Claiborne Parish, Louisiana


Claiborne Parish is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,170. The parish seat is Homer.

History

John Murrell moved his family from Arkansas to the Flat Lick Bayou area about 6 miles west of present-day Homer in 1818, and they became the first known non-natives to permanently settle in Claiborne Parish. As more settlers moved into the area, the Murrell house served as a church, school and post office. When the state legislature created Claiborne Parish out of Natchitoches Parish in 1828, all governmental business, including court, began being held in the Murrell house. This continued until the new parish's police jury selected Russellville as the parish seat. As the population began swelling in what was then the western part of the parish, the seat was moved to Overton in 1836, because of its position at the head of the navigable portion of Dorcheat Bayou. Due to flooding and health concerns, the parish seat was moved to Athens in 1846, but an 1848 fire destroyed the courthouse and all the records in it. Soon thereafter the Claiborne Police Jury chose the present site for the parish seat, which came to be named, Homer.
Much of the area history is preserved in the Herbert S. Ford Memorial Museum, located across from the parish courthouse in Homer.

Government and infrastructure

operates the David Wade Correctional Center in an unincorporated section of Claiborne Parish near Homer and Haynesville.

Geography

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

Major highways

Towns

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 14,170, 5,498 households, and 3,718 families. The median age was 45.0 years; 18.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 114.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 118.5 males age 18 and over.
The racial makeup of the parish was 51.3% White, 43.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 1.5% from some other race, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 3.4% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 5,498 households in the parish, of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 37.5% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 35.6% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 6,775 housing units in the parish, of which 18.8% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 74.2% were owner-occupied and 25.8% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.7% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.6%.

Racial and ethnic composition

Politics

With a narrow majority of African Americans in the population, Claiborne Parish in the years after the civil rights movement was primarily Democratic in political complexion. In 1988, Vice President George Herbert Walker Bush prevailed in Claiborne Parish with 3,756 votes. Governor Michael S. Dukakis of Massachusetts trailed with 3,158 votes. In 1996, U.S. President Bill Clinton of neighboring Arkansas, obtained 3,609 votes in Claiborne Parish. Republican Bob Dole of Kansas polled 2,500 votes.
However, by 2008, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona easily carried the parish in his losing race to Barack Obama. McCain polled 3,750 votes to Obama's 3,025 votes. In 2012, Mitt Romney carried the parish, with 3,649 votes, nearly identical to the McCain tally four years earlier. President Obama received 3,014 votes, or.6 of 1 percent greater than his earlier tabulation.

Education

serves the entire parish.
Claiborne Academy is a private institution in an unincorporated area in the parish, near Haynesville.

Notable people

Prominent Claiborne Parish residents include or have included: