Florida Parishes

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The Florida Parishes

The Florida Parishes are those parishes in Louisiana which were part of West Florida in the early 19th century. Unlike much of the state of Louisiana, this region was not part of the Louisiana Purchase, as it remained under Spanish control.

The "Bonnie Blue Flag"

After a rebellion, the region formed part of the short-lived Republic of West Florida in 1810. The Flag of the Republic of West Florida was known as the "Bonnie Blue Flag" and was the first use of the lone star motif, a single white star on a field of blue. Later that same year, the region was annexed by the United States and incorporated into the Orleans Territory. Interestingly, the Bonnie Blue Flag still flies on many public buildings in the Florida Parishes.

The Florida Parishes of Louisiana stretch from the Mississippi state line on its eastern and northern borders, to the Mississippi River on its western border, and Lake Pontchartrain on its southern border. The most populated community is the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. St. Tammany Parish is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area.

The Parishes have a land area of 12,134.57 km² (4,685.184 sq mi), or 10.755 percent of the state's land area. Its population at the 2000 census was 887,444 residents, or 19.858 percent of the state's population at that time. [1] Its largest communities are, in descending order of population (2000 census), Baton Rouge, Slidell, Hammond, Shenandoah (CDP), Baker, Bogalusa, Zachary, Mandeville, Merrydale (CDP), Gardere (CDP), Denham Springs, Covington, Oak Hills Place (CDP), and Lacombe (CDP).