DeSoto Parish, Louisiana

DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
DeSoto Parish (French: Paroisse DeSoto) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 26,812. Its parish seat is Mansfield. DeSoto Parish is part of the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan statistical area.
History
It is a typical misconception that the parish was named after Hernando de Soto, the Spaniard who explored the future southeastern United States and discovered and named the Mississippi River. The parish was in fact named after the unrelated Marcel DeSoto, who led the first group of European settlers there, to a settlement historically known as Bayou Pierre. The parish's name is also commonly misspelled following the explorer's name as "De Soto Parish," but it is properly spelled following the settler's name as "DeSoto Parish."
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (2.1%) is water.
Major highways
Interstate 49
Future Interstate 69
U.S. Highway 84
U.S. Highway 171
U.S. Highway 371
Louisiana Highway 5
Adjacent parishes
Caddo Parish (north)
Red River Parish (east)
Natchitoches Parish (southeast)
Sabine Parish (south)
Shelby County, Texas (southwest)
Panola County, Texas (west)
National protected area
Red River National Wildlife Refuge (part)
Communities
City
Mansfield (parish seat and largest municipality)
Towns
Keachi
Logansport
Stonewall
Villages
Grand Cane
Longstreet
South Mansfield
Stanley
Unincorporated areas
Census-designated places
Frierson
Gloster
Unincorporated communities
Carmel
Hunter
Kingston
Naborton
Pelican
Former communities
Oxford
Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 26,812 people, 10,821 households, and 7,254 families residing in the parish. At the 2019 American Community Survey, there were 10,821 households.
In 2019, the racial and ethnic makeup of the parish was 58.8% non-Hispanic or Latino white, 35.3% Black or African American, 0.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% Asian, <0.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.1% some other race, 1.9% two or more races, and 2.9% Hispanic or Latin American of any race.
There were 10,821 households at the 2019 census estimates, and the home-ownership rate was 71.3%. Of the 7,716 owner-occupied units, 3,917 were married couples living together, 365 male households with no female present, and 896 female households with no male present. There was a 17.1% vacancy rate in the parish. The average family size was 3.07, and the average household size was 2.50.
In the parish, 75.5% were aged 18 and older, and 17.2% were aged 65 and older; the median age was 39.3, and 6.5% were aged 5 and under. Approximately 0.8% of the population were foreign-born, and 2.1% spoke a language other than English at home.
The median income for a household in the parish was $46,006; families had a median income of $56,323, married couples had a median income of $78,090, and non-family households had a median income of $25,314. An estimated 22% of the parish lived at or below the poverty line, and 30.6% of people aged under 18 were at or below the poverty line.
Education
Public schools in DeSoto Parish are operated by the DeSoto Parish School Board. It is in the service area of Bossier Parish Community College.
Notable people
Larry Bagley (born 1949), incoming Republican member of the Louisiana House of Representatives for Caddo, Desoto, and Sabine parishes
Terry Bradshaw (born 1948), Hall of Fame professional football player, sportscaster, singer, and actor
Richard Burford (born 1946), current Louisiana state representative
Vida Blue (born 1949–2023), professional baseball player
C.L. Bryant (born 1956), Baptist minister and radio talk show host
Riemer Calhoun (1909–1994), state senator from 1944 to 1952 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
Joe T. Cawthorn (1911–1967), state senator from 1940 to 1944 for DeSoto and Caddo parishes
Sherri Smith Cheek Buffington (born 1966), Louisiana State Senator
Joe Henry Cooper (1920–1980), Louisiana state representative
Kenny Ray Cox (born 1957), Louisiana state representative and former United States Army officer
Milton Joseph Cunningham (1842–1916), Natchitoches and New Orleans lawyer, state senator from Natchitoches and DeSoto parishes from 1880 to 1884; state attorney general for three nonconsecutive terms ending in 1900, born in what became DeSoto Parish
George Dement (1922–2014), mayor of Bossier City
John H. Eastman (1861–1938), mayor of Shreveport
Joseph Barton Elam (1821–1885), United States Representative from Louisiana's 4th congressional district
William J. Fleniken (1908–1979), U.S. attorney and state 1st Judicial District Court judge in Shreveport; born in DeSoto Parish
William Pike Hall, Sr. (1896–1945), state senator for Caddo and DeSoto parishes, 1924–1932, Shreveport attorney
John Spencer Hardy (1913–2012), United States Air Force lieutenant general
Albert Lewis (1960-), professional football player
Walter M. Lowrey (1921–1980), historian at Centenary College of Louisiana
Curtis W. McCoy, mayor of Mansfield
Garnie W. McGinty (1900–1984), historian at Louisiana Tech University and school principal
Mack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football player
Jayson Richardson, elected Sheriff of DeSoto Parish as a No Party candidate in 2018
B. H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), politician
C. O. Simpkins, Sr. (1925–2019 from Mansfield), African-American state representative, dentist, and civil rights activist in Shreveport
O.C. Smith (1932–2001), singer
Politics
See also
National Register of Historic Places listings in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana
References
Further reading
De Vries, Mark Leon, “Between Equal Justice and Racial Terror: Freedpeople and the District Court of DeSoto Parish during Reconstruction,” Louisiana History, 56 (Summer 2015), 261–93.
Water Resources of De Soto Parish, Louisiana United States Geological Survey
External links
Louisiana parishes
Parishes in Shreveport – Bossier City metropolitan area
1843 establishments in Louisiana
Populated places established in 1843