Editing Tensas Parish, Louisiana

{{short description|Parish in Louisiana, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox U.S. county
 | county                   = Tensas Parish
 | state                    = Louisiana
 | type                     = [[Louisiana parishes|Parish]]
 | founded year             = 1843
 | founded date             = March 17
 | seat wl                  = St. Joseph
 | largest city wl          = Newellton
 | city type                = town
 | area_total_sq_mi         = 641
 | area_land_sq_mi          = 603
 | area_water_sq_mi         = 38
 | area percentage          = 6.0
 | population_as_of         = 2020
 | population_total         = 4147
 | pop_est_as_of            = 
 | population_est           = 
 | population_density_sq_mi = auto
 | time zone                = Central
 | ex image                 = Tensas Parish courthouse, LA.jpg
 | ex image size            = 250
 | ex image cap             = Tensas Parish Courthouse at St. Joseph
 | footnotes                = 
 | web                      = http://louisiana.gov/Government/Parish_Tensas/
 | named for                = [[Taensa|Taensa people]]
 | district                 = 5th
}}

'''Tensas Parish''' ({{langx|fr|Paroisse des Tensas}}) is a [[List of parishes in Louisiana|parish]] located in the northeastern section of the [[U.S. state|State]] of [[Louisiana]]; its eastern border is the [[Mississippi River]]. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population was 4,147.<ref>{{cite web|title=Census - Geography Profile: Tensas Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/profile/Tensas_Parish,_Louisiana?g=0500000US22107|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=January 22, 2023}}</ref> It is the least populated parish in Louisiana. The [[parish seat]] is [[St. Joseph, Louisiana|St. Joseph]].<ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx|access-date=June 7, 2011|title=Find a County|publisher=National Association of Counties}}</ref> The name ''Tensas'' is derived from the historic indigenous [[Taensa]] people.<ref>{{cite book|last=Swanton|first=John Reed|title=The Indian Tribes of North America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xpx6WoPz7xIC&pg=PA210|year=1952|publisher=US Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-8063-1730-4|page=210}}</ref> The parish was founded in 1843 following [[Indian Removal]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Tensas Parish|url=http://ccet.louisiana.edu/tourism/parishes/North_Louisiana/tensas.html|publisher=Center for Cultural and Eco-Tourism|access-date=September 5, 2014}}</ref>

The parish was developed for cotton agriculture, which dominated the economy through the early 20th century. There has also been some cattle ranching in the 1930s and timber extraction.

==History==

===Pre-history===
Tensas Parish was the home to many successive [[indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Some village and [[Mound Builders|mound sites]] once built by these various peoples are preserved today as [[archaeology|archaeological]] sites.

One example is the [[Flowery Mound]], a rectangular [[platform mound]] just east of St. Joseph. It measures {{convert|10|ft|m}} in height and {{convert|165|by|130|ft|m}} at its base; the summit measures {{convert|50|ft|m}} square. Core samples taken during investigations at the site have revealed the mound was built in a single stage. Because the fill types can still be differentiated, the mound is thought to be relatively young. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in a [[midden]] under the mound reveals that the site was occupied from 996 to 1162 during the [[Coles Creek culture|Coles Creek period]]. The mound was built over the [[midden]] between 1200 and 1541 during the [[Plaquemine culture|Plaquemine]]/[[Mississippian culture]] period.<ref name=FLOWERY>{{cite web|url=http://www.crt.state.la.us/archaeology/moundsguide/flowery.html|title=Indian Mounds of Northeast Louisiana: Flowery Mound|access-date=October 22, 2011|publisher=crt.state.la.us|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316230019/http://www.crt.state.la.us/archaeology/moundsguide/flowery.html|archive-date=March 16, 2012}}</ref> The corners of the mound are oriented in the four cardinal directions.<ref>Flowery Mound, Ancient Mounds Trail historical marker, St. Joseph, Louisiana</ref> Related ancient sites include [[Balmoral Mounds]], [[Ghost Site Mounds]], and [[Sundown Mounds]].

Historic tribes in this area were the Choctaw and Natchez, in addition to smaller groups such as the [[Taensa]] people.

===Antebellum development===
[[Image:Lake Bruin in Newellton IMG 1270.JPG|thumb|Lake St. Joseph, an [[ox-bow lake]] of the [[Mississippi River]] at [[Newellton, Louisiana|Newellton]]]]

Following [[Indian Removal]] by the United States government in the 1830s, the land was sold and this area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations, the leading commodity crop before the Civil War. Planters moved into the area from the eastern and upper South, either bringing or purchasing numerous [[Slavery in the United States|enslaved Africans]] as workers. They developed plantations along the river and Lake St. Joseph, as waterways were required for transportation routes and access to markets. In 1861, according to the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey|United States Coast Survey]] map, 90.8% of the parish's inhabitants were slaves.<ref>[http://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/historicals/preview/image/CWSLAVE Historical charts], NOAA</ref>

===Reconstruction===
During and after the Reconstruction era, white Democrats acted to suppress black and Republican voting in the state and in this parish with its large black majority. They enforced [[Jim Crow]] laws and rules through intimidation and violence, including [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings]].

From 1877 to 1950, there were 30 [[Lynching in the United States|lynchings of Black people]] in Tensas Parish, most in the decades around the turn of the 20th century; Tensas was among the four parishes in Louisiana with the highest number of lynchings in this period, and Louisiana was among the states with the highest number of such murders.<ref>[https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf ''Lynching in America, Second Edition: Supplement by County''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005306/https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf |date=June 27, 2018 }}, p. 4, Equal Justice Initiative, Mobile, AL, 2015</ref>

But from 1878 through 1920, the Mississippi Delta area of northern Louisiana legally executed more blacks than did any other part of the state, after they had been convicted by [[all-white juries]]. For instance, between 1880 and 1920, twelve persons were executed in Tensas Parish, at least seven of them black.<ref name="pfeifer">[https://books.google.com/books?id=zAGwb3G6soMC&q=Tangipahoa+parish Michael James Pfeifer, ''Rough Justice: Lynching and American Society, 1874–1947''], University of Illinois Press, 2004, pp. 72–73</ref>

===20th century to present===
By the turn of the 20th century, the parish seat of St. Joseph had 720 residents. Tensas Parish had 19,070. Most of the population was still engaged in cotton agriculture, where numerous African Americans worked as [[sharecroppers]] and [[tenant farmers]]. Others worked in trades associated with river traffic.

While mechanization was gradually introduced, blacks left Tensas Parish before its full effects had taken place, to escape the violence of lynchings and executions. In the 1900 census Tensas Parish had 17,839 African Americans (94 percent) and 1,231 whites (6 percent). By 1920, the number of African Americans had declined by 42% to 10,314 (making up 85 percent of the parish population). Whites numbered 1,771 (15 percent).

Twenty years later, by 1940, the number of blacks in the parish had risen only to 11,194 (70 percent) while the whites had increased markedly to 4,746 (30 percent). These differences likely reflected a continuing outmigration by blacks, as well as in-migration of whites from other areas, who settled in the hill country during the 1920s–1930s.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11082006-162523/unrestricted/jmreonasdiss.pdf|title=James Matthew Reonas, ''Once Proud Princes: Planters and Plantation Culture in Louisiana's Northeast Delta, From the First World War Through the Great Depression'', pp. Preface:6, and Appendix C: 283|publisher=[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]]: Louisiana State University Ph.D. [[dissertation]], December 2006|access-date=July 19, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054752/http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11082006-162523/unrestricted/jmreonasdiss