DeSoto Parish, Louisiana explained
| DeSoto Parish, Louisiana |
| Official Name: | Parish of DeSoto |
| 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: | 1843 |
| Named For: | settler, Marcel DeSoto |
| Seat Type: | Parish seat |
| Seat: | Mansfield |
| Seat1 Type: | Largest municipality |
| Seat1: | Stonewall (area)
Mansfield (population) |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 895 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 876 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 19 |
| Area Blank1 Title: | percentage |
| Area Blank1 Sq Mi: | 2.1 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Total: | 26812 |
| 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 |
DeSoto Parish (Spanish; Castilian: Parroquia de DeSoto|link=; French: Paroisse DeSoto) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843.[1] At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 26,812.[2] Its parish seat is Mansfield.[3] DeSoto Parish is part of the 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] The parish was in fact named after the unrelated Marcel DeSoto, who led the first group of European settlers there, to a settlement historically known as Bayou Pierre.[5] The parish's name is also commonly misspelled following the explorer's name as "De Soto Parish," but it is properly spelled following the settler's name as "DeSoto Parish."[6]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of, of which is land and (2.1%) is water.[7]
Major highways
Adjacent parishes
National protected area
Communities
City
- Mansfield (parish seat and largest municipality)
Towns
Villages
Unincorporated areas
Census-designated places
Unincorporated communities
Former communities
Demographics
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,
[8] there were 10,821 households.
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.[9]
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, and the average household size was 2.50.
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.[10]
Notable people
- Larry Bagley (born 1949), incoming Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo, Desoto, and Sabine parishes
- Terry Bradshaw (born 1948), Hall of Fame professional football player, sportscaster, singer, and actor
- Richard Burford (born 1946), current Louisiana state representative
- Vida Blue (born 1949–2023), professional baseball player
- C.L. Bryant (born 1956), Baptist minister and radio talk show host
- Riemer Calhoun (1909–1994), state senator from 1944 to 1952 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
- Joe T. Cawthorn (1911–1967), state senator from 1940 to 1944 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
- Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana State Senator
- Joe Henry Cooper (1920–1980), Louisiana state representative
- Kenny Ray Cox (born 1957), Louisiana state representative and former United States Army officer
- Milton 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 Parish
- George Dement (1922–2014), mayor of Bossier City
- Joseph 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[11]
- John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), United States Air Force lieutenant general
- Albert Lewis (1960-), professional football player
- Curtis W. McCoy, mayor of Mansfield
- Garnie W. McGinty (1900–1984), historian at Louisiana Tech University and school principal
- Mack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football player
- B. H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), politician
- C. O. Simpkins, Sr. (1925–2019 from Mansfield), African-American state representative, dentist, and civil rights activist in Shreveport[12]
- O.C. Smith (1932–2001), singer
See also
Further reading
External links
- De Soto. De Soto, II. A N. W. parish of Louisiana . x.
Notes and References
- Web site: DeSoto Parish. www.sfasu.edu. Center for Regional Heritage Research. September 3, 2014.
- Web site: QuickFacts: DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. August 19, 2021. U.S. Census Bureau.
- 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 .
- Book: The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States . Govt. Print. Off. . Gannett, Henry . 1905 . 105.
- Means, Emilia Gay Griffith, and Liz Chrysler. DeSoto Parish. Arcadia Publishing, 2011, p. 8.
- Web site: DeSoto Parish Clerk of Court – Honorable Jeremy M. Evans. www.desotoparishclerk.org. en-US. March 7, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20190727170616/https://desotoparishclerk.org/. July 27, 2019. dead.
- 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 27, 2014 . August 22, 2012 .
- Web site: Geography Profile: DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. live. August 19, 2021. data.census.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20210819155728/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/profile?g=0500000US22031 . August 19, 2021 .
- Web site: 2019 Demographic and Housing Estimates. live. August 19, 2021. data.census.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20210819155727/https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US22031&tid=ACSDP5Y2019.DP05&hidePreview=true . August 19, 2021 .
- Web site: Our Colleges. Louisiana's Technical and Community Colleges. June 3, 2021.
- News: Funeral for Pike Hall at 11 A.M. Today – Prominent Attorney, Civic Leader Succumbs After Brief Illness. The Shreveport Times. December 17, 1945. 1, 6. March 26, 2015.
- Web site: C. O. Simpkins, Sr.: Civil Rights Champion. cosimpkins.com. September 1, 2015.
