Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state
of Louisiana
. The parish seat is Ruston
. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382. Lincoln Parish and neighboring Jackson Parish are part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area
.
, 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. It was 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.
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.
schools.
The parish is home to Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston, and Grambling State University
in Grambling.
.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The parish seat is Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382. Lincoln Parish and neighboring Jackson Parish are part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area
Ruston micropolitan area
The Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area is a micropolitan area in north central Louisiana that covers two parishes - Lincoln and Jackson. As of the 2000 census, the μSA had a population of 57,906 .-Cities:*Ruston * Grambling, Louisiana The Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area is a micropolitan...
.
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 BrakeWatson Brake
Watson Brake is an archaeological site in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana from the Archaic period. Dated to about 5400 years ago , Watson Brake is considered the earliest mound complex in North America. It is the earliest dated, complex construction in the Americas...
, 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
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
. It was an attempt to break up the old order of political power, and to capitalize on the arrival of the railroad line. It was named for the late U.S. president Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
In 1934, the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
Robert W. Mondy
Robert W. Mondy
Robert William Mondy was an historian of the frontier experience in the American West and South, who spent thirty-nine years, from 1935–1974, on the faculty of Louisiana Tech University in his native Ruston in Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana.Mondy was the older of two children born to Thomas...
of Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston completed a thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
entitled "A History of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana" as part of the requirements for his Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degree from the University of Texas at Austin
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
. Another Louisiana Tech faculty member, Robert C. Snyder
Robert C. Snyder
Robert Craven Snyder, Sr. , was a professor and professor emeritus of English at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, the seat of Lincoln Parish in north Louisiana...
, was instrumental in the establishment in 1962 of the Lincoln Parish Library. He served as the library board president for many years.
Geography
The parish has a total area of 472 square miles (1,222.5 km²), of which, 471 square miles (1,219.9 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2.6 km²) of it (0.19%) is water.Major highways
Interstate 20Interstate 20Interstate 20 is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I‑20 runs 1,535 miles from near Kent, Texas, at Interstate 10 to Florence, South Carolina, at Interstate 95...
U.S. Highway 80
U.S. Highway 167
Louisiana Highway 33
Adjacent parishes
- Union ParishUnion Parish, LouisianaUnion Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Farmerville....
(north) - Ouachita ParishOuachita Parish, Louisiana-National protected areas:* Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge* D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 147,250 people, 55,216 households, and 38,319 families residing in the parish. The population density was 241 people per square mile...
(east) - Jackson ParishJackson Parish, LouisianaJackson Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Claiborne, Ouachita, and Union Parishes. In 2010, its population was 16,274. The parish seat is Jonesboro...
(south) - Bienville ParishBienville Parish, LouisianaBienville Parish is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Arcadia and as of the 2000 census, the population is 15,752....
(southwest) - Claiborne ParishClaiborne Parish, LouisianaClaiborne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Homer and as of 2000, the population is 16,851.-History:The parish is named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne....
(northwest)
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 42,509 people, 15,235 households, and 9,689 families residing in the parish. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
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
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 39.84% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.18% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 1.28% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.01% Pacific Islander
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.52% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.75% from two or more races. 1.16% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
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
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
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
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
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.
Attractions
Lincoln Parish ParkCities and towns
|
Dubach, Louisiana Dubach is a town in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 800 at the 2000 census. Dubach High School, located centrally in the town, is noted for fielding good athletic teams in basketball and often defeats teams from much larger towns and cities... Grambling, Louisiana Grambling is a city in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,693 at the 2000 census. The city is home to Grambling State University and is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.... |
Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population... Simsboro, Louisiana Simsboro is a village in western Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 684 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Simsboro is located at .... |
Vienna, Louisiana Vienna is a town in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 424 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.... |
Education
Lincoln Parish residents are zoned to Lincoln Parish School BoardLincoln Parish School Board
Lincoln Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana, United States.The district serves Lincoln Parish.-7-12 schools:* Choudrant High School * Dubach High School -9-12 schools:...
schools.
The parish is home to Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston, and Grambling State University
Grambling State University
Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...
in Grambling.
National Guard
527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in Ruston, the parish seat. This battalion is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the Louisiana National GuardLouisiana National Guard
The Louisiana National Guard consists of the:*Louisiana Army National Guard** includes the U.S. 256th Infantry Brigade*Louisiana Air National Guard-External links:*** compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
.
See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln Parish, LouisianaNational Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln Parish, LouisianaThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties on the National Register of Historic Places in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States...