Orleans Parish (; ) 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 ...

of 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 ...

. Since 1870, the parish has been coextensive with the city of

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, and the parish and city are largely governed as a single consolidated city.

History

On April 10, 1805, the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was Admission to ...

was divided into 12 counties, including Orleans County. On April 14, 1807, the territory was also divided into 19 civil parishes while keeping the previous system of counties intact. Based on the boundaries and names of earlier

ecclesiastical 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 ...

es, Orleans County was divided into Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines parishes, with New Orleans inside the Orleans Parish limits. The county remained responsible for elections and taxation, while the parishes took over responsibility for civil, criminal, probate, and other judicial matters. The system of counties was never explicitly abolished, but the Louisiana Constitution of 1845 dropped any reference to counties and gave their powers to the parishes. At its establishment, the Orleans Parish government was led by a police jury, which had only limited authority within the city of New Orleans. In 1822, when the police jury began to be elected popularly, the New Orleans City Council was granted a veto over fiscal matters. In 1840, the parish was divided in two along the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. A second police jury was established and given authority over

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

. It was formally named the ''Police Jury of the Parish of Orleans on the right bank of the River Mississippi''. By 1846, the original police jury had become inactive and was abolished, resulting in the consolidation of the left bank with New Orleans. In 1870, the remainder of Orleans Parish was consolidated when the city became coextensive with the parish. The completion of Chef Menteur Highway in the 1850s connected far-flung communities such as Irish Bayou.

Geography

Orleans Parish is coextensive with New Orleans. Both are bounded by St. Tammany Parish and Lake Pontchartrain to the north,

St. Bernard Parish St. Bernard Parish (; ) is a List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat and largest community is Chalmette, Louisiana, Chalmette. The parish was formed in 1807. St. Bernard Parish is part of the New Or ...

and Lake Borgne to the east, Plaquemines Parish to the south, and Jefferson Parish to the south and west. The parish is part of the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area. Orleans Parish originally extended as far west as present-day Kenner and as far south as Grand Isle. In 1824, uncertainty over the relative locations of Grand Isle and Cheniere Caminada resulted in a territorial dispute between Orleans Parish and Lafourche Interior Parish (now Lafourche). The dispute was resolved in 1825 with the creation of Jefferson Parish, which included these areas. In 1852, New Orleans annexed the city of LaFayette (now Faubourg Lafayette) while keeping the parish boundaries unchanged, causing the city to extend into Jefferson Parish. However, subsequent annexations of Jefferson in 1870 and Carrollton in 1874 included the redrawing of both city and parish boundaries. Since 1870, Orleans Parish has been coextensive with New Orleans. In 1979, parish boundaries through Lake Pontchartrain were defined, resulting in a gain of territory for the parish.

Demographics

, Orleans Parish is the third most populous parish in Louisiana, behind

East Baton Rouge Parish East Baton Rouge Parish (; ) is the most populous List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its population was 456,781 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The county seat, parish seat is Baton Rouge, Louis ...

and neighboring Jefferson Parish.

Government

Since consolidation, Orleans Parish has retained a nominal, ''

sui generis ( , ) is a Latin phrase that means "of its/their own kind" or "in a class by itself", therefore "unique". It denotes an exclusion to the larger system an object is in relation to. Several disciplines use the term to refer to unique entities. ...

'' status under Louisiana state law that guarantees the city's

home rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governan ...

. It has been effectively abolished as a distinct governmental unit, and the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

considers New Orleans and Orleans Parish to be a single consolidated city. However, various parish offices remain with a degree of independence from the city government, while in other matters, the city represents the parish. Examples of parish entities include the Orleans Parish School Board, the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, and formerly the

Orleans Levee Board From 1890 through 2006, the Orleans Levee Board (OLB) was the body of commissioners that oversaw the Orleans Levee District (OLD) which supervised the levee and floodwall system in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. The role of the OLB changed over time. ...

Communities

Prior to the consolidation of Orleans Parish and New Orleans, the parish had several distinct communities and municipalities, including: *

* Carrollton * Irish Bayou * McDonoghville * Michoud *

Some additional communities were at one point part of Orleans Parish but were later included in other parishes, such as: * Grand Isle (to Lafourche Interior Parish in 1824, but disputed; to Jefferson Parish in 1825) * Cheniere Caminada (to Lafourche Interior Parish in 1824, but disputed; to Jefferson Parish in 1825)

References

Sources

* {{Orleans Parish, Louisiana