Autrey House, Lincoln Parish, LA IMG 2543

Lincoln Parish (French language, French: ''Paroisse de Lincoln'') is a Parish (administrative division), parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 46,735. The parish seat is Ruston, Louisiana, Ruston. The parish was created on February 24, 1873, from parts of Bienville, Claiborne, Union, and Jackson parishes, and its boundaries have changed only once (in 1877). This makes Lincoln Parish one of the Reconstruction Era, Reconstruction parishes. Lincoln Parish comprises the Ruston, LA Ruston, Louisiana micropolitan area, micropolitan statistical area.

History

Since the late 20th century, archeologists have dated eleven sites in northern Louisiana where thousands of years ago, indigenous cultures built complexes with multiple, monumental earthwork mounds during the Archaic period in the Americas, Middle Archaic period, long before the development of sedentary, agricultural societies. At sites such as Watson Brake, Frenchman's Bend, and Caney, generations of hunter-gatherers worked for hundreds of years to build and add to mound complexes. Hedgepeth Site, located in Lincoln Parish, is dated about 5200–4500 BP (about 3300–2600 BCE), from the latter part of this period. Such finds are changing the understanding of early human cultures. The parish was one of several new ones established by the state legislature during Reconstruction era of the United States, Reconstruction; in 1873 it was formed from land that had belonged to Bienville Parish, Bienville, Claiborne Parish, Claiborne, Jackson Parish, Jackson and Union Parish, Union parishes to create one in which newly elected representatives might have more ties to the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. It was an attempt to break up the old order of political power, and to capitalize on the arrival of the railroad line. The parish is named for the late U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. In 1934, the historian Robert W. Mondy of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston completed a thesis entitled "A History of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana" as part of the requirements for his Master of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Another Louisiana Tech faculty member, Robert C. Snyder, was instrumental in the establishment in 1962 of the Lincoln Parish Library. He served as the library board president for many years. Lincoln Parish is usually Republican in contested elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the parish with 10,739 votes (56.5 percent) to U.S. President Barack H. Obama, the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who polled 7,956 ballots (41.9 percent).

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of , of which is land and (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

Interstate 20 * US 80

U.S. Highway 80 * US 167

U.S. Highway 167 * Louisiana 33

Louisiana Highway 33

Adjacent parishes

* Union Parish, Louisiana, Union Parish (north) * Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, Ouachita Parish (east) * Jackson Parish, Louisiana, Jackson Parish (south) * Bienville Parish, Louisiana, Bienville Parish (southwest) * Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, Claiborne Parish (northwest)

Communities

Cities

* Grambling, Louisiana, Grambling * Ruston, Louisiana, Ruston (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

* Dubach, Louisiana, Dubach * Vienna, Louisiana, Vienna

Villages

* Choudrant, Louisiana, Choudrant * Downsville, Louisiana, Downsville * Simsboro, Louisiana, Simsboro

Unincorporated communities

* Corinth, Louisiana, Corinth * Mount Zion * Pleasant Hill, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, Pleasant Hill * Hico, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, Hico * Hilly, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, Hilly * Unionville, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, Unionville

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 48,396 people, 17,712 households, and 10,407 families residing in the parish.

Education

Lincoln Parish residents are zoned to Lincoln Parish School Board schools. The parish is home to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana, Ruston, and Grambling State University in Grambling. Bethel Christian School (Ruston, Louisiana), Bethel Christian School is located in Ruston. Ruston High School is located in Ruston. Lincoln Preparatory School is located in Grambling. Choudrant Elementary School and Choudrant High School are located in Choudrant.

National Guard

527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana, the parish seat. This battalion is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard.

Attractions

* Eddie G. Robinson Museum * Lincoln Parish Park * Louisiana Military Museum * Lincoln Parish Museum * Dixie Center for the Arts * North Central Louisiana Arts Council * Ruston Community Theatre * Celebrity Theatre (movie theater) * Annual Peach Festival held in Ruston * Annual Chicken Festival held in Dubach * Kingdom Collectives Film Festival held in Ruston

Politics

References

External links

Lincoln Parish
{{authority control Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, Louisiana parishes Ruston, Louisiana micropolitan area 1873 establishments in Louisiana Populated places established in 1873