Tensas Parish, Louisiana
Encyclopedia
Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state
of Louisiana
. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph
. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes.
The name Tensas is derived from the Taensa
people.
groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Village and mound sites once built by these peoples have now become archaeological sites. One example is the Flowery Mound
, a rectangular platform mound
just east of St. Joseph measuring 10 feet (3 m) in height and 165 feet (50.3 m) by 130 feet (39.6 m) at its base and a summit measuring 50 feet (15.2 m) square. Core samples taken during investigations at the site have revealed the mound was built in a single stage and because the fill types can still be differentiated it suggests the mound is relatively young. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in a midden
under the mound reveals that the site was occupied from 996–1162 during the Coles Creek period
. The mound was built over the midden between 1200–1541 during the Plaquemine
/Mississippian period
. The corners are oriented in the cardinal directions. Several others include Balmoral Mounds
, Ghost Site Mounds
, and Sundown Mounds
.
, private citizens, particularly planters, organized, equipped, and transported military companies. In Tensas Parish, cotton
planter A.C. Watson provided one company of artillery with more than $40,000. In April 1862, Governor Thomas Overton Moore
, reconciled to the fall of New Orleans
, ordered the destruction of all cotton in those areas in danger of occupation by Union forces. Along the levees and atop Indian
mounds in Tensas Parish, thousands of bale
s of cotton burned for days. At the time, Tensas Parish was second only to Carroll Parish (subsequently divided into East
and West Carroll
) in the overall production of cotton in Louisiana.
Near Newellton
is the Winter Quarters Plantation
restoration, where Union General Ulysses S. Grant
and his men spent the winter of 1862-1863, prior to launching the assault in the spring and summer of 1863 against Vicksburg
, Mississippi
, to the northeast of Tensas Parish.
In 1864, Captain Joseph C. Lea of the Missouri
guerrillas, with two hundred men, moved into Tensas Parish and came upon a fortification held by four hundred Federal soldiers under the command of Colonel Alfred W. Eller. Lea inflicted heavy casualties and drove the men to the Mississippi River, where they boarded their boats. Lea seized a federal warehouse with gunpowder, groceries, and medical supplies. Facing attacks from the Union forces who tried to return to their fortification, Lea managed to secure seventy-five Federal wagons and cotton carts, all of which he dispatched to Shreveport
.
Franklin Plantation, owned by a physician, Allen T. Bowie, was considered the most elegant of the antebellum homes about the oxbow lake
, Lake St. Joseph, near Newellton. A Missouri
Confederate wrote that the area was "unsurpassed in beauty and richness by any of the same extent . . . in the world." Union officers in charge of the XIII and XVII Corps kept close watch on the troops to prevent looting as the men marched southward headed indirectly to Vicksburg. When General William Tecumseh Sherman
's XV Corps joined Grant's forces, however, the soldiers became lawless. On May 6, 1863, rowdies from General James Madison Tuttle
's division burned most of the mansions which fronted Lake St. Joseph, including Dr. Bowie's beloved Franklin Plantation.
Toward the end of the war, schools were established for African American
children in northeastern Louisiana, including Tensas and Concordia
parishes, some through the sponsorship of the American Missionary Association
. According to the historian
John D. Winters
of Louisiana Tech University
, the students "ranged in age from four to forty, were poorly clothed, loved to fight, and were 'extremely filthy, their hair filled with vermin.' Religious instruction, with readings from the Bible
and prayers, was emphasizsed while reading from primers and studying spelling and writing rounded out the course work. The program stressed 'a maximum of memory and a minimum of reasoning.' The schools sponsored by the Christians societies were gradually taken over by a board of education and supported by special property and crop taxes. These schools operated primarily along the Mississippi and few, if any, were established in the interior [of Louisiana]."
By the turn of the 20th century, with Civil War memories still present in the people's minds, St. Joseph numbered no more than 720 residents (and Tensas Parish, 19,070), most having been engaged in cotton growing and related river work.
s were permitted to register, there were no black voters on the Tensas Parish rolls. Tensas was hence the last of Louisiana's sixty-four parishes to enfranchise African-Americans.
In 1962, Tensas Parish, with only whites registered, gave the Republican
Taylor W. O'Hearn
, later a state representative
from Shreveport
, 48.2 percent of the vote in a race for the U.S. Senate against incumbent
Democrat
Russell B. Long
. Tensas Parish also voted for Republican presidential nominee Barry M. Goldwater in 1964, when few blacks were yet registered.
After the passage of the Voting Rights Act
of 1965, large numbers of Tensas Parish blacks began registering to vote. These new black voters were staunchly Democratic; since then, the parish has been a Democratic stronghold. Some white Democrats, however, have continued to win some public offices in the parish, including Sheriff
Rickey A. Jones and several school board members.
