Franklin Parish (french: Paroisse de Franklin) is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

located in the northeastern part of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,767. The

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

is Winnsboro. The parish was founded in 1843 and named for

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

Culture

Franklin Parish hosts the annual Franklin Parish

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

Festival with music, attractions and hundreds of vendors. The 2018 festival was attended by over 10,000 people in bad weather but usually the draw is between 15,000 and 20,000. People from across the region are attracted by the relatively high vendor count and this has an important economic contribution for local businesses. In past years the festival has included an

antique car An antique car is an automobile that is an antique. Narrower definitions vary based on how old a car must be to qualify. The Antique Automobile Club of America defines an antique car as over 25 years of age. However, the legal definitions for th ...

show, a

zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to z ...

exhibit for children and an exhibit about Louisiana's contributions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, along with performances from

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

-winning artists

Jo-El Sonnier Jo-El Sonnier (; born Joel Sonnier; October 2, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter and accordionist who performs country music and Cajun music. Originally signed to Mercury Nashville Records, Sonnier charted several minor singles on the ''Bi ...

and

Jason Crabb Jason Douglas Crabb (born March 3, 1977) is a Christian music singer and musician. He has been the lead vocalist for the group The Crabb Family.

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 (1.7%) is water.

Major highways

Louisiana Highway 4 Louisiana Highway 4 (LA 4) is a state highway located in northern Louisiana. It runs in an east–west direction from U.S. Highway 71 (US 71) at Loggy Bayou to LA 605 in Newellton. The entire route parallels Interstate 20 (I- ...

Louisiana Highway 15 Louisiana Highway 15 (LA 15) is a state highway located in central and northern Louisiana. It runs in a north–south direction from the junction of LA 1 and LA 970 in Lettsworth to the concurrent U.S. Highways 63 and 167 in ...

Louisiana Highway 17 Louisiana Highway 17 (LA 17) is a state highway located in northeastern Louisiana. It runs in a north–south direction from the junction of U.S. Highway 425 (US 425), LA 4, LA 15, and LA 130 in Winnsboro to the Ark ...

U.S. Highway 425 U.S. Route 425 (US 425) is a north–south United States highway that travels in the U.S. states of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas. It was first commissioned in 1989. The route's northern terminus is in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, at a ...

Adjacent parishes

* Richland Parish (north) *

Madison Parish Madison Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Madison'') is a parish located on the northeastern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the delta lowlands along the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,093. Its paris ...

(northeast) * Tensas Parish (southeast) * Catahoula Parish (south) *

Caldwell Parish Caldwell Parish (french: Paroisse de Caldwell) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,132, making it the fifth-least populous parish in Louisiana. The parish seat is Columbia. Most r ...

(west)

National protected area

Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge The Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge is a protected wildlife area located west of the city of Tallulah in Madison, Tensas and Franklin parishes in northeastern Louisiana, USA. Wildlife and habitat The refuge is in located in the upper basi ...

(part)

Demographics

2020 census

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 off ...

, there were 19,774 people, 7,423 households, and 5,130 families residing in the parish.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 21,263 people, 7,754 households, and 5,706 families residing in the parish. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 34 people per square mile (13/km²). There were 8,623 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 67.16%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 31.61%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.27% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.15% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 7,754 households, out of which 33.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.30% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 16.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.13. In the parish the population was spread out, with 27.90% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 25.80% from 25 to 44, 21.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.40 males. The median income for a household in the parish was $22,964, and the median income for a family was $27,440. Males had a median income of $26,305 versus $16,758 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the parish was $12,675. About 23.10% of families and 28.40% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 41.40% of those under age 18 and 25.00% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Franklin Parish School Board Franklin Parish School Board is a school district headquartered in Winnsboro, Louisiana, United States. The district serves Franklin Parish. The Franklin Parish superintendent is john Gullet, a former Superintendent of caldwell parish schools ...

operates local public schools. Franklin Parish High School is the sole public high school in the parish. The parish also hosts two private schools. One of them, Franklin Academy in Winnsboro, was opened as a

segregation academy Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...

on September 14, 1970, three weeks after parish schools were ordered by a federal judge to desegregate. Franklin Academy's student body is 97% white, while Franklin Parish High School's is majority Black.

Communities

City

* Winnsboro (parish seat and largest municipality)

Town

* Wisner

Villages

* Baskin *

Gilbert Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

Unincorporated community

* Crowville

Notable people

Ralph E. King Ralph Elijah King, Sr. (June 16, 1902 – December 2, 1974), was a physician from Winnsboro, Louisiana, who served three non-consecutive terms in the Louisiana State Senate for Catahoula, Franklin Franklin may refer to: People * Fr ...

, Winnsboro physician who represented Catahoula, Franklin, and Richland parishes in the

Louisiana State Senate 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 ...

from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960 * Anthony "Booger" McFarland, Winnsboro native; All-American football player at

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 n ...

; played in

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

for

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...

* Steve Pylant, former sheriff of Franklin Parish; Republican member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 rep ...

, resides in Franklin Parish near

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

in Richland Parish. * Regnal Wallace, Louisiana farm broadcaster of radio and television; originally from Crowville *

James M. Stephens James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals Judge, former 5th District Chief Judge, inventor and Baskin native.

Politics

References

{{authority control Louisiana parishes 1843 establishments in Louisiana Populated places established in 1843