Lincoln Parish (
French: ''Paroisse de Lincoln'') is a
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...
located in the
U.S. state of
Louisiana
Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
. As of the
2020 census, the population was 48,396. 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 parishes.
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 five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...
was
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
from the parish's creation in 1873 until 1884, when a parish-wide vote moved it to the new railroad town of
Ruston.
Lincoln Parish comprises the Ruston
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
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
Reconstruction may refer to:
Politics, history, and sociology
*Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company
*''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...
; in 1873 it was formed from land that had belonged to
Bienville,
Claiborne,
Jackson and
Union parishes to create one in which newly elected representatives might have more ties to the
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
Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
.
Lincoln Parish is usually Republican in contested elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
won the parish with 10,739 votes (56.5 percent) to
U.S. President Barack H. Obama, the
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
*
U.S. Highway 63
*
U.S. Highway 80
*
U.S. Highway 167
*
Louisiana Highway 33
*
Louisiana Highway 146
Adjacent parishes
*
Union Parish (north)
*
Ouachita Parish (east)
*
Jackson Parish (south)
*
Bienville Parish (southwest)
*
Claiborne Parish (northwest)
Communities
Cities
*
Grambling
*
Ruston (parish seat and largest municipality)
Towns
*
Dubach
*
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
Villages
*
Choudrant
*
Downsville
*
Simsboro
Unincorporated communities
*
Corinth
Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...
* Mount Zion
*
Pleasant Hill
*
Hico
*
Hilly
*
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
Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...
in
Ruston, and
Grambling State University in Grambling.
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.
Cedar Creek (K - 12) is located in Ruston
National Guard
527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...
, 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
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
References
External links
Lincoln Parish
{{authority control
Louisiana parishes
Ruston micropolitan area
1873 establishments in Louisiana
Populated places established in 1873