Editing Parks, Louisiana (section)

==History==

The exact origin of the name "Parks" is somewhat of a mystery. Although some residents seem to think that it had something to do with the railroad, one story states the first train to pass through the community arrived on [[Easter Sunday]]. When the train engineer, who apparently did not speak or understand [[French language|French]], inquired about the name of the settlement, the residents replied ''"C'est Pacques"'' (it's [[Easter]]). The train engineer thought he understood the word Parks, and the name apparently stuck.

Parks, originally called '''Potier''', lies in the area previously known as ''La Pointe District'', which existed in 1765. It was also called '''La Pointe de Repose''', supposedly because the cowhands in the early 19th century drove their [[cattle]] into the [[cul-de-sac]] formed by the sharp bend of the [[bayou]] on round up time.

Settlement began in the Parks village shortly after 1900. Around that time, Paul Melancon purchased a large tract of land in the vicinity of what is now Parks in order to establish a [[cotton]] farm. But, shortly after buying the property, he decided to divide a portion into town lots and the community took shape.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 6, 2016|title=The history behind the village of Parks|url=https://www.klfy.com/local/the-history-behind-the-village-of-parks/|access-date=August 2, 2021|website=KLFY|language=en-US}}</ref> In 1908, the village of 330 [[acres]] was incorporated. Since that time, Parks has remained approximately the same size.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.stmartinparish-la.org/parks_page3.htm |title=www.stmartinparish-la.org "History of Parks" |access-date=September 25, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041104044008/http://stmartinparish-la.org/parks_page3.htm |archive-date=November 4, 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref>