Allen Parish (french: Paroisse d'Allen) is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

located in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 25,764. The

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Oberlin Oberlin may refer to: ; Places in the United States * Oberlin Township, Decatur County, Kansas ** Oberlin, Kansas, a city in the township * Oberlin, Louisiana, a town * Oberlin, Ohio, a city * Oberlin, Licking County, Ohio, a ghost town * Oberlin, ...

and the largest city is Oakdale. Allen Parish is in southwestern Louisiana, southwest of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

. Allen Parish is named for former

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

general and Governor of Louisiana

Henry Watkins Allen Henry Watkins Allen (April 29, 1820April 22, 1866) was a member of the Confederate States Army and the Texian Army as a soldier, also serving as a military leader, politician, writer, slave owner, and sugar cane planter. He had made it to th ...

. It was separated in 1912 from the larger

Calcasieu Parish Calcasieu Parish (; french: Paroisse de Calcasieu) is a parish located on the southwestern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,785. The parish seat is Lake Charles. Calcasieu Parish is part of ...

to the southwest.

Leatherwood Museum

On September 27, 2008, the Allen Parish Tourist Commission opened Leatherwood Museum in Oakdale in a two-story house which served during the early 20th century as a hospital where women waited on the second-floor

balcony A balcony (from it, balcone, "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. Types The traditional Maltese balcony is ...

to deliver their babies. The museum focuses on the

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

and

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including Beam (structure), beams and plank (wood), planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as fini ...

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water.

Major highways

* U.S. Highway 165 * U.S. Highway 190 *

Louisiana Highway 10 Louisiana Highway 10 (LA 10) is a state highway located in southern Louisiana. It runs in an east–west direction from U.S. Highway 171 (US 171) south of Leesville to the Mississippi state line east of Bogalusa. The route connects ...

* Louisiana Highway 26

Adjacent parishes

Vernon Parish Vernon Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Vernon'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,334. The parish seat is Leesville. Bordered on the west by the Sabine River, the parish was founde ...

(northwest) *

Rapides Parish Rapides Parish () (french: Paroisse des Rapides) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 131,613. The parish seat is Alexandria, which developed along the Red River of the South. ''Rapides' ...

(northeast) * Evangeline Parish (east) * Jefferson Davis Parish (south) *

Beauregard Parish Beauregard Parish (french: Paroisse de Beauregard) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 35,654. The parish seat is DeRidder. The parish was formed on January 1, 1913. Beauregard Parish c ...

(west)

Waterways

* Bundick Creek *

Calcasieu River The Calcasieu River ( ; french: Rivière Calcasieu) is a river on the Gulf Coast in southwestern Louisiana. Approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 20, ...

* Ouiski Chitto Creek * Six Mile Creek * Ten Mile Creek

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 22,750 people, 7,925 households, and 5,566 families residing in the parish.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 25,440 people, 8,102 households, and 5,930 families residing in the parish. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 33 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 9,157 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 71.90%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 24.60%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 1.72% Native American, 0.57% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Ocea ...

, 0.24% from other races, and 0.96% from two or more races. 4.50% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. 6.22% reported speaking French or

Cajun French Louisiana French ( frc, français de la Louisiane; lou, françé la lwizyàn) is an umbrella term for the dialects and varieties of the French language spoken traditionally by French Louisianians in colonial Lower Louisiana. As of today Louisi ...

at home, while 4.68% speak

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

. There were 8,102 households, out of which 36.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.00% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 15.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.80% were non-families. 24.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.12. In the parish the population was spread out, with 24.60% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 33.40% from 25 to 44, 20.80% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 126.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 133.50 males. The median income for a household in the parish was $27,777, and the median income for a family was $33,920. Males had a median income of $32,371 versus $17,154 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the parish was $13,101. About 17.90% of families and 19.90% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 22.60% of those under age 18 and 21.50% of those age 65 or over. The most populated city as of the 2000 census was Oakdale, LA.

Politics

Allen was a strongly Democratic parish in Presidential and Congressional elections; the last Republican to win a majority in the parish before 2000 was

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. Starting in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, when

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

narrowly won the parish, Allen has become a Republican stronghold; John McCain won nearly two-thirds of the parish's vote in

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

. Allen is part of Louisiana's 4th congressional district, held by Republican

Mike Johnson James Michael Johnson (born January 30, 1972) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since October 25, 20 ...

. In the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 re ...

Allen is part of the 32nd district, held by Republican R. DeWitt Carrier. In the

Louisiana Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is composed ...

Allen is part of the 28th district, held by Republican Heather Cloud.

Education

Residents are zoned to Allen Parish Schools It is in the service area of Sowela Technical Community College.

National Guard

Detachment 1, B Company 3-156TH Infantry Battalion of the 256TH IBCT resided in

Oakdale, Louisiana Oakdale is a city in Allen Parish in south Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,780 at the 2010 census. Oakdale was founded as "Dunnsville" by William T. Dunn. The history of Allen Parish is preserved at the Leatherwood Museum, ...

. This unit deployed twice to

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in 2004-5 and 2010. Armory was closed, elements moved to Camp Beauregard.

Communities

City

* Oakdale (largest municipality)

Towns

* Elizabeth * Kinder *

(parish seat)

Village

* Reeves

Unincorporated communities

Bel BEL can be an abbreviation for: * The ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code for Belgium * ''BEL'' or bell character in the C0 control code set * Belarusian language, in the ISO 639-2 and SIL country code lists * Bharat Electronics Limited, an Indian stat ...

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemica ...

* Canton * Cherry Grove * Coverdale (also in Jefferson Davis Parish) * Elder *

Grant Grant or Grants may refer to: Places *Grant County (disambiguation) Australia * Grant, Queensland, a locality in the Barcaldine Region, Queensland, Australia United Kingdom * Castle Grant United States *Grant, Alabama * Grant, Inyo County, ...

Lauderdale Lauderdale is the valley of the Leader Water (a tributary of the Tweed) in the Scottish Borders. It contains the town of Lauder, as well as Earlston. The valley is traversed from end to end by the A68 trunk road, which runs from Darlington t ...

Le Blanc Le Blanc (; oc, Lo Blanc; la, Oblincum Cuborum) is a commune and a subprefecture of the department of Indre, and the region of Centre-Val de Loire, central France. Geography Le Blanc is the main city of the Parc naturel régional de la B ...

* Mittie

Notable people

Hoyle Granger Hoyle John Granger ( ;
Retrieved July 29, 2020 born March 7, 1944) is a former collegiate a ...

(1944-), former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

player in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the maj ...

. Member of the

Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame The Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is located in Jackson, Mississippi. The hall of fame was established in 1961 and is currently located in a museum that displays the achievements of Mississippi athletes. The museum opened on July 4, 1 ...

and

Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame The Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame is located in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame & Northwest Louisiana History Museum – Natchitoches in a new facility in the downtown historic district in Natchitoches, Louisiana. After years of planning and con ...

* William J. "Bill" Dodd (1909–1991),

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

from 1948-1952 and Louisiana state representative from 1940-1948 *

Faye Emerson Faye Margaret Emerson (July 8, 1917 – March 9, 1983) was an American film and stage actress and television interviewer who gained fame as a film actress in the 1940s before transitioning to television in the 1950s and hosting her own talk show ...

(1917-1983), film and stage actress and television interviewer * Gilbert Franklin Hennigan (1883-1960), Louisiana state senator from 1944 to 1956. * Dorothy Sue Hill (1939-), rancher and retired educator. Current

state representative for the 32nd District. *

E. Holman Jones E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. E or e may also refer to: Commerce and transportation * €, the symbol for the euro, the European Union's standard currency unit * ℮, the estimated sign, an EU symbol indicating that the wei ...

(1926-2014),

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

veteran of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and Louisiana state representative from 1968-1972 * Coleman Lindsey (1892–1968), Louisiana state senator from 1924-1928 and 1932-1939.

Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana The lieutenant governor of Louisiana (french: Lieutenant-Gouverneur de la Louisiane) is the second highest state office in Louisiana. The current lieutenant governor is Billy Nungesser, a Republican. The lieutenant governor is also the commissio ...

from 1939-1940 *

Mary Evelyn Parker Mary Evelyn Parker (November 28, 1920 – January 17, 2015) was an American education, newspaper editor, and politician who served as the Treasurer of Louisiana from 1968 to 1987. She was the first woman to serve in the position. Early life an ...

(1920-2015), first female

Treasurer of Louisiana The Louisiana State Treasurer is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of the state government of Louisiana responsible for overseeing the financial operations of state government. The state treasurer is an elected position, wi ...

from 1968-1987 * Douglas B. Fournet (1943-1968),

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer and

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

* Leroy Johnson (1919-1944),

soldier and posthumous recipient of the

during

* Beau Jocque (1953-1999), Louisiana French Creole

zydeco Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. ...

musician and songwriter * Blake Trahan (1993-), former professional baseball shortstop with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Roy Brown Roy Brown may refer to: Arts, music and entertainment * Roy Brown (blues musician) (1920/25–1981), American blues musician who was a pioneer of rock and roll * Roy Brown (Puerto Rican musician) (born 1945), Puerto Rican musician and folk singer ...

(1925-1981), R&B singer, songwriter, and musician

References

External links

* *
Allen Parish Sheriff's Office
Geology * Heinrich, P. V., J. Snead, and R. P. McCulloh, 2002
''Lake Charles 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * Heinrich, P. V., J. Snead, and R. P. McCulloh, 2003
''Crowley 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * Snead, J., P. V. Heinrich, and R. P. McCulloh, 2002a
''Ville Platte 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. * Snead, J., P. V. Heinrich, and R. P. McCulloh, 2002b
''De Ridder 30 x 60 minute geologic quadrangle.''
Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. {{authority control Louisiana parishes 1912 establishments in Louisiana Populated places established in 1912 Parishes in Central Louisiana