Tensas Parish was de jure
desegregated until the fall of 1970; however, the schools remain de facto segregated by parental decisions. The majority of white students attend the private Tensas Academy in St. Joseph; nearly all African American pupils attend the public schools, where few whites are registered; enrollment in the public system, now based in St. Joseph, has declined in recent years. The former Newellton High School
in Newellton and Waterproof High School and Lisbon Elementary School in Waterproof have closed because of decreased enrollments. Tensas High School
in St. Joseph is the latest consolidation in 2006 of the former Joseph Moore Davidson High School of St. Joseph as well as Newellton and Waterproof high schools.
In May 2010, only three whites out of forty students graduated from Tensas High School. Ten whites graduated from Tensas Academy, and four whites from the Newellton Christian Academy.
candidate, U.S. Senator John Bell
of Tennessee
, who pledged merely to support the Constitution of the United States, the Union, and the "enforcement of the laws." Louisiana as a whole narrowly cast its electoral votes for the Southern Democratic choice, Vice President
John C. Breckinridge
of Kentucky
. Regular Democratic nominee Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois
ran poorly in Louisiana, and the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln
, was not listed on the state ballot.
Historically, Tensas Parish is heavily Democrat in orientation. In the 2008 presidential contest, the successful Democrat Barack Obama
of Illinois, won Tensas Parish, 1,646 (54.1 percent) to 1,367 (45.0) for the Republican standard-bearer, U.S. Senator John S. McCain of Arizona
. In 2007, however, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal
, polled a plurality of 40 percent in Tensas Parish. The parish gave a plurality of 48 percent to Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
. Both Jindal and Dardenne were easy statewide winners in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. A GOP candidate even won a seat on the Tensas Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body, with the victory of Emmett L. Adams, Jr., in District 1 over fellow Republican Patrick Glass. Adams prevailed, 207-179 (54-46 percent).
In 2004, the Democratic ticket of John F. Kerry and John Edwards
carried Tensas Parish, 1,460 to 1,453 for President George W. Bush
and Richard B. Cheney. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore
, won Tensas Parish by 250 votes. The Democratic electors polled 1,580 votes that year to 1,330 for the Bush-Cheney ticket.
In the 2004 U.S. Senate primary election, Tensas Parish gave a plurality to the Republican candidate, Congressman David Vitter
of St. Tammany Parish. Vitter polled 1,145 votes (41 percent) compared to 881 ballots (32 percent) for his chief Democratic rival, Congressman Christopher John
of Crowley
, the seat of Acadia Parish. There was no general election
to determine if Vitter would have surpassed 50 percent plus one vote to obtain an outright majority in this traditionally Democratic parish. http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcmp&rqsdta=11070001017141
Prior to 1968, each parish regardless of population had at least one member in the Louisiana House of Representatives
. The last member to represent only Tensas Parish was Democrat S. S. DeWitt
(1914–1998) of Newellton and later St. Joseph. DeWitt won the legislative post in 1964 by unseating 20-year incumbent J.C. Seaman of Waterproof. He lost the seat in the 1971 primary to Lantz Womack
of Winnsboro
in Franklin Parish
.
Between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Tensas Parish lost 173 residents, or 2.9 percent of its population. Police Jury Vice President Jane Merriett Netterville (born ca. 1956) of St. Joseph expressed surprise at the latest exodus figures considering that some had moved there after Hurrican Katrina. "Maybe the loss was the people who died. We have a large elderly population," she told the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Netterville explained that younger people leave Tensas Parish because of the scarcity of higher-paying jobs.
Tensas Parish has one principal cemetery
, Legion Memorial, north of Newellton.
St. Joseph is located adjacent to the Mississippi River levee system.
There are three communities in the parish: Newellton, St. Joseph, and Waterproof. Newellton was founded by the planter and attorney
John David Stokes Newell, Sr.
, who named it for his father Edward D. Newell
, a North Carolina
native. All three communities are linked by Highway 65, which passes just to the west of each town. The developed Lake Bruin State Park
lies near St. Joseph. Lake Bruin
is an oxbow lake
created by the meandering of the Mississippi River
.
of 2000, there were 6,618 people, 2,416 households, and 1,635 families residing in the parish. The population density
was 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 3,359 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 43.43% White
, 55.38% Black
or African American
, 0.05% Native American
, 0.12% Asian
, 0.29% from other races
, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were Hispanic
or Latino
of any race.
There were 2,416 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.10% were married couples
living together, 20.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 29.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the parish the population was spread out with 26.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $19,799, and the median income for a family was $25,739. Males had a median income of $26,636 versus $16,781 for females. The per capita income
for the parish was $12,622. About 30.00% of families and 36.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.20% of those under age 18 and 29.60% of those age 65 or over.
.
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. The seat of the parish is St. Joseph
St. Joseph, Louisiana
St. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
. In 2010, the population of Tensas Parish was 5,252; it is the least-populous of all sixty-four parishes.
The name Tensas is derived from the Taensa
Taensa
The Taensa were a people of northeastern Louisiana. They lived on Lake Saint Joseph west of the Mississippi River, between the Yazoo River and Saint Catherine Creek...
people.
Prehistory
Tensas Parish was the home to many succeeding Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Village and mound sites once built by these peoples have now become archaeological sites. One example is the Flowery Mound
Flowery Mound
Flowery Mound is an archaeological site in Tensas Parish, Louisiana with components from the Late Coles Creek and Plaquemine-Mississippian culture which dates from approximately 950–1541.-Description:...
, a rectangular platform mound
Platform mound
A platform mound is any earthwork or mound intended to support a structure or activity.-Eastern North America:The indigenous peoples of North America built substructure mounds for well over a thousand years starting in the Archaic period and continuing through the Woodland period...
just east of St. Joseph measuring 10 feet (3 m) in height and 165 feet (50.3 m) by 130 feet (39.6 m) at its base and a summit measuring 50 feet (15.2 m) square. Core samples taken during investigations at the site have revealed the mound was built in a single stage and because the fill types can still be differentiated it suggests the mound is relatively young. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in a midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
under the mound reveals that the site was occupied from 996–1162 during the Coles Creek period
Coles Creek culture
Coles Creek culture is a Late Woodland archaeological culture in the Lower Mississippi valley in the southern United States. It followed the Troyville culture. The period marks a significant change in the cultural history of the area...
. The mound was built over the midden between 1200–1541 during the Plaquemine
Plaquemine culture
The Plaquemine culture was an archaeological culture in the lower Mississippi River Valley in western Mississippi and eastern Louisiana. Good examples of this culture are the Medora Site in West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, and the Anna, Emerald Mound, Winterville and Holly Bluff sites located...
/Mississippian period
Mississippian culture
The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally....
. The corners are oriented in the cardinal directions. Several others include Balmoral Mounds
Balmoral Mounds
Balmoral Mounds is an archaeological site of the Coles Creek culture in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. The site has components located both on the east and west sides of US 65 near Bayou Rousset.-Description:...
, Ghost Site Mounds
Ghost Site Mounds
Ghost Site Mounds is an archaeological site in Tensas Parish, Louisiana with an Early to Middle Coles Creek culture component and a Late Coles Creek to Plaquemine culture component .-Description:...
, and Sundown Mounds
Sundown Mounds
Sundown Mounds is an multimound archaeological site in Tensas Parish, Louisiana from the Early Coles Creek culture.It is the type site for the Sundown Phase of the Tensas Basin and Natchez Bluff Coles Creek chronology.-Description:...
.
Civil War
During the American Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, private citizens, particularly planters, organized, equipped, and transported military companies. In Tensas Parish, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
planter A.C. Watson provided one company of artillery with more than $40,000. In April 1862, Governor Thomas Overton Moore
Thomas Overton Moore
Thomas Overton Moore was an attorney and politician who was the 16th Governor of Louisiana from 1860 until 1864 during the American Civil War.-Early years:...
, reconciled to the fall of New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, ordered the destruction of all cotton in those areas in danger of occupation by Union forces. Along the levees and atop Indian
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
mounds in Tensas Parish, thousands of bale
Bale
- Places :* Bale , a small town in Croatia* Bale, California, in Napa County* Bale, Norfolk in England* Bale, Poland* Balé Province, Burkina Faso* Basel, the Swiss city, for which the French name is Bâle-Ethiopia:* Bale Mountains...
s of cotton burned for days. At the time, Tensas Parish was second only to Carroll Parish (subsequently divided into East
East Carroll Parish, Louisiana
East Carroll Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Providence and as of 2010, the population was 7,759.-Law and government:In the 2004 presidential race, East Carroll gave the George W. Bush - Richard B...
and West Carroll
West Carroll Parish, Louisiana
West Carroll Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Oak Grove and as of 2000, the population was 12,314.-History:...
) in the overall production of cotton in Louisiana.
Near Newellton
Newellton, Louisiana
Newellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
is the Winter Quarters Plantation
Winter Quarters State Historic Site
Winter Quarters in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States, is a surviving example of an Antebellum cotton plantation. It is located south of Newellton on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake, or former bend in the Mississippi River. The main plantation home of the site began as a hunting lodge in 1805...
restoration, where Union General Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
and his men spent the winter of 1862-1863, prior to launching the assault in the spring and summer of 1863 against Vicksburg
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, to the northeast of Tensas Parish.
