| Jackson Parish, Louisiana | |
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The Jackson Parish Courthouse in Jonesboro
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Location in the state of Louisiana |
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Louisiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1845 |
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| Named for | U.S. President Andrew Jackson |
| Seat | Jonesboro |
| Largest city | Jonesboro |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
580 sq mi (1,503 km²) 570 sq mi (1,476 km²) 11 sq mi (27 km²), 1.82% |
| Population - (2010) - Density |
16,274 28/sq mi (10.8/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Jackson Parish (French: Paroisse de Jackson) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Claiborne, Ouachita, and Union Parishes. In 2010, its population was 16,274. The parish seat is Jonesboro. Jackson Parish is part of the Ruston Micropolitan Statistical Area.
During the American Civil War Confederate General Richard Taylor sent five companies into Jackson and Winn parishes to arrest conscripts who failed to report for duty and to halt jayhawker groups in the area. General Edmund Kirby-Smith, moreover, directed that "all men who shirked their military duty be hunted down and forced into camp. Those who tried to escape the conscript hunters would be shot. The terrain of Louisiana with its many canebrakes, swamps, and hills in which to hide, made such an order difficult to carry out," explains the historian John D. Winters in The Civil War in Louisiana (1963).[1]
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The parish has a total area of 580 square miles (1,502.2 km2), of which 570 square miles (1,476.3 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28.5 km2) (1.82%) is water.
| Lincoln Parish | Ouachita Parish | |||
| Bienville Parish | ||||
| Jackson Parish, Louisiana | ||||
| Winn Parish | Caldwell Parish |
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 15,397 people, 6,086 households, and 4,302 families residing in the parish. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 7,338 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 71.01% White, 27.87% Black or African American, 0.29% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 0.37% from two or more races. 0.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 6,086 households out of which 31.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.80% were married couples living together, 14.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01.
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
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| 1900 | 9,119 |
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| 1910 | 13,818 | 51.5% | |
| 1920 | 14,486 | 4.8% | |
| 1930 | 13,808 | −4.7% | |
| 1940 | 17,807 | 29.0% | |
| 1950 | 15,434 | −13.3% | |
| 1960 | 15,828 | 2.6% | |
| 1970 | 15,963 | 0.9% | |
| 1980 | 17,321 | 8.5% | |
| 1990 | 15,705 | −9.3% | |
| 2000 | 15,397 | −2.0% | |
| 2010 | 16,274 | 5.7% | |
| Jackson Parish Census Data[3] | |||
In the parish the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.30% from 18 to 24, 25.70% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 16.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.50 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $28,352, and the median income for a family was $36,317. Males had a median income of $31,977 versus $19,992 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $15,354. About 16.00% of families and 19.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.30% of those under age 18 and 15.80% of those age 65 or over.
Public schools in Jackson Parish are operated by the Jackson Parish School Board.
Jackson Parish was historically part of the Solid South with Al Smith receiving 100 percent of the vote in 1928.[8] It has trended more Republican since at least 1960. Bill Clinton and George W. Bush both carried the parish twice. In the 2008 U.S. presidential election John McCain outpolled Barack Obama by 30 percentage points.[9]
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