Morehouse Parish, Louisiana

Morehouse Parish, Louisiana
The Morehouse Parish Courthouse (built 1914) is located in the center of downtown Bastrop, Louisiana.
Location in the state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1844
Named for	Abraham Morehouse
Seat	Bastrop
Largest city	Bastrop
Area  - Total  - Land  - Water	805 sq mi (2,085 km²) 794 sq mi (2,057 km²) 11 sq mi (28 km²), 1.37%
Population  - (2000)  - Density	31,021 39/sq mi (15/km²)
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5

The Morehouse Parish Assessor's Office is located behind the parish courthouse in Bastrop.

Morehouse Parish (French: Paroisse de Morehouse) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Bastrop. In 2000, the parish population was 31,021.

Morehouse Parish is part of the Bastrop Micropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Monroe–Bastrop Combined Statistical Area.

Geography

The parish has a total area of 805 square miles (2,085 km²), of which, 794 square miles (2,057 km²) of it is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) of it (1.36%) is water.

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 165
• U.S. Highway 425
• Louisiana Highway 2

Adjacent counties and parishes

• Union County, Arkansas (northwest)
• Ashley County, Arkansas (north)
• Chicot County, Arkansas (northeast)
• West Carroll Parish (east)
• Richland Parish (southeast)
• Ouachita Parish (southwest)
• Union Parish (west)

National protected areas

• Handy Brake National Wildlife Refuge
• Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 31,021 people, 11,382 households, and 8,320 families residing in the parish. The population density was 39 people per square mile (15/km²). There were 12,711 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the parish was 55.76% White, 43.36% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. 0.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Census	Pop.		%±
1900	16,634		—
1910	18,786		12.9%
1920	19,311		2.8%
1930	23,689		22.7%
1940	27,571		16.4%
1950	32,038		16.2%
1960	33,709		5.2%
1970	32,463		−3.7%
1980	34,803		7.2%
1990	31,938		−8.2%
2000	31,021		−2.9%
2010	27,979		−9.8%
Morehouse Parish Census Data[2]

There were 11,382 households out of which 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.10% were married couples living together, 19.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 24.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% 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 3.14.

In the parish the population was spread out with 27.50% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 91.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.10 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $25,124, and the median income for a family was $31,358. Males had a median income of $31,385 versus $18,474 for females. The per capita income for the parish was $13,197. About 21.30% of families and 26.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 35.90% of those under age 18 and 23.80% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

Map of Morehouse Parish, Louisiana With Municipal Labels

• Bastrop
• Bonita
• Collinston
• Mer Rouge
• Oak Ridge

Education

Morehouse Parish School Board operates local public schools.

National Guard

1023rd Engineer Company (Vertical) of the 528th Engineer Battalion of the 225th Engineer Brigade is located in Bastrop.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana

Louisiana portal

References

1. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ United States Census Bureau. "Louisiana Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". http://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/la190090.txt. Retrieved 2008-02-02. 

Coordinates: 32°49′N 91°48′W / 32.82°N 91.80°W / 32.82; -91.80