In 1864, Captain Joseph C. Lea of the Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
guerrillas, with two hundred men, moved into Tensas Parish and came upon a fortification held by four hundred Federal soldiers under the command of Colonel Alfred W. Eller. Lea inflicted heavy casualties and drove the men to the Mississippi River, where they boarded their boats. Lea seized a federal warehouse with gunpowder, groceries, and medical supplies. Facing attacks from the Union forces who tried to return to their fortification, Lea managed to secure seventy-five Federal wagons and cotton carts, all of which he dispatched to Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
.
Franklin Plantation, owned by a physician, Allen T. Bowie, was considered the most elegant of the antebellum homes about the oxbow lake
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
, Lake St. Joseph, near Newellton. A Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
Confederate wrote that the area was "unsurpassed in beauty and richness by any of the same extent . . . in the world." Union officers in charge of the XIII and XVII Corps kept close watch on the troops to prevent looting as the men marched southward headed indirectly to Vicksburg. When General William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
's XV Corps joined Grant's forces, however, the soldiers became lawless. On May 6, 1863, rowdies from General James Madison Tuttle
James M. Tuttle
James Madison Tuttle was a soldier, businessman, and politician from the state of Iowa who served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He commanded a brigade and then a division in the Army of the Tennessee in several campaigns in the Western Theater of operations...
's division burned most of the mansions which fronted Lake St. Joseph, including Dr. Bowie's beloved Franklin Plantation.
Toward the end of the war, schools were established for African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
children in northeastern Louisiana, including Tensas and Concordia
Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Concordia Parish borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. The parish seat is Vidalia. As of 2000, the population was 20,247. It is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Prehistory:...
parishes, some through the sponsorship of the American Missionary Association
American Missionary Association
The American Missionary Association was a Protestant-based abolitionist group founded on September 3, 1846 in Albany, New York. The main purpose of this organization was to abolish slavery, to educate African Americans, to promote racial equality, and to promote Christian values...
. According to the historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
John D. Winters
John D. Winters
John David Winters was a historian at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, best known for his definitive and award-winning study, The Civil War in Louisiana, still in print, published in 1963 and released in paperback in 1991.-Background:Winters was born to John David Winters, Sr...
of Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
, the students "ranged in age from four to forty, were poorly clothed, loved to fight, and were 'extremely filthy, their hair filled with vermin.' Religious instruction, with readings from the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and prayers, was emphasizsed while reading from primers and studying spelling and writing rounded out the course work. The program stressed 'a maximum of memory and a minimum of reasoning.' The schools sponsored by the Christians societies were gradually taken over by a board of education and supported by special property and crop taxes. These schools operated primarily along the Mississippi and few, if any, were established in the interior [of Louisiana]."
By the turn of the 20th century, with Civil War memories still present in the people's minds, St. Joseph numbered no more than 720 residents (and Tensas Parish, 19,070), most having been engaged in cotton growing and related river work.
Racial issues
Prior to January 1964, when fifteen African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s were permitted to register, there were no black voters on the Tensas Parish rolls. Tensas was hence the last of Louisiana's sixty-four parishes to enfranchise African-Americans.
In 1962, Tensas Parish, with only whites registered, gave the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
Taylor W. O'Hearn
Taylor W. O'Hearn
Taylor Walters O'Hearn was a pioneer in the rebirth of the Republican Party in Louisiana during the mid-twentieth century. He and Morley A. Hudson, both of Shreveport in Caddo Parish, were the first two Republicans elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives since Reconstruction. The pair...
, later a state representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
from Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, 48.2 percent of the vote in a race for the U.S. Senate against incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Russell B. Long
Russell B. Long
Russell Billiu Long was an American Democratic politician and United States Senator from Louisiana from 1948 until 1987.-Early life:...
. Tensas Parish also voted for Republican presidential nominee Barry M. Goldwater in 1964, when few blacks were yet registered.
After the passage of the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
of 1965, large numbers of Tensas Parish blacks began registering to vote. These new black voters were staunchly Democratic; since then, the parish has been a Democratic stronghold. Some white Democrats, however, have continued to win some public offices in the parish, including Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Rickey A. Jones and several school board members.
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
desegregated until the fall of 1970; however, the schools remain de facto segregated by parental decisions. The majority of white students attend the private Tensas Academy in St. Joseph; nearly all African American pupils attend the public schools, where few whites are registered; enrollment in the public system, now based in St. Joseph, has declined in recent years. The former Newellton High School
Newellton High School
Newellton High School was a rural public high school in Newellton in northern Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, along the Mississippi River. NHS operated throughout most of the 20th century until its closure in 2006...
in Newellton and Waterproof High School and Lisbon Elementary School in Waterproof have closed because of decreased enrollments. Tensas High School
Tensas High School
Tensas High School is the public secondary school which services all of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. Tensas High School, a term coined in 2006, was formerly known as Joseph Moore Davidson High School. It is located in the parish seat of St. Joseph. Pupils in grades 7-12 from throughout...
in St. Joseph is the latest consolidation in 2006 of the former Joseph Moore Davidson High School of St. Joseph as well as Newellton and Waterproof high schools.
In May 2010, only three whites out of forty students graduated from Tensas High School. Ten whites graduated from Tensas Academy, and four whites from the Newellton Christian Academy.
Partisan politics
In the 1860 presidential election, Tensas Parish supported by plurality the Constitutional Union PartyConstitutional Union Party (United States)
The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue...
candidate, U.S. Senator John Bell
John Bell (Tennessee politician)
John Bell was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. A wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee, Bell served in the United States Congress in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He began his career as a Democrat, he eventually fell out with Andrew Jackson and became a Whig...
of Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, who pledged merely to support the Constitution of the United States, the Union, and the "enforcement of the laws." Louisiana as a whole narrowly cast its electoral votes for the Southern Democratic choice, Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
of Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. Regular Democratic nominee Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
ran poorly in Louisiana, and the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, was not listed on the state ballot.
Historically, Tensas Parish is heavily Democrat in orientation. In the 2008 presidential contest, the successful Democrat Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
of Illinois, won Tensas Parish, 1,646 (54.1 percent) to 1,367 (45.0) for the Republican standard-bearer, U.S. Senator John S. McCain of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. In 2007, however, the Republican gubernatorial candidate, U.S. Representative Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal
Piyush "Bobby" Jindal is the 55th and current Governor of Louisiana and formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party....
, polled a plurality of 40 percent in Tensas Parish. The parish gave a plurality of 48 percent to Secretary of State Jay Dardenne
Jay Dardenne
John Leigh "Jay" Dardenne, Jr. , has been Louisiana's Republican lieutenant governor since November 22, 2010. He won a special election to the position held in conjunction with the regular November 2 general election. At the time, Dardenne was Louisiana secretary of state...
. Both Jindal and Dardenne were easy statewide winners in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 20, 2007. A GOP candidate even won a seat on the Tensas Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body, with the victory of Emmett L. Adams, Jr., in District 1 over fellow Republican Patrick Glass. Adams prevailed, 207-179 (54-46 percent).
In 2004, the Democratic ticket of John F. Kerry and John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
carried Tensas Parish, 1,460 to 1,453 for President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and Richard B. Cheney. In 2000, Democrat Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
, won Tensas Parish by 250 votes. The Democratic electors polled 1,580 votes that year to 1,330 for the Bush-Cheney ticket.
In the 2004 U.S. Senate primary election, Tensas Parish gave a plurality to the Republican candidate, Congressman David Vitter
David Vitter
David Vitter is the junior United States Senator from Louisiana and a member of the Republican Party. Previously, he served in the United States House of Representatives, representing the suburban Louisiana's 1st congressional district. He served as a member of the Louisiana House of...
of St. Tammany Parish. Vitter polled 1,145 votes (41 percent) compared to 881 ballots (32 percent) for his chief Democratic rival, Congressman Christopher John
Chris John
Christopher Charles "Chris" John is American politician who was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2005, representing Louisiana's 7th congressional district.-Early life:...
of Crowley
Crowley, Louisiana
Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...
, the seat of Acadia Parish. There was no general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
to determine if Vitter would have surpassed 50 percent plus one vote to obtain an outright majority in this traditionally Democratic parish. http://www.sos.louisiana.gov:8090/cgibin/?rqstyp=elcmp&rqsdta=11070001017141
Prior to 1968, each parish regardless of population had at least one member in the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
. The last member to represent only Tensas Parish was Democrat S. S. DeWitt
S. S. DeWitt
Sturgis Sprague DeWitt, known primarily as S.S. DeWitt was a farmer and businessman from Newellton and St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana who served as a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964–1972.In 1963, DeWitt unseated 20-year...
(1914–1998) of Newellton and later St. Joseph. DeWitt won the legislative post in 1964 by unseating 20-year incumbent J.C. Seaman of Waterproof. He lost the seat in the 1971 primary to Lantz Womack
Lantz Womack
Lantz Womack was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who served mostly Franklin Parish, from 1958, when he won a special election caused by the death of a freshman member, until his retirement in 1976...
of Winnsboro
Winnsboro, Louisiana
Winnsboro is a city in and the parish seat of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of July 2009, the estimated city population was 4,377...
in Franklin Parish
Franklin Parish, Louisiana
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,263 people, 7,754 households, and 5,706 families residing in the parish. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 8,623 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...
.
Population decline
Tensas Parish is considered the fastest declining parish in the state. No other parish has lost such a large percent of its population as has Tensas. Every year families, mostly white, leave the parish relocating towards more urbanized areas.Between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Tensas Parish lost 173 residents, or 2.9 percent of its population. Police Jury Vice President Jane Merriett Netterville (born ca. 1956) of St. Joseph expressed surprise at the latest exodus figures considering that some had moved there after Hurrican Katrina. "Maybe the loss was the people who died. We have a large elderly population," she told the Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Netterville explained that younger people leave Tensas Parish because of the scarcity of higher-paying jobs.
Tensas Parish has one principal cemetery
Cemetery
A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
, Legion Memorial, north of Newellton.
Geography
The parish has a total area of 641 square miles (1,661 km²), of which 602 square miles (1,560 km²) is land and 39 square miles (100 km²) (6.04%) is water.St. Joseph is located adjacent to the Mississippi River levee system.
There are three communities in the parish: Newellton, St. Joseph, and Waterproof. Newellton was founded by the planter and attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
John David Stokes Newell, Sr.
John Newell
John David Stokes Newell, Sr. , was a Louisiana planter and lawyer who founded the Tensas Parish town of Newellton, which he named for his father, Edward D...
, who named it for his father Edward D. Newell
Edward D. Newell
Edward Drumgould Newell was a pioneer planter in Tensas Parish, Louisiana. The town of Newellton was named in his honor by son, John David Stokes Newell ....
, a North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
native. All three communities are linked by Highway 65, which passes just to the west of each town. The developed Lake Bruin State Park
Lake Bruin State Park
-External links:*...
lies near St. Joseph. Lake Bruin
Lake Bruin
Lake Bruin is an ox-bow lake of the Mississippi River located in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. It consists of some of unusually clear water, particularly suited for swimming, boating, and fishing. Part of the lake is owned by the state, which operates Lake Bruin State Park, one of...
is an oxbow lake
Oxbow lake
An oxbow lake is a U-shaped body of water formed when a wide meander from the main stem of a river is cut off to create a lake. This landform is called an oxbow lake for the distinctive curved shape, named after part of a yoke for oxen. In Australia, an oxbow lake is called a billabong, derived...
created by the meandering of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
.
Major highways
U.S. Highway 65
Louisiana Highway 4Louisiana Highway 4Louisiana Highway 4 is a state highway in Louisiana, USA. It spans , mostly as a two lane, undivided road.-Route description:From the west, LA 4 begins at an intersection with U.S. Highway 71 in northern Red River Parish and runs eastward along the Red River Parish line. It then turns to the...
Adjacent parishes and counties
- Madison ParishMadison Parish, Louisiana-National protected areas:* Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge * Vicksburg National Military Park -Demographics:-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S...
(north) - Warren CountyWarren County, Mississippi-National protected areas:* Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge * Vicksburg National Military Park -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 49,644 people, 18,756 households, and 13,222 families residing in the county. The population density was 85 people per square mile...
, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
(northeast) - Claiborne CountyClaiborne County, Mississippi-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 11,831 people, 3,685 households, and 2,531 families residing in the county. The population density was 24 people per square mile . There were 4,252 housing units at an average density of 9 per square mile...
and Jefferson CountyJefferson County, Mississippi-National protected areas:* Homochitto National Forest * Natchez Trace Parkway -Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,740 people, 3,308 households, and 2,338 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile . There were 3,819 housing units at an...
, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
(east) - Adams CountyAdams County, MississippiAs of the census of 2000, there were 34,340 people, 13,677 households, and 9,409 families residing in the county. The population density was 75 people per square mile . There were 15,175 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...
, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
(southeast) - Concordia ParishConcordia Parish, LouisianaConcordia Parish borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. The parish seat is Vidalia. As of 2000, the population was 20,247. It is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Prehistory:...
(south) - Catahoula ParishCatahoula Parish, LouisianaCatahoula Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Harrisonburg, located on the Ouachita River, which forms the eastern boundary of the parish. In 2000, the population of the parish was 10,920.-Prehistory:...
(southwest) - Franklin ParishFranklin Parish, Louisiana-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 21,263 people, 7,754 households, and 5,706 families residing in the parish. The population density was 34 people per square mile . There were 8,623 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile...
(west)
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 6,618 people, 2,416 households, and 1,635 families residing in the parish. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 11 people per square mile (4/km²). There were 3,359 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (2/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 43.43% White
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 55.38% Black
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or African American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.05% Native American
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.12% Asian
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, 0.29% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.74% from two or more races. 1.25% of the population were Hispanic
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
or Latino
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
of any race.
There were 2,416 households out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.10% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 20.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 29.30% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the parish the population was spread out with 26.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $19,799, and the median income for a family was $25,739. Males had a median income of $26,636 versus $16,781 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the parish was $12,622. About 30.00% of families and 36.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.20% of those under age 18 and 29.60% of those age 65 or over.
Cities and towns
- NewelltonNewellton, LouisianaNewellton is a town in northern Tensas Parish in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population is 1,227 in the 2010 census, a decline of 255 from 2000. Newellton is some 65 percent African American. It is just west of the Mississippi River on Lake St. Joseph, an ox-bow lake....
- St. JosephSt. Joseph, LouisianaSt. Joseph is a town in and the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,340 at the 2000 census. The town is 69 percent African American. St. Joseph is the entry community to Lake Bruin State Park located on Lake Bruin, a relatively clear oxbow...
- WaterproofWaterproof, LouisianaWaterproof is a town in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States with a population of 834 as of 2000 census. Waterproof is approximately seventeen miles north of Ferriday, one of the two principal communities of Concordia Parish...
Education
Public schools in Tensas Parish are operated by the elected seven-member Tensas Parish School BoardTensas Parish School Board
The Tensas Parish School Board is an entity responsible for the operation of public schools in Tensas Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is headquartered in the town of St. Joseph....
.
Notable people
- Henry Watkins AllenHenry Watkins AllenHenry Watkins Allen was an American soldier and politician, and a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, Confederate States of AmericaConfederate States of AmericaThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
general and Civil WarAmerican Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
governor of Louisiana, grew cotton in Tensas Parish near Newellton in the years prior to the war before he relocated to Baton RougeBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
and became a public figure. - Ray R. AllenRay R. AllenRay Robert Allen was a municipal public official and banker in Alexandria, Louisiana, who served in 1977 as secretary-treasurer and then finance director when his city converted from the commissioner to the mayor-council form of government.-Background:Allen was born in Yell County near Danville in...
, municipal secretary-treasurer and finance director in AlexandriaAlexandria, LouisianaAlexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
, Louisiana (1963–1979), graduated from Newellton High School (ca. 1937). - Andrew BrimmerAndrew BrimmerAndrew Felton Brimmer is a noted economist, academic, and business leader who was the first African American to have served as a governor of the Federal Reserve System.- Early life and education :...
, the first black appointed (by President Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
) to the Federal Reserve Board in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, was born in Tensas Parish. - Sharon Renee BrownSharon BrownSharon Rene Brown is a beauty queen from Louisiana who was crowned Miss USA 1961, becoming the first Miss USA titleholder in history to win the Photogenic award.-Early life:...
, Miss USAMiss USAThe Miss USA beauty contest has been held annually since 1952 to select the United States entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA...
1961, was Miss Waterproof that same year. - Buddy CaldwellBuddy CaldwellJames David Caldwell, Sr., or Buddy Caldwell , is the Republican attorney general of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Prior to serving as attorney general, Caldwell was the district attorney for Madison, East Carroll, and Tensas parishes from 1979 to 2008...
, District AttorneyDistrict attorneyIn many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
from Madison and Tensas parishes and thereafter attorney generalAttorney GeneralIn most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
of Louisiana, elected 2007. - Claire Chennault of the "Flying Tigers," though born in CommerceCommerce, TexasCommerce is a city in Hunt County, Texas, United States, located in rural East Texas. The population was 7,669 at the 2000 census, however recent growth and its proximity to Interstate 30 and the eastern Metroplex has put the population around 9750...
, TexasTexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, lived for a time in Waterproof in southern Tensas Parish. - Elliot D. ColemanElliot D. ColemanElliot d’Evereaux Coleman, I , was from 1936-1960 the sheriff of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana. Earlier, he had been a state police bodyguard of U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, Jr., on September 8, 1935, the night of Long's assassination.-Early life:Coleman was born to E. D...
(1881–1963), sheriff of Tensas Parish from 1936–1960 and a bodyguard at the assassinationAssassinationTo carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of U.S. Senator Huey P. Long, Jr. - James Houston "Jimmie" DavisJimmie DavisJames Houston Davis , better known as Jimmie Davis, was a noted singer of both sacred and popular songs who served two nonconsecutive terms as the 47th Governor of Louisiana...
, owned farm property in Tensas Parish. - S. S. DeWittS. S. DeWittSturgis Sprague DeWitt, known primarily as S.S. DeWitt was a farmer and businessman from Newellton and St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana who served as a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1964–1972.In 1963, DeWitt unseated 20-year...
(1914–1998), former state representative from Tensas Parish from 1964 to 1972 - Sarah DorseySarah DorseySarah Dorsey was an American novelist and historian.-Biography:Born Sarah Anne Ellis to Thomas George Percy Ellis and Mary Malvina Routh in Natchez, Mississippi, she became a novelist and historian. She was known as the "companion" of Jefferson Davis, to whom she proved a great boon in his...
(1829–1879), author and benefactor of Jefferson DavisJefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis... - Emmitt DouglasEmmitt DouglasEmmitt James Douglas was an African-American businessman from New Roads, Louisiana, who served as president of his state's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1966 until his death....
(1926–1981), president of the Louisiana NAACP from 1966–1981 - C.B. ForgotstonC.B. ForgotstonCharlton Bath Forgotston, Jr., known as C.B. Forgotston , is an attorney, political pundit, and state government watchdog who resides in Hammond, the principal city of Tangipahoa Parish, a part of the Florida Parishes east of Baton Rouge in southeastern Louisiana...
(born 1945), HammondHammond, LouisianaHammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,049 at the 2009 census. It is home to Southeastern Louisiana University...
attorney, political activist, and state government watchdog - Troyce GuiceTroyce GuiceTroyce Eual Guice was a prominent businessman in northeastern Louisiana who twice ran for the United States Senate in campaigns thirty years apart, 1966 and 1996. A conservative Democrat, Guice later, as a Mississippi voter, became a donor to the Republican Party...
(1932–2008), a member of the Louisiana Levee Board and the Mississippi River Bridge Commission, twice a candidate for the U.S. Senate. - Neal Lane "Lanny" Johnson, a former Tensas school superintendent and current superintendent in WinnsboroWinnsboro, LouisianaWinnsboro is a city in and the parish seat of Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of July 2009, the estimated city population was 4,377...
; Louisiana state representative (1976–1980). - Howard M. JonesHoward M. Jones (Louisiana politician)Howard M. Jones was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from St. Joseph in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, who served two terms from 1960 to 1968....
(1900-1980), state senator from Tensas Parish from 1960 to 1968. - Jack KeaheyJack KeaheyJack Lynn Keahey, Jr. , was a businessman, boat builder, welder, mechanic, politician, and civic leader in Columbia, the seat of Caldwell Parish, in northeastern Louisiana. He was best known as the president of the Tensas Basin Levee Board...
(1935–2007), the longtime member and president of the Tensas Basin Levee Board. - James Albert Noe, Sr.James A. NoeJames Albert Noe, Sr. of Monroe served for three and a half months as the 43rd Governor of Louisiana after the death of Oscar K. Allen on January 28, 1936....
, once owned farm property in Tensas Parish. - Edwin G. PreisEdwin G. PreisEdwin Gustav Preis, Sr. , was a farmer and businessman who served from 1972 to 2000 as the Democratic mayor of the town of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana....
(1916-2011), Waterproof native and the mayor of Newellton, 1972 to 2000 - Phil PreisPhil PreisPhillip Wesley Preis, Sr., known as Phil Preis , is a Democratic politician and attorney, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who specializes in mergers and acquisitions. A native of Newellton in Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana, Preis is the son of Patricia M. Preis of Newellton and Edwin...
, Baton RougeBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
attorney; gubernatorial candidate in 1995 and 1999 - Dan RicheyDan RicheyDaniel Wesley "Dan" Richey is a Baton Rouge-based political consultant for "pro-family" candidates and organizations, including Louisiana Family Forum. From 1997 to 2004, Richey served under appointment of Republican Governor Murphy J...
, former Louisiana State SenatorLouisiana State LegislatureThe Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
who represented Tensas Parish - J.C. Seaman, state representative from Tensas Parish from 1944–1964; promoter of Lake Bruin State ParkLake Bruin State Park-External links:*...
- Robert H. SnyderRobert H. SnyderRobert H. Snyder was a Democratic politician from St. Joseph, the parish seat of Tensas Parish in northeastern Louisiana....
, state representative from Tensas Parish from 1890–1896 and 1904–1906, Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives in the second term, died in office; Lieutenant governor from 1896–1900 - Garner H. TullisGarner H. TullisGarner Hugh Tullis, Sr. , was a New Orleans businessman and civic leader who formed his own brokerage firm, Tullis, Craig & Bright, and became a partner of E.F. Hutton and Company. He was also a nationally known yachtsman who won the St. Petersburg, Florida, to Havana, Cuba, races in 1930, 1932,...
, civic leader in New Orleans. - Leon "Pee Wee" WhittakerLeon "Pee Wee" WhittakerLeon "Pee Wee" Whittaker was an African American musician from the Mississippi River delta country of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Arkansas who was particularly known as a trombonist of jazz, blues, and rock music. From 1919 until his death, Whittaker performed with minstrel shows, carnival bands,...
, bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musician originally from Newellton
Media
Tensas Parish is served by a weekly newspaper, the Tensas Gazette based in St. Joseph. Some 1,300 copies are circulated each Wednesday throughout the parish.See also
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Tensas Parish, Louisiana
External links
- Tensas Progress Community Progress Site for Tensas