Lincoln Parish (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Paroisse de Lincoln'') is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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 so ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,396. The parish was created on February 24, 1873, from parts of Bienville, Claiborne, Union, and Jackson parishes, and its boundaries have changed only once (in 1877). This makes Lincoln Parish one of the Reconstruction parishes. 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 five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

was

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from the parish's creation in 1873 until 1884, when a parish-wide vote moved it to the new railroad town of Ruston. Lincoln Parish comprises the Ruston micropolitan statistical area.

History

Since the late 20th century,

archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...

have dated eleven sites in northern Louisiana where thousands of years ago,

indigenous cultures There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

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 Brake Watson Brake is an archaeological site in present-day Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, from the Archaic period. Dated to about 5400 years ago (approx. 3500 BCE), Watson Brake is considered the oldest earthwork mound complex in North America. It is o ...

, 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 Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

; in 1873 it was formed from land that had belonged to Bienville, Claiborne,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

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. The parish is named for the late U.S. president

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...

. Lincoln Parish is usually Republican in contested elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee

Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...

won the parish with 10,739 votes (56.5 percent) to

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack H. Obama, the

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

who polled 7,956 ballots (41.9 percent).

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, 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 U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 20 Interstate 20 (I‑20) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States. I-20 runs beginning at an interchange with I-10 in Reeves County, Texas, and ending at an interchange with I-95 in Florence, South Carolina. B ...

U.S. Highway 63 * US 80

U.S. Highway 80 * US 167

U.S. Highway 167 U.S. Route 167 is a north-south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Highway within the U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas. It runs for from Ash Flat, Arkansas at U.S. Route 62/U.S. Route 412 to Abbeville, Louisiana at Louis ...

Louisiana Highway 33 Louisiana Highway 33 (LA 33) is a state highway located in northern Louisiana. It runs in a southwest to northeast direction from U.S. Highway 80 (US 80) in Ruston to the Arkansas state line north of Marion. The route begins east ...

* Louisiana Highway 146

Adjacent parishes

Union Parish Union Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de l'Union'') is a parish located in the north central section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,107. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on M ...

(north) *

Ouachita Parish Ouachita Parish () is a parish located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 160,368. The parish seat and largest city is Monroe. The parish was formed in 1807. Ouachita Parish is par ...

(east) *

Jackson Parish Jackson Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Jackson'') is a parish in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,031. The parish seat is Jonesboro. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Cla ...

(south) *

Bienville Parish Bienville Parish (, ) is a parish located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 12,981. The parish seat and most populous municipality is Arcadia. The highest natural point in Loui ...

(southwest) *

Claiborne Parish Claiborne Parish () is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

(northwest)

Communities

Cities

Grambling Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana, United States. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African A ...

* Ruston (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

Dubach Dubach is a town in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 908 in 2020. Dubach is part of the Ruston micropolitan statistical area. History Although there were settlers in the Dubach area as early as the late-1840s, the ...

Villages

Choudrant Choudrant is a village in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 845 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a t ...

* Downsville * Simsboro

Unincorporated communities

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

* Mount Zion * Pleasant Hill * Hico * Hilly * Unionville

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 48,396 people, 17,712 households, and 10,407 families residing in the parish.

Education

Lincoln Parish residents are zoned to Lincoln Parish School Board schools. The parish is home to

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

in Ruston, and

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana, United States. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African ...

in Grambling. Bethel Christian School is located in Ruston. Ruston High School is located in Ruston. Lincoln Preparatory School is located in Grambling. Choudrant Elementary School and Choudrant High School are located in Choudrant. Cedar Creek (K - 12) is located in Ruston

National Guard

527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

, the parish seat. This battalion is part of the

225th Engineer Brigade The 225th Engineer Brigade is a combat heavy engineer brigade of the Louisiana Army National Guard. It is one of the largest engineer formations in the United States Army National Guard. The 225th Engineer Brigade is headquartered at Camp Beaur ...

of the

Louisiana National Guard The Louisiana National Guard (; ) is the armed force through which the Louisiana Military Department executes the U.S. state of Louisiana's security policy. Consisting of the Louisiana Army National Guard, a reserve component of the United States ...

Attractions

* Eddie G. Robinson Museum * Lincoln Parish Park * Louisiana Military Museum * Lincoln Parish Museum * Dixie Center for the Arts * North Central Louisiana Arts Council * Ruston Community Theatre * Celebrity Theatre (movie theater) * Annual Peach Festival held in Ruston * Annual Chicken Festival held in Dubach * Kingdom Collectives Film Festival held in Ruston

Politics

References

External links

Lincoln Parish
{{authority control Louisiana parishes Ruston micropolitan area 1873 establishments in Louisiana Populated places established in 1873