 2014 .^ a b c "QuickFacts: DeSoto Parish, Louisiana" . U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved August 19, 2021 .^ "Find a County" . National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011 .^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States 105 . ^ Means, Emilia Gay Griffith, and Liz Chrysler. DeSoto Parish. Arcadia Publishing, 2011, p. 8.
^ "DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court – Honorable Jeremy M. Evans" . www.desotoparishclerk.org . Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2018 .^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files" . United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved August 27, 2014 .^ "U.S. Decennial Census" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 27, 2014 .^ "Historical Census Browser" . University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2014 .^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990" . United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 27, 2014 .^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF) . United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 27, 2014 .^ "State & County QuickFacts" . United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved August 9, 2013 .^ "Explore Census Data" . data.census.gov . Retrieved December 29, 2021 .^ a b "Geography Profile: DeSoto Parish, Louisiana" . data.census.gov . Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021 .^ "2019 Demographic and Housing Estimates" . data.census.gov . Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021 .^ "Our Colleges" . Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges . Retrieved June 3, 2021 .^ "Funeral for Pike Hall at 11 A.M. Today – Prominent Attorney, Civic Leader Succumbs After Brief Illness" . The Shreveport Times . Retrieved March 26, 2015 .^ "C. O. Simpkins, Sr.: Civil Rights Champion" . cosimpkins.com. Retrieved September 1, 2015 .^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections" . uselectionatlas.org . Retrieved March 7, 2018 .
Further reading
External links
Places adjacent to DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
International National Geographic Other
32°04′N 93°44′W / 32.06°N 93.74°W / 32.06; -93.74
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