Florida Parishes

[[Image:Map of Florida Parishes.png|thumb|right|200px|The Florida Parishes]] The '''Florida Parishes''' ({{lang-es|Parroquias de Florida}}, {{lang-fr|Paroisses de Floride}}), also known as '''the North Shore''' region, are eight [[List of parishes in Louisiana|parishes]] in the southeastern part of the [[U.S. state]] of [[Louisiana]], which were part of [[West Florida]] in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Unlike much of Louisiana, this region was not part of the [[Louisiana Purchase]], as it had been under British and then Spanish control. The parishes are [[East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana|East Baton Rouge]], [[East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana|East Feliciana]], [[Livingston Parish, Louisiana|Livingston]], [[St. Helena Parish, Louisiana|St. Helena]], [[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana|St. Tammany]], [[Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|Tangipahoa]], [[Washington Parish, Louisiana|Washington]], and [[West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana|West Feliciana]]. The United States annexed most of West Florida in 1810. It quickly incorporated the area that became the Florida Parishes into the [[Territory of Orleans]], which became the U.S. state of Louisiana in 1812. ==History== [[Image:Bonnieblue.svg|thumb|200px|The "[[Bonnie Blue Flag]]" of [[West Florida]]]] The area that became the Florida Parishes was at one time part of [[Louisiana (New France)|French Louisiana]]. Following the [[French and Indian War]], however, the region, like most of the rest of French Louisiana east of the [[Mississippi River]], was transferred to [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]]. The region was made part of the new British territory of [[West Florida]]. Following the [[American Revolution]] West Florida was the subject of a border dispute between the newly-formed [[United States]] and [[Spain]], which acquired West and [[East Florida]] from the British after the war. The dispute led American and British settlers in the part of West Florida west of the [[Perdido River]] to declare an independent [[Republic of West Florida]] in 1810. This was quickly annexed by the United States, and the present-day Florida Parishes were incorporated into the [[Territory of Orleans]], which joined the Union as the [[State of Louisiana]] in 1812. The [[Bonnie Blue Flag]] of the Republic of West Florida still flies on many public buildings in the Florida Parishes. The Florida Parishes of Louisiana stretch from the [[Mississippi]] state line on its eastern and northern borders, to the [[Mississippi River]] on its western border, and [[Lake Pontchartrain]] on its southern border. The most populated community is the [[Baton Rouge metropolitan area]]. [[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana|St. Tammany Parish]] is part of the [[New Orleans metropolitan area]]. The Parishes have a land area of 4,685.184 square miles (12,134.57 km²), or 10.755 percent of the state's land area. Its population at the 2000 census was 887,444 residents, or 19.858 percent of the state's population at that time. Its largest communities are, in descending order of population (2000 census), [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]], [[Slidell, Louisiana|Slidell]], [[Hammond, Louisiana|Hammond]], [[Shenandoah, Louisiana|Shenandoah]] ([[Census-designated place|CDP]]), [[Baker, Louisiana|Baker]], [[Bogalusa, Louisiana|Bogalusa]], [[Zachary, Louisiana|Zachary]], [[Mandeville, Louisiana|Mandeville]], [[Merrydale, Louisiana|Merrydale]] (CDP), [[Gardere, Louisiana|Gardere]] (CDP), [[Denham Springs, Louisiana|Denham Springs]], [[Covington, Louisiana|Covington]], [[Oak Hills Place, Louisiana|Oak Hills Place]] (CDP), and [[Lacombe, Louisiana|Lacombe]] (CDP). [[Interstate 12]], which runs latitudinally through the Northshore region, has been officially declared the West Florida Republic Highway in commemoration of the fight to gain independence from Spain, leading to the subsequent [[Republic of West Florida]], which lasted for 90 days in 1810 before incorporation into the United States as part of [[Louisiana]]. ==Parishes== *[[East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana|East Baton Rouge Parish]] *[[East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana|East Feliciana Parish]] *[[Livingston Parish, Louisiana|Livingston Parish]] *[[St. Helena Parish, Louisiana|St. Helena Parish]] *[[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana|St. Tammany Parish]] *[[Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana|Tangipahoa Parish]] *[[Washington Parish, Louisiana|Washington Parish]] *[[West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana|West Feliciana Parish]] ==External links== *[http://ccet.louisiana.edu/03a_Cultural_Tourism_Files/01.00_The_Land.html Map of Louisiana regions] *[http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/parishes.htm National Park Services - Florida Parishes] *[http://www.watsonlaweather.com/ Florida Parishes weather] {{Louisiana}} {{coord missing|Louisiana}}