Editing Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana (section)

=== 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]].