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Grant Parish, Louisiana

Grant Parish (Paroisse de Grant) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Colfax (pronounced COLL FAX). It is part of the Alexandria, Louisiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area and Red River valley. As of 2000, the population was 18,698.

History

It was organized in 1869 during Reconstruction and named for U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The parish seat is named for Grant's first vice president, Schuyler M. Colfax (pronounced COLE FAX) of Indiana.

Grant Parish had the highest growth rate in central Louisiana in the five-year period between 2001 and 2006, according to projections of the United States Census Bureau. The parish has had a 4.3 percent growth rate compared to 1.7 percent for its larger neighbor, Rapides Parish. Some neighboring parishes, including Winn, have experienced population decreases.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 665 square miles (1,721 km²), of which, 645 square miles (1,671 km²) of it is land and 19 square miles (50 km²) of it (2.93%) is water.

Major highways

Adjacent parishes

National protected area

Kisatchie National Forest (part)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 18,698 people, 7,073 households, and 5,276 families residing in the parish. The population density was 29 people per square mile (11/km²). There were 8,531 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 85.43% White, 11.88% Black or African American, 0.89% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.36% from other races, and 1.28% from two or more races. 1.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

The decreases in population from 1910-1920, and from 1940-1960, were chiefly caused by different phases of the Great Migration, as African Americans left segregation and oppression of the South to seek better opportunities in the North, during the first phase, and in the West, especially California's defense industry, in the second phase. Tens of thousands of migrants left Louisiana during times of agricultural difficulties and the collapse of agricultural labor after mechanization.

In 2000, there were 7,073 households out of which 36.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.20% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.40% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the parish the population was spread out with 28.30% under the age of 18, 7.90% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 12.70% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 96.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $29,622, and the median income for a family was $34,878. Males had a median income of $31,235 versus $20,470 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $14,410. About 16.90% of families and 21.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.30% of those under age 18 and 16.20% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Education

Public schools in Grant Parish are operated by the Grant Parish School Board.

Notable natives and residents

Billy Ray Chandler, a Democrat from Dry Prong, won election in 2006 to the Louisiana House of Representatives.
Caledonia Palestine Tyson Long (1860-1913), the mother of Governors Huey Pierce Long, Jr., and Earl Kemp Long, was born at Packton in Grant Parish in the vicinity of the Tyson Cemetery.
Charlton Lyons, a gubernatorial nominee in 1964 who is sometimes considered "the father of the modern Republican Party in Louisiana", was briefly a school prinicpal in Pollock in eastern Grant Parish.
W.L. Rambo (1917-1984), member of both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature from Georgetown.
Joe D. Smith, Jr. (1922-2008), the publisher of the Alexandria Daily Town Talk from 1962 until his retirement in 1996. He was born in the community of Selma in northeastern Grant Parish south of Georgetown.
Stephen Lee "Steve" Gunn, From 1992-1996, represented Grant Parish in the legislature by an Independent.
Ed Head (1918-1980), Major League Baseball player who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers