Editing Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (section)

==History==
===Early history===
The early history of the parish dates to the period of the [[Spain|Spanish]] occupation of Louisiana, after France had ceded this territory following its defeat by Great Britain in the [[Seven Years' War]]. In 1797, [[Jose M. Mora]] was granted a large tract of land between the Rio Hondo (now [[Calcasieu River]]) and the [[Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)|Sabine River]],{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} known for years as the [[Neutral Ground (Louisiana)|"Neutral Strip"]] between Louisiana and Texas. The area became a refuge for outlaws and [[Filibuster (military)|filibusters]] from Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi of the United States, which had recently gained independence from Great Britain.

The territory was disputed for years between [[Spain]] and the [[United States]] after [[France]] had [[Louisiana Purchase|ceded Louisiana]] to the American government as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. It was definitively acquired by the United States from Spain with the [[Adams-Onis Treaty]] in 1819. The treaty was formally ratified on February 22, 1821. By an act of [[US Congress|Congress]], approved on March 3, 1823, this strip of land was attached to the district of the [[Louisiana Territory]] south of the [[Red River of the South|Red River]].

Early settlers to the area included the Ryan, Perkin, Hodges, Bilbo, LeBleu, Deviers, and Henderson families. Some of these families also brought along a few enslaved servants. [[Acadia]]n settlers, from the eastern parishes of Louisiana, also migrated to this area. Of French descent and exiled by the British from [[Acadia]] (eastern [[Canada]]), many of these refugees had settled in Louisiana. The parish had a diverse ethnic mix of [[Louisiana Creole people|French and Spanish Creoles]], [[Acadians]], Anglo-[[United States|Americans]], Enslaved African Americans, Free African Americans, and [[Native Americans in the United States|Indians]]. Data compiled from historical volumes of the US Center of Population and Housing indicate that in 1850, 240 of 3914 Parish residents were "Free Men of Color". By 1860 that number had risen to 305 of 5928. The 1860 U.S. census of Louisiana counts 1171 Slaves among Calcasieu Parish residents.

=== "Imperial Calcasieu" era ===
Calcasieu Parish was created in 1840 from the Parish of [[St. Landry Parish, Louisiana|Saint Landry]]. The new parish was the largest in the state, larger than either of the two smallest states, [[Delaware]] and [[Rhode Island]].<ref name=":0" /> This size, which ultimately was divided into five parishes, led to the parish's nickname "Imperial Calcasieu."<ref name=":0" />

On August 24, 1840, six men met at a private home near present-day [[Chloe, Louisiana|Chloe]] to organize as the parish [[police jury]] representing six wards. The first order of business was to elect officers, appoint a parish clerk, and settle on simple parliamentary rules that would enable the president to keep the meetings orderly and progressive. The jury adopted all of the laws then in force in Saint Landry Parish. They appointed a parish constable, a parish treasurer, two parish assessors, and an operator of the ferry at Buchanan's crossing. The assessors were given two months to assess all of the property in the parish and a salary of $90.

On September 14, 1840, a survey was authorized of land known then as Marsh Bayou Bluff in order to establish a seat of justice (parish seat) and construct a courthouse and jail. On December 8, 1840, the jury chose to rename this community as Marion. In 1843, the Legislature authorized a vote to move the parish seat.

Finally in 1852, Jacob Ryan was successful in having the parish seat relocated from Marion to the east bank of Lake Charles. This parish seat was incorporated in 1857 as the town of Charleston; it was reincorporated in 1868 as [[Lake Charles, Louisiana|Lake Charles]]. It is located about {{convert|6|mi|km|spell=in}} from Marion, now known as Old Town. The name Lake Charles commemorates one of the first European settlers, Charles Sallier, a Frenchman who acquired land in this area at the beginning of the 19th century.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.cppj.net/government/parish-history|title=History of Calcasieu Parish|website=Calcasieu Parish Police Jury|access-date=July 10, 2019}}</ref>

=== Division ===
In 1870 [[Cameron Parish, Louisiana|Cameron Parish]] was created from the southern portion of Imperial Calcasieu. It was one of several parishes organized during the [[Reconstruction era]] by the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]-dominated legislature, in an effort to build Republican strength. Many Freedmen had joined the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] elsewhere in the state. However, while other areas of Louisiana had been developed as cotton plantations, Calcasieu Parish had not. Although the parish had been larger in land mass than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island it was primarily utilized as grazing land for cattle with no significant plantings of cotton, sugar cane or other crops requiring the utilization of slave labor.<ref>Some Aspects of Agricultural Retardation in Southwest Louisiana, 1865-1900 - Donald J. Millet, Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association, Vol. 11, No. 1 (Winter, 1970), pp. 37-61</ref> Therefore, Calcasieu before the Civil War was home to a lower percentile of African-American slaves than many other parts of the State.

In 1912 Calcasieu Parish still comprised an area of more than {{convert|3600|sqmi|km2}}, and remained the largest parish in the state by geographic area. In 1912, "Imperial Calcasieu" was further divided with the creation of the three new parishes of [[Allen Parish, Louisiana|Allen]], [[Beauregard Parish, Louisiana|Beauregard]], and [[Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana|Jefferson Davis]], with a total area of approximately {{convert|2548|sqmi|km2}}.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> These were the most recent parishes organized in Louisiana. Following these jurisdictional changes, Calcasieu Parish lost almost half of its population between the [[1910 United States census|1910]] and [[1920 United States census]].