Editing Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (section)

===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.