Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

Calcasieu Parish (/ˈkælkəˌʃuː/; French: Paroisse de Calcasieu) is a parish located on the southwestern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 216,785. The parish seat and largest city is Lake Charles.
Calcasieu Parish is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area; it is also located near the Beaumont–Port Arthur (Texas), Lafayette, and Alexandria metropolitan areas.
Calcasieu Parish was created March 24, 1840, from the parish of Saint Landry, one of the original nineteen civil parishes established by the Louisiana Legislature in 1807 after the United States acquired the territory in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The original parish seat was Comasaque Bluff, a settlement east of the river and later called Marsh Bayou Bluff. On December 8, 1840, it was renamed as Marion, Louisiana.
In 1852 Jacob Ryan, a local planter and businessman, donated land and offered to move the courthouse in order to have the parish seat moved to Lake Charles. As the population in this area grew over the years, the original Calcasieu Parish has since been divided into five smaller parishes. The original area of Calcasieu Parish is called Imperial Calcasieu.
The name Calcasieu is traditionally explained as coming from the Atakapa language via French, which recorded the name of the Calcasieu River as "Quelqueshue" after the local Atakapa leader Katkōsh Yōk ('Crying Eagle'). An alternate etymology based upon the Spanish name for the river, Río Hondo, is that Calcasieu comes from an unrecorded Native American word meaning 'deep river'. A questionable folk etymology claims that after the United States acquired the region, a long-winded discussion over renaming the Río Hondo was ended by a frustrated francophone who suggested "name it quelque-chose" (English: 'anything'), which was recorded as "Calacasieu." A similar dubious folk etymology relies upon the French quelques choux (English: 'some cabbages').
Various spellings of 'Calcasieu' are found in early French- and English-language sources, including Calcasutt, Culqueshoe, Culkeshoe, Kelke-chute, Quelqueshue, Calcasu, Calcasiu, Quelqueshoe, and Calcasiew. The earliest version of the name—rivieére Calkousiouk—was published in 1807 by French explorer Charles César Robin [fr]. An older pronunciation, /kʌlkəʃuː/, was noted among older residents of the parish in 1927.
The early history of the parish dates to the period of the Spanish occupation of Louisiana, after France had ceded this territory following its defeat by Great Britain in the Seven Years' War. In 1797, Jose M. Mora was granted a large tract of land between the Rio Hondo (now Calcasieu River) and the Sabine River, known for years as the "Neutral Strip" between Louisiana and Texas. The area became a refuge for outlaws and filibusters from Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi of the United States, which had recently gained independence from Great Britain.
The territory was disputed for years between Spain and the United States after France had ceded Louisiana to the American government as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It was definitively acquired by the United States from Spain with the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819. The treaty was formally ratified on February 22, 1821. By an act of Congress, approved on March 3, 1823, this strip of land was attached to the district of the Louisiana Territory south of the Red River.
Early settlers to the area included the Ryan, Perkin, Hodges, Bilbo, LeBleu, Deviers, and Henderson families. Some of these families also brought along a few enslaved servants. Acadian settlers, from the eastern parishes of Louisiana, also migrated to this area. Of French descent and exiled by the British from Acadia (eastern Canada), many of these refugees had settled in Louisiana. The parish had a diverse ethnic mix of French and Spanish Creoles, Acadians, Anglo-Americans, Enslaved African Americans, Free African Americans, and Indians. Data compiled from historical volumes of the US Center of Population and Housing indicate that in 1850, 240 of 3914 Parish residents were "Free Men of Color". By 1860 that number had risen to 305 of 5928. The 1860 U.S. census of Louisiana counts 1171 Slaves among Calcasieu Parish residents.
Calcasieu Parish was created in 1840 from the Parish of Saint Landry. The new parish was the largest in the state, larger than either of the two smallest states, Delaware and Rhode Island. This size, which ultimately was divided into five parishes, led to the parish's nickname "Imperial Calcasieu."
On August 24, 1840, six men met at a private home near present-day Chloe to organize as the parish police jury representing six wards. The first order of business was to elect officers, appoint a parish clerk, and settle on simple parliamentary rules that would enable the president to keep the meetings orderly and progressive. The jury adopted all of the laws then in force in Saint Landry Parish. They appointed a parish constable, a parish treasurer, two parish assessors, and an operator of the ferry at Buchanan's crossing. The assessors were given two months to assess all of the property in the parish and a salary of $90.
On September 14, 1840, a survey was authorized of land known then as Marsh Bayou Bluff in order to establish a seat of justice (parish seat) and construct a courthouse and jail. On December 8, 1840, the jury chose to rename this community as Marion. In 1843, the Legislature authorized a vote to move the parish seat.
Finally in 1852, Jacob Ryan was successful in having the parish seat relocated from Marion to the east bank of Lake Charles. This parish seat was incorporated in 1857 as the town of Charleston; it was reincorporated in 1868 as Lake Charles. It is located about six miles (9.7 km) from Marion, now known as Old Town. The name Lake Charles commemorates one of the first European settlers, Charles Sallier, a Frenchman who acquired land in this area at the beginning of the 19th century.
In 1870 Cameron Parish was created from the southern portion of Imperial Calcasieu. It was one of several parishes organized during the Reconstruction era by the Republican-dominated legislature, in an effort to build Republican strength. Many Freedmen had joined the Republican Party elsewhere in the state. However, while other areas of Louisiana had been developed as cotton plantations, Calcasieu Parish had not. Although the parish had been larger in land mass than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island it was primarily utilized as grazing land for cattle with no significant plantings of cotton, sugar cane or other crops requiring the utilization of slave labor. Therefore, Calcasieu before the Civil War was home to a lower percentile of African-American slaves than many other parts of the State.
In 1912 Calcasieu Parish still comprised an area of more than 3,600 square miles (9,300 km), and remained the largest parish in the state by geographic area. In 1912, "Imperial Calcasieu" was further divided with the creation of the three new parishes of Allen, Beauregard, and Jefferson Davis, with a total area of approximately 2,548 square miles (6,600 km). These were the most recent parishes organized in Louisiana. Following these jurisdictional changes, Calcasieu Parish lost almost half of its population between the 1910 and 1920 United States census.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 1,094 square miles (2,830 km), of which 1,064 square miles (2,760 km) is land and 31 square miles (80 km) (2.8%) is water.
Bayou Verdine is located in a heavily industrialized area; over 30 major companies are active nearby. The two companies responsible for cleaning up the bayou, Phillips 66 and Sasol North America (the cleanup parties), operate a petroleum refinery and a petrochemical complex. Both of these facilities have operated for decades, during which time their operations contaminated bayou sediments with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. In 2003, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency completed a remedial investigation for the Calcasieu Estuary. EPAs investigation found that contamination in Bayou Verdine did not pose a threat to people but was harmful to plants and animals. In 2010, Phillips 66 and Sasol signed a consent decree agreeing to clean up the bayou. EPA approved the removal action work plan in December 2011. Cleanup work began in September 2012. The cleanup parties first prepared a settling basin to receive sediments to be dredged from the bayou. Two pre-existing ponds on the refinery property had been created decades ago to provide fill for construction of nearby Interstate 10. One of these ponds (the east pond) was converted into the settling basin. It was emptied by pumping the water into the bayou. The bottom sediments were solidified by mixing in fly ash and a drainage system was placed at the bottom of the basin. Finally, the cleanup parties installed a flexible membrane liner on the bottom of the settling basin as an extra precaution. Bayou dredging followed. The cleanup parties used hydraulic dredging and mechanical excavation techniques to remove the top 1 to 2 feet of sediments from about 7,000 feet of the bayou on the Phillips 66 refinery property and downstream. The dredged sediment and water mixture (slurry) was then pumped through a pipeline to the settling basin, where the sediment was allowed to separate from the water by gravity settling. The water was tested and then released into the bayou in accordance with a discharge permit from the state. About 30,000 cubic yards of bayou sediments were placed in the containment cell. Dredging was completed in February 2014. During the cleanup process, EPA provided updates to the Calcasieu Estuary Task Force (a group of local leaders). EPA and the cleanup parties also provided fact sheets to the task force and others to keep the community informed during the cleanup.
The banks of Bayou d’Inde have been industrialized since oil and natural gas deposits were discovered nearby in the 1920s. Chemical manufacturing and petroleum refining facilities have released toxins—including PCBs, dioxins, lead, and mercury—into the bayou and surrounding areas for decades.
Some of the potentially responsible parties (PRPs) began cleanup activities in late 2014 and they are expected to be completed by the end of 2018. Collectively they will dredge contaminated sediment from the main channel, use articulated concrete block mat technology for in-situ capping of approximately 36,000 square yards, and cap the remaining contaminated areas with clean sediment.
NOAA is currently working with the other trustees to ensure that sediment dredging and capping limits risks to the local ecosystem. We will also monitor contaminant levels in the bayou to track the long-term effects of the remediation.
Bayou d’Inde is a major tributary of the Calcasieu River, supporting a diverse ecosystem, including many types of fish, birds, and terrestrial and marine mammals. PCBs, dioxins, lead, mercury, and other contaminants have accumulated in the water and sediments of the bayou and its surrounding wetlands and floodplains.
Restrictions on consumption of fish and shellfish(link is external) from the bayou have been in place since 1987 due to elevated toxin levels. Swimming and other water-based recreation activities are also considered unsafe. In addition, contaminants from the bayou have contributed to a fish consumption advisory for the entire Calcasieu Estuary, first issued in 1992.
NOAA and the other trustees have conducted a natural resource damage assessment in cooperation with the PRPs.
On October 15, 2018, the court approved an $11 million consent decree resolving claims pertaining to the discharge of hazardous substances into Bayou d'Inde. NOAA and other trustees will use settlement funds to pay for future natural resource restoration actions selected by the trustees.
On June 20, 2023, The Trustees of the Bayou d’Inde hazardous waste site published a Draft Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment (RP/EA) that describes injuries to natural resources attributed to hazardous substances released into the environment and proposes certain restoration projects. The Trustee Council is accepting comments on the Draft RP/EA for a 30-day comment period open through July 21, 2023.
On July 19, 2024, the Final Restoration Plan/Evnironmental Assessment was released. The Trustee propose to proceed with the selected restoration activities after considering comments from the public scoping period.
On June 19, 2006, over 99,000 barrels of waste oil and millions of gallons of untreated oily wastewater overflowed from storage tanks and discharged into a containment area in CITGO’s Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex. An estimated 54,000 barrels of waste oil and an undetermined amount of oily wastewater flowed out of the containment area and into the Indian Marais, the Calcasieu River, and adjoining waterways in the Calcasieu Estuary.
Approximately 150 linear miles of shoreline habitats were affected by the spill, including hundreds of acres of marsh, intertidal, and subtidal sediments. The oil directly impacted fish, benthic organisms, and several species of birds, including secretive marsh birds such as rails and larger birds such as gulls.
The released oil was in a highly volatile and acutely toxic form, requiring initial closure of oiled areas to responders and natural resource damage assessment teams. The highly toxic compounds in the oil were soluble, resulting in significant mixing into the water column. Between June 23 and June 28, numerous fish kills were observed in and around the floating oil.
In the days following the spill, fishing and other recreational activities in the area were shut down.
On August 31, 2021, the U.S Department of Justice finalized a Consent Decree valued at $19.69 million to restore natural resources injured by the Citgo Refinery oil spill.
This Consent Decree settled claims of injuries and will go towards restoration projects that benefit habitats, fish, wildlife, and outdoor recreational activities impacted by the oil spill.
On February 24, 2022, the trustees released the Final Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan, with selected projects to restore the resources injured by the spill. The selected restoration projects include
With the projects identified in this Final Restoration Plan, the trustees aim to restore approximately 432 acres of habitat near the Calcasieu estuary to compensate for injuries to shoreline habitats, oysters and birds.
According to the 2020 United States census, there were 216,785 people, 77,232 households, and 53,308 families residing in the parish. In 2010, 70.8% of the population were White, 24.9% Black or African American, 1.1% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.9% of some other race and 1.9% of two or more races. 2.6% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race); 24.9% were of French, French Canadian or Cajun, 8.4% American, 6.2% Irish, 6.2% English and 6.1% German ancestry. In 2020, the racial and ethnic makeup was 63.25% non-Hispanic white, 25.29% Black or African American, 0.42% Native American, 1.75% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 3.98% other or two or more races, and 5.25% Hispanic or Latino of any race.
In 2010, were 73,996 households, out of which 35.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.60% were married couples living together, 14.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.50% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the parish, 27.40% of the population was under the age of 18, 10.30% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 21.80% from 45 to 64, and 11.90% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males.
The median income for a household in the parish was $35,372, and the median income for a family was $41,903. Males had a median income of $36,569 versus $21,390 for females according to the 2010 census. The per capita income for the parish was $17,710. About 12.80% of families and 15.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.90% of those under age 18 and 14.20% of those age 65 or over.
Calcasieu Parish is governed by an elected body known as the Police Jury. Some 15 single-member districts have been defined, with a population of approximately 12,200 persons per district (based on the 2000 census). Each district elects one Juror for representation, in keeping with the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court of the "one man, one vote" principle.
The Court had found that Louisiana and a number of other states had failed to reapportion their state legislatures for decades, in many cases keeping representation based on geographic boundaries, such as counties or parishes, rather than population. This had resulted in under-representation for decades of urban and industrialized districts in the state legislature. Redistricting was also required at the parish level for election of police juries. By the constitution, reapportionment (or redistricting) of the parish is required following each official census. This can change the boundaries of the single-member districts, to ensure that each Juror represents approximately the same number of people.
A 2003 report found that the office of the public defender in Calcasieu Parish used an expert in only 1 of 171 cases. The criminal defense lawyers in that parish visited their clients in jail in only 1 out of 14 cases.
The first courthouse erected at Marion, a crudely built log cabin, was completed in August 1841. When the seat of justice was changed to Lake Charles in 1852, Sheriff Jacob Ryan with the help of his slave, Uncle George, and the aid of his good friend and fellow landowner, Samuel Adams Kirby, loaded the log cabin courthouse on an ox cart and transported the small building through the piney woods to Lake Charles. A new wooden courthouse was completed within a year.
This courthouse was replaced in 1891 by a colonial-style brick building erected at a cost of $20,000. In 1902 the parish added an annex to this building. A disastrous fire on April 23, 1910, destroyed the courthouse as well as most of downtown Lake Charles. Many of the records of the parish were burned or damaged. On April 4, 1911, the Police Jury decided to build a new courthouse on the old site.
It is a brick and terracotta structure completed in 1912 at a cost of $200,000. It is a replica of the famous Villa Copra, known as the Rotunda in Vicenza. The villa was designed by noted Italian architect, Andrea Palladio. His work became internationally known in the 17th and 18th centuries, and was influential both in Great Britain and the United States. Calcasieu Parish's replica was designed by Favrot and Livaudais of New Orleans. The dome atop the courthouse is of solid copper.
An annex containing two additional court rooms and additional space for the Clerk of Court and the Police Jury was added in the year 1958. Another annex for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals of the State of Louisiana was completed in 1960.
In 1967, a Parish Government Building was completed to house the various offices of the Police Jury. This building was expanded in 2003, and houses the following departments: Office of the Parish Administrator, Records Department, Division of Finance/Purchasing, Facilities Management, Human Resources Department, Division of Planning and Development, Division of Engineering and Public Works, and the Government Access Channel.
In 1987, a new building was constructed to house the District Attorney's Office. A new state-of-the-art correctional center was completed in 1990 to replace the old jail, which was constructed in 1956. A separate building was completed in 1991 for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. A Judicial Center was constructed on the site of the old jail to house the Fourteenth Judicial District, and was completed in March 1994.
Between 1993 and 1998 an extensive interior and exterior restoration and renovation was performed on the 1912 Parish Courthouse. The Courthouse houses several offices, including the Clerk of Court, Juvenile and Family Court, Registrar of Voters, Sheriff's Civil Division, Veterans Affairs Office, and others.
The primary law enforcement for the parish is the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office. In 2016, employees of the office were amongst the lowest-paid in the region.
The Louisiana State Police is the primary law enforcement on state highways within the parish.
Public schools in all parts of the parish are operated by the Calcasieu Parish School Board.
It is in the service area of Sowela Technical Community College.
Elements of the 256th IBCT and the 139TH RSG (Regional Support Group) are based in Lake Charles. The 256th IBCT deployed to Iraq twice, 2004-5 and 2010. De Quincy is the home of H Company of the 199th Forward Support Battalion which is a detachment of 3-156th Infantry Battalion. The Battalion's HHC is located in Lake Charles. These units deployed to Iraq with the 256TH IBCT.
Geology
30°14′N 93°22′W﻿ / ﻿30.23°N 93.36°W﻿ / 30.23; -93.36