DeSoto Parish (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

: ''Paroisse DeSoto'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1843. At the

2010 U.S. census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

, the population was 26,656; at the 2020 census, its population increased to 26,812. Its parish seat is

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area (followed by Sutton-in-Ashfield). It gained the Royal Charter of a market tow ...

. DeSoto Parish is part of the

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

– Bossier City metropolitan statistical area.

History

It is a typical misconception that the parish was named after

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

, the

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both ind ...

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." The Battle of Mansfield was fought in DeSoto Parish on April 8, 1864. General

Alfred Mouton Jean-Jacques-Alfred-Alexandre "Alfred" Mouton (February 18, 1829 – April 8, 1864) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. Although trained at West Point, he soon resigned his commission to become a civil engineer and then a ...

was killed in the fighting, but his position was carried forward by

Prince de Polignac Jules Auguste Armand Marie de Polignac, Count of Polignac (; 14 May 178030 March 1847), then Prince of Polignac, and briefly 3rd Duke of Polignac in 1847, was a French statesman and ultra-royalist politician after the Revolution. He served as pr ...

, a native of France. The battle is commemorated at the Mansfield State Historic Site four miles south of Mansfield off Louisiana Highway 175. The Confederate victory prevented a planned Union invasion thereafter of Texas. Mansfield, also known as the

Battle of Sabine Crossroads A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

, a Confederate victory, occurred with one year and one day left in the duration of the war. Mansfield was quickly followed by the

Battle of Pleasant Hill The Battle of Pleasant Hill occurred on April 9, 1864 and formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War when Union forces aimed to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport. The battle was essentially a continuation ...

to the south.

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, 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. Route 84 (US 84) is an east–west U.S. Highway that started as a short Georgia–Alabama route in the original 1926 scheme. Later, in 1941, it had been extended all the way to Colorado. The highway's eastern terminus is a short dista ...

U.S. Highway 171 U.S. Highway 171 (US 171) is a part of the United States Numbered Highway System and the only route within that system currently located entirely within the state of Louisiana. It spans in a north–south direction from the junction of U.S. ...

U.S. Highway 371 U.S. Route 371 is a north–south United States highway in the U.S. states of Arkansas and Louisiana. The highway's northern terminus is in De Queen, Arkansas at an intersection with U.S. Highway 70. It is co-signed for its last between Lo ...

Louisiana Highway 5 Louisiana Highway 5 (LA 5) is a state highway located in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana. It runs in a general southwest to northeast direction from U.S. Highway 84 (US 84) in Logansport to LA 175 in Kingston. An almost entirely rura ...

Adjacent parishes

Caddo Parish Caddo Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Caddo'') is a parish located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The parish seat is Shreveport, which developed a ...

(north) *

Red River Parish Red River Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de la Rivière-Rouge'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,091, making it the fourth-least populous parish in Louisiana. Its seat is Coushatta. ...

(east) * Natchitoches Parish (southeast) *

Sabine Parish Sabine Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de la Sabine'') is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 24,233. The seat of the parish is Many. Sabine was one of five parishes created in as many week ...

(south) * Shelby County, Texas (southwest) * Panola County, Texas (west)

National protected area

* Red River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

City

(parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

* Keachi * Logansport *

Stonewall Stonewall or Stone wall may refer to: * Stone wall, a kind of masonry construction * Stonewalling, engaging in uncooperative or delaying tactics * Stonewall riots, a 1969 turning point for the modern LGBTQ rights movement in Greenwich Village, Ne ...

Villages

Grand Cane Grand Cane is a village in DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 242 at the 2010 census, up from 191 in 2000. It is part of the Shreveport– Bossier City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the hometown of women's bas ...

* Longstreet * South Mansfield * Stanley

Unincorporated areas

Census-designated places

* Frierson * Gloster

Unincorporated communities

Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

* Naborton *

Pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

Demographics

As of the

2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 26,812 people, 10,821 households, and 7,254 families residing in the parish. At the 2019

American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...

, 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 Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and #Terminology differences, other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States (Indigenous peopl ...

, 0.1%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, <0.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 0.1% some other race, 1.9%

two or more races 2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many culture ...

, 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), professional baseball player *

C.L. Bryant Cleon Lewis Bryant (born March 28, 1956) is an American Baptist minister and former radio and television host based in Jensen Beach, Florida. He is a senior fellow at FreedomWorks, a conservative advocacy group. Background C.L. Bryant was born ...

(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 The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is compose ...

* 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 Milton Joseph Cunningham, also known as Joe Cunningham (March 10, 1842 – October 19, 1916) was a Louisiana attorney and politician who served as Attorney General of Louisiana from 1884 to 1888, and from 1892 to 1900. As Attorney General he su ...

(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 George Elyott Dement Jr. (January 23, 1922 – January 12, 2014), was an American innkeeper and restaurateur who served from 1989 to 2005 as the thirteenth mayor of Bossier City, Louisiana. Background Dement's parents were George Dement Sr. and th ...

(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

; born in DeSoto Parish * William Pike Hall, Sr. (1896–1945),

state senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 U ...

for

Caddo The Caddo people comprise the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Binger, Oklahoma. They speak the Caddo language. The Caddo Confederacy was a network of Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands, wh ...

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 Centenary College of Louisiana is a private liberal arts college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi Rive ...

* Curtis W. McCoy, mayor of Mansfield *

Garnie W. McGinty Garnie William McGinty (April 5, 1900 – April 22, 1984) was a historian whose career was principally based for thirty-five years at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. Biography McGinty was born in Bienville Parish in north Loui ...

(1900–1984), historian at Louisiana Tech University and school principal * Mack Charles Reynolds (1935–1991), professional football player *

Jayson Richardson Jayson is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include A *Jayson Adair (born 1969/1970), American businessman *Jayson P. Ahern, American civil servant *Jayson Aquino (born 1992), Dominican baseball player B *Jayson Blair, Jayson ...

, elected Sheriff of DeSoto Parish as a No Party candidate in 2018 * B. H. "Johnny" Rogers (1905–1977), politician *

C. O. Simpkins, Sr. Cuthbert Ormond Simpkins (January 13, 1925 – December 4, 2019) was a dentist, civil rights campaigner, and state legislator in Louisiana. He left the state under threat of violence before returning. He was born in Mansfield, Louisiana to Oscar S ...

(1925–2019 from Mansfield), African-American state representative, dentist, and civil rights activist in Shreveport *

O.C. Smith Ocie Lee Smith (June 21, 1932 – November 23, 2001), known professionally as O. C. Smith, was an American singer. His recording of "Little Green Apples" went to number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968 and sold over one million recor ...

(1932–2001), singer

Politics

References

External links

* {{authority control Louisiana parishes Parishes in Shreveport – Bossier City metropolitan area 1843 establishments in Louisiana Populated places established in 1843