Welsh is a town in
Jefferson Davis Parish,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
. The population was 3,226 at the time of the
2010 census. It is part of the
Jennings Micropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Welsh was originally a homestead owned by former plantation overseer and
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
soldier Henry Welsh in the late 1800s.
In 1881, Welsh donated right-of-way and a
section house to the
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...
on the condition that trains stop in the town.
The town of Welsh was platted in 1880
and incorporated on March 15, 1888,
when Henry Welsh was elected the first mayor. Initially part of the Old Imperial Calcasieu Parish, in 1913 Welsh became part of the newly established Jefferson Davis Parish.
Geography
Welsh is located at (30.237419, -92.820593).
According to the
United States 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
An economy is an area of th ...
, the town has a total area of 6.3 square miles (16.4 km), of which 6.2 square miles (16.1 km) is land and 0.1 square mile (0.3 km) (1.89%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 3,333 people, 1,128 households, and 765 families residing in the town.
Notable people
*
Canray Fontenot (1922–1995), Creole fiddler
*
Phillip Walker (1937–2010),
electric blues guitarist and singer
*
Charles Mann,
swamp pop
Swamp pop is a music genre indigenous to the Acadiana region of south Louisiana and an adjoining section of southeast Texas. Created in the 1950s by young Cajuns and Creoles, it combines New Orleans–style rhythm and blues, country and western ...
legend and member of the
Louisiana Music Hall of Fame
Education
Jefferson Davis Parish Public Schools operates public schools in Welsh. Schools serving Welsh includ
Welsh Elementary School(PK–5) in Welsh, Welsh - Roanoke Jr. High (6–8) in nearby
Roanoke, and
Welsh High School (9–12) in Welsh.
Jefferson Davis Parish Library operates the McBurney Memorial Branch at 301 South Sarah Street.
References
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Towns in Louisiana
Towns in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana