Bossier Parish, Louisiana Explained

Bossier Parish
Official Name:Parish of Bossier
Settlement Type:Parish
Image Map1:Louisiana in United States.svg
Map Caption1:Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:North Louisiana
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:February 24, 1843
Named For:Pierre Bossier
Seat Type:Parish seat
Seat:Benton
Seat1 Type:Largest city
Seat1:Bossier City
Area Total Sq Mi:867
Area Land Sq Mi:840
Area Water Sq Mi:27
Area Blank1 Title:percentage
Area Blank1 Sq Mi:3.1
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:128746
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Timezone1:CST
Utc Offset1:-6
Timezone1 Dst:CDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:-5
Area Code Type:Area code
Area Code:318
Blank Name Sec1:Congressional district
Blank Info Sec1:4th

Bossier Parish (; fr|Paroisse de Bossier pronounced as /fr/) is a parish located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 128,746.[1]

The parish seat is Benton.[2] The principal city is Bossier City, which is located east of the Red River and across from the larger city of Shreveport, the seat of Caddo Parish. The parish was formed in 1843 from the western portion of Claiborne Parish.[3] [4] Bossier Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area, the largest metropolitan area in North Louisiana.

Lake Bistineau and Lake Bistineau State Park are included in parts of Bossier and neighboring Webster and Bienville parishes. Loggy Bayou flows south from Lake Bistineau in southern Bossier Parish, traverses western Bienville Parish, and in Red River Parish joins the Red River.

History

Bossier Parish is named for Pierre Bossier,[5] an ethnic French, 19th-century Louisiana state senator and U.S. representative from Natchitoches Parish.

Bossier Parish was spared fighting on its soil during the American Civil War. In July 1861, at the start of the war, the Bossier Parish Police Jury appropriated $35,000 for the benefit of Confederate volunteers and their family members left behind, an amount then considered generous.[6]

After the war, whites used violence and intimidation to maintain dominance over the newly emancipated freedmen. From the end of Reconstruction into the 20th century, violence increased as conservative white Democrats struggled to maintain power over the state. In this period, Bossier Parish had 26 lynchings of African Americans by whites, part of racial terrorism. This was the fifth-highest total of any parish in Louisiana, tied with the total in Iberia Parish in the South of the state.[7] Overall, parishes in northwest Louisiana had the highest rates of lynchings.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and (3.1%) is water.[8] Four miles east of Bossier City is Barksdale Air Force Base.

Major highways

Adjacent counties and parishes

National protected area

Communities

Cities

Towns

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

Unincorporated communities

Demographics

2020 census

Bossier Parish, Louisiana – Racial and ethnic composition
!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)!Pop 2000[10] !Pop 2010[11] ![12] !% 2000!% 2010!
White alone (NH)71,10180,991style='background: #ffffe6; 78,98272.93%69.24%style='background: #ffffe6; 61.35%
Black or African American alone (NH)20,34724,245style='background: #ffffe6; 29,86820.70%20.73%style='background: #ffffe6; 23.20%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)440533style='background: #ffffe6; 5730.45%0.46%style='background: #ffffe6; 0.45%
Asian alone (NH)1,2161,873style='background: #ffffe6; 2,3411.24%1.60%style='background: #ffffe6; 1.82%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)79154style='background: #ffffe6; 1130.08%0.13%style='background: #ffffe6; 0.09%
Other race alone (NH)94128style='background: #ffffe6; 4800.10%0.13%style='background: #ffffe6; 0.37%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)1,3702,029style='background: #ffffe6; 6,1521.39%1.73%style='background: #ffffe6; 4.78%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)3,0637,026style='background: #ffffe6; 10,2373.12%6.01%style='background: #ffffe6; 7.95%
Total98,310116,979style='background: #ffffe6; 128,746100.00%100.00%style='background: #ffffe6; 100.00%

At the 2020 United States census, there were 128,746 people, 49,735 households, and 33,963 families residing in the parish. According to the 2010 U.S. census, there were 116,979 people, 62,000 households, and 37,500 families residing in the parish. The population density was 142sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 49,000 housing units at an average density of 48/mi2.

The racial makeup of the parish in 2010 was 70.66% White, 18.52% Black or African American, 0.82% Native American, 2.18% Asian, 0.18% Pacific Islander, 1.00% from other races, and 1.65% from two or more races; 8.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino American of any race. According to the 2019 American Community Survey, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 65.9% non-Hispanic white, 23.2% African American, 0.7% Native American, 2.2% Asian, 0.9% some other race, 1.7% two or more races, and 6.9% Hispanic or Latino American of any race.[13] In 2020, its racial and ethnic makeup was 61.35% non-Hispanic white, 23.2% African American, 0.45% Native American, 1.82% Asian, 0.09% Pacific Islander, 5.15% multiracial, and 7.95% Hispanic or Latino American of any race, reflecting nationwide demographic trends of mass diversification.[14] [15]

Law, government and politics

Bossier Parish is governed by a 12-member elected body: the Bossier Parish Police Jury (which is equivalent to a county commission in other states). Members are elected from single-member districts.The current members of the police jury are:

Since the late 20th century, the non-Hispanic white population of the parish has shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party (as have most conservative whites in Louisiana and other Southern U.S. states). The state was a one-party state dominated by the Democratic Party from the period after the turn of the century (when most Blacks were disenfranchised in Louisiana) to the mid-20th century.

Bossier Parish has since reliably voted for Republican candidates in most contested U.S. presidential elections. Since 1952, George Wallace, the former governor of Alabama who ran in 1968 on the American Independent Party ticket, has been the only non-Republican to carry Bossier Parish.[17] [18]

In 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona won in Bossier Parish with 32,713 votes (71.4 percent) over Democrat Barack H. Obama of Illinois, who received 12,703 votes (27.8 percent).[19] In 2012, Mitt Romney polled 34,988 votes (72 percent) in Bossier Parish (2,275 more ballots than McCain drew in 2008). President Obama won 12,956 (26.6) of the votes in Bossier Parish.[20]

National Guard

The 165th CSS (Combat Service Support) Battalion is headquartered in Bossier City. This unit was deployed to Iraq in 2008. Also located in Bossier City is the 156TH Army Band which deployed as part of the 256th Infantry Brigade in 2010 to Iraq.

Education

Bossier Parish School Board operates public schools in the parish.[21]

It is in the service areas of Bossier Parish Community College and Northwest Louisiana Technical Community College.[22]

Notable people

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: QuickFacts: Bossier Parish, Louisiana. August 19, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau.
  2. Web site: Find a County . June 7, 2011 . National Association of Counties . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx . May 31, 2011 .
  3. Web site: Bossier City History. City of Bossier City. www.bossiercity.org. Louise. Stinson. September 3, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150206222741/http://bossiercity.org/Bossier-City-History/. February 6, 2015.
  4. Web site: About Bossier Parish. Anonymous. Bossier Parish. www.bossierparishla.gov. December 14, 2014. November 19, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141119065523/http://www.bossierparishla.gov/About.aspx. dead.
  5. Web site: About Bossier Parish . Bossier Parish Police Jury . April 12, 2024.
  6. [John D. Winters]
  7. https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-third-edition-summary.pdf Lynching in America, Third Edition: Supplement by County
  8. Web site: 2010 Census Gazetteer Files . https://web.archive.org/web/20130928155956/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_22.txt . dead . September 28, 2013 . United States Census Bureau . August 20, 2014 . August 22, 2012 .
  9. Web site: Kay McMahan, "Bossier Parish, LA, Towns". usgwarchives.net. July 2, 2013.
  10. Web site: P004: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Bossier Parish, Louisiana. United States Census Bureau . January 26, 2024.
  11. Web site: P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Bossier Parish, Louisiana. United States Census Bureau . January 26, 2024.
  12. Web site: P2: Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Bossier Parish, Louisiana. United States Census Bureau . January 26, 2024.
  13. Web site: Geography Profile: Bossier Parish, Louisiana. live. August 19, 2021. data.census.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20210819153910/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US22015 . August 19, 2021 .
  14. Web site: Explore Census Data. December 29, 2021. data.census.gov.
  15. Web site: The Chance That Two People Chosen at Random Are of Different Race or Ethnicity Groups Has Increased Since 2010 . May 27, 2022 . Census.gov.
  16. Web site: Edwin T. Shell - Police Jurors - Bossier Parish Police Jury - Your Online Portal to Bossier Parish Government . May 12, 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070808163623/http://policejury.mybossier.com/pj/jurors_details.asp?ID=12 . August 8, 2007 .
  17. http://www.uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/comparemaps.php?year=2008&fips=22&f=1&off=0&elect=0 David Leip's Presidential election Atlas (Louisiana electoral maps
  18. http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1952.htm Geographie Electorale
  19. Web site: Bossier Parish presidential election returns, November 4, 2008. staticresults.sos.la.gov. November 11, 2012.
  20. Web site: Bossier Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012. staticresults.sos.la.gov. November 11, 2012.
  21. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Bossier Parish, LA. https://web.archive.org/web/20220731234548/https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/PL20/st22_la/schooldistrict_maps/c22015_bossier/DC20SD_C22015.pdf . July 31, 2022 . live. U.S. Census Bureau. July 31, 2022. - Text list
  22. Web site: Our Colleges. Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges. March 9, 2024. shows Bossier Parish in the service areas of BPCC and NLTCC.
  23. Web site: Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012 . legis.state.la.us . July 24, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091229154214/http://www.legis.state.la.us/members/h1812-2012.pdf . December 29, 2009 .
  24. Web site: My Hometown: Plain Dealing, Louisiana. oocities.org. March 23, 2015.
  25. Web site: Roy Burrell. house.louisiana.gov. April 29, 2015.
  26. Web site: Col. E. S. Dortch Dies at Atlanta: Bossier Veteran Who Fought Under Stonewall Jackson Succumbs. The Shreveport Times through findagrave.com. March 23, 2015.
  27. Web site: Not Guilty. cowboysforchrist.net. February 6, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140221232529/http://www.cowboysforchrist.net/thechristianranchmansep_oct2012.pdf. February 21, 2014.
  28. News: List of Louisiana Wrongful Convictions Overturned since 1966, November 23, 2003. Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. February 6, 2014. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120206154725/http://truthinjustice.org/LA-list.htm. February 6, 2012.
  29. Web site: About Ryan. rayangatti.com. March 30, 2016. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160507064859/http://www.ryangatti.com/about/. May 7, 2016.
  30. Book: Huffman. Booker T with Andrew William Wright. Booker T: From Prison to Promise: Life Before the Squared Circle. 2012. Medallion Press. Aurora, Ill. 978-1605424682.
  31. Web site: Mike Johnson State Representative. mikejohnsonlouisiana.com. March 30, 2015.

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