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.[1] The parish seat is Farmerville.[2] The parish was created on March 13, 1839, from a section of Ouachita Parish. Its boundaries have changed four times since then (in 1845, 1846, 1867, and 1873, respectively).[3]
Union Parish, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
| Parish of Union | |
 Union Parish Courthouse in Farmerville | |
 Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana | |
 Louisiana's location within the U.S. | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Louisiana |
| Region | North Louisiana |
| Founded | March 13, 1839 |
| Named for | Union of American states |
| Parish seat (and largest town) | Farmerville |
| Area | |
• Total | 2,340 km2 (905 sq mi) |
| • Land | 2,270 km2 (877 sq mi) |
| • Water | 70 km2 (28 sq mi) |
| • percentage | 7.9 km2 (3.06 sq mi) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 21,107 |
| • Density | 9.0/km2 (23/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| Area code | 318 |
| Congressional district | 4th |
Union Parish is part of the Monroe, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
editAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 905 square miles (2,340 km2), of which 877 square miles (2,270 km2) is land and 28 square miles (73 km2) (3.1%) is water.[4]
Geographically north central Louisiana, Union Parish more closely resembles Lincoln Parish, to which Union is deeply tied culturally, politically, and educationally.[citation needed] Union Parish, along with Lincoln Parish to the southwest and Union County, Arkansas to the north, form the eastern boundary of the Ark-La-Tex region.
Major highways
edit
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Adjacent parishes and counties
edit- Union County, Arkansas (northwest)
- Ashley County, Arkansas (northeast)
- Morehouse Parish (east)
- Ouachita Parish (southeast)
- Lincoln Parish (southwest)
- Claiborne Parish (west)
National protected areas
editCommunities
editTowns
edit- Bernice
- Farmerville (parish seat and largest municipality)
- Marion
Villages
editUnincorporated communities
editDemographics
edit| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 1,838 | — | |
| 1850 | 8,203 | 346.3% | |
| 1860 | 10,389 | 26.6% | |
| 1870 | 11,685 | 12.5% | |
| 1880 | 13,526 | 15.8% | |
| 1890 | 17,304 | 27.9% | |
| 1900 | 18,520 | 7.0% | |
| 1910 | 20,451 | 10.4% | |
| 1920 | 19,621 | −4.1% | |
| 1930 | 20,731 | 5.7% | |
| 1940 | 20,943 | 1.0% | |
| 1950 | 19,141 | −8.6% | |
| 1960 | 17,624 | −7.9% | |
| 1970 | 18,447 | 4.7% | |
| 1980 | 21,167 | 14.7% | |
| 1990 | 20,690 | −2.3% | |
| 2000 | 22,803 | 10.2% | |
| 2010 | 22,721 | −0.4% | |
| 2020 | 21,107 | −7.1% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010[10] | |||
| Race | Number | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| White (non-Hispanic) | 14,289 | 67.7% |
| Black or African American (non-Hispanic) | 4,980 | 23.59% |
| Native American | 59 | 0.28% |
| Asian | 38 | 0.18% |
| Pacific Islander | 6 | 0.03% |
| Other/Mixed | 600 | 2.84% |
| Hispanic or Latino | 1,135 | 5.38% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 21,107 people, 7,582 households, and 4,899 families residing in the parish.
Politics
editLocated in far northern Louisiana next to the Arkansas state line, Union Parish is heavily Republican in most competitive elections, particularly at the presidential level, last voting for a Democratic presidential nominee in 1952 when Adlai Stevenson received 52% of the vote. In the most recent election in 2020, incumbent President Donald Trump received 8,407 votes (75.1 percent) of the parish total to 2,654 (23.7 percent) for former Vice President Joe Biden.[12]
| Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
| 2024 | 8,176 | 78.05% | 2,206 | 21.06% | 93 | 0.89% |
| 2020 | 8,407 | 75.06% | 2,654 | 23.69% | 140 | 1.25% |
| 2016 | 7,972 | 73.18% | 2,691 | 24.70% | 231 | 2.12% |
| 2012 | 7,561 | 70.23% | 3,075 | 28.56% | 130 | 1.21% |
| 2008 | 7,619 | 70.10% | 3,103 | 28.55% | 146 | 1.34% |
| 2004 | 7,457 | 69.57% | 3,089 | 28.82% | 172 | 1.60% |
| 2000 | 5,772 | 61.78% | 3,205 | 34.30% | 366 | 3.92% |
| 1996 | 4,418 | 46.30% | 4,260 | 44.64% | 865 | 9.06% |
| 1992 | 4,434 | 44.04% | 4,005 | 39.78% | 1,630 | 16.19% |
| 1988 | 5,900 | 62.97% | 3,210 | 34.26% | 259 | 2.76% |
| 1984 | 6,585 | 67.73% | 2,916 | 29.99% | 222 | 2.28% |
| 1980 | 5,130 | 55.77% | 3,841 | 41.76% | 227 | 2.47% |
| 1976 | 4,139 | 52.36% | 3,600 | 45.54% | 166 | 2.10% |
| 1972 | 4,322 | 70.20% | 1,465 | 23.79% | 370 | 6.01% |
| 1968 | 1,113 | 16.50% | 1,336 | 19.80% | 4,297 | 63.70% |
| 1964 | 4,534 | 79.70% | 1,155 | 20.30% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 2,017 | 49.64% | 1,034 | 25.45% | 1,012 | 24.91% |
| 1956 | 1,384 | 40.49% | 878 | 25.69% | 1,156 | 33.82% |
| 1952 | 1,894 | 47.96% | 2,055 | 52.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 259 | 9.07% | 724 | 25.35% | 1,873 | 65.58% |
| 1944 | 803 | 31.27% | 1,765 | 68.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1940 | 371 | 11.55% | 2,842 | 88.45% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1936 | 272 | 13.27% | 1,778 | 86.73% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1932 | 58 | 2.48% | 2,285 | 97.52% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1928 | 422 | 27.97% | 1,085 | 71.90% | 2 | 0.13% |
| 1924 | 7 | 0.79% | 875 | 99.09% | 1 | 0.11% |
| 1920 | 98 | 7.43% | 1,221 | 92.57% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1916 | 22 | 1.95% | 1,106 | 97.96% | 1 | 0.09% |
| 1912 | 11 | 1.39% | 696 | 87.66% | 87 | 10.96% |
School
editResidents are assigned to Union Parish Public Schools.
Law enforcement
edit| Union Parish Sheriff's Office | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | UPSO |
| Motto | Service Before Self |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1839 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Farmerville, Louisiana |
| Agency executive |
|
| Website | |
| http://www.unionsheriff.com/ | |
The Union Parish Sheriff's Office is the primary law enforcement agency of Union Parish, Louisiana. It is headquartered in Farmerville. The current[as of?] Sheriff of Union Parish is Dusty Gates, who was first sworn as the sheriff following long time Sheriff Bob Buckley's death in September 2013.[14]
Border monument
editIn 1931, a monument was erected at the Union Parish border with Union County, Arkansas. In 1975, State Representative Louise B. Johnson passed a law to refurbish the monument. The completed restoration was unveiled in 2009.[15]
Notable people
editTwo Louisiana governors came from the Shiloh Community in Union Parish:
- William Wright Heard, 1900–1904
- Ruffin Pleasant, 1916-1920
Two Arkansas governors were natives of Union Parish:
- George Washington Donaghey, Governor of Arkansas from 1909 to 1913
- Tom Jefferson Terral, Governor of Arkansas from 1925 to 1927
Other Union Parish residents have included:
- Lonnie O. Aulds, state representative from 1968 to 1972[16]
- George Washington Bolton (1841-1931), state representative from 1888 to 1896 from Alexandria[17]
- Jay McCallum - Chief Judge of the Louisiana 3rd Judicial District Court[18]
- Robert Roberts Jr. state representative and state district judge[19]
- James Peyton Smith, state representative[20]
- Lee Emmett Thomas, Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representative[21]
See also
edit
Sources
editMany facts concerning events in early Union Parish history come from the conveyance, probate, and lawsuit records on file in the Union Parish courthouse, as well as records of the United States Land Offices available in the National Archives. Other sources include:
1) Williams, E. Russ, Jr., Spanish Poste d’Ouachita: The Ouachita Valley in Colonial Louisiana 1783–1804, and Early American Statehood, 1804–1820, Williams Genealogical Publications, Monroe, LA, 1995.
2) Williams, E. Russ, Jr., Encyclopedia of Individuals and Founding Families of the Ouachita Valley of Louisiana From 1785 to 1850: Organized into Family Groups with Miscellaneous Materials on Historical Events, Places, and Other Important Topics, Part Oe A – K, Williams Genealogical and Historical Publications, Monroe, LA, 1996.
3) Williams, E. Russ, Jr., Encyclopedia of Individuals and Founding Families of the Ouachita Valley of Louisiana From 1785 to 1850: Organized into Family Groups with Miscellaneous Materials on Historical Events, Places, and Other Important Topics, Part Two L – O, Williams Genealogical and Historical Publications, Monroe, LA, 1997.
4) Williams, Max Harrison, Union Parish (Louisiana) Historical Records: Police Jury Minutes, 1839–1846, D’Arbonne Research and Publishing Co., Farmerville, LA, 1993.
References
edit- ^ "Census - Geography Profile: Union Parish, Louisiana". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "" + theTitle + "". Archived from the original on March 29, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
- ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on September 28, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "Truxno Populated Place Profile / Union Parish, Louisiana Data".
- ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
- ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
- ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
- ^ "Louisiana Secretary of State". voterportal.sos.la.gov. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
- ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ LAKANA (September 19, 2013). "Dusty Gates Sworn In As New Union Parish Sheriff".
- ^ "Matthew Hamil, "Monument Forgotten by Time"". Monroe News Star, August 31, 2009. Archived from the original on September 3, 2009. Retrieved August 31, 2009.
- ^ "Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2012" (PDF). legis.la.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ^ "Bolton, George Washington". Louisiana Historical Association: A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ "Louisiana: McCallum, Jay Bowen", Who's Who in American Politics, 2003-2004, 19th ed., Vol. 1 (Alabama-Montana) (Marquis Who's Who: New Providence, NJ, 2003), p. 787
- ^ Henry E. Chambers, "Robert Roberts, Jr.", A History of Louisiana, Vol. 2 (Chicago and New York City, American Historical Society, Inc., 1925), pp. 21-22
- ^ "Greg Hilburn, State honors the late Rep. Smith with bridge renaming, September 12, 2013". Monroe News-Star. Archived from the original on May 14, 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
- ^ "Thomas, Lee Emmett". Louisiana Historical Association, A Directory of Louisiana Biography (lahistory.org). Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2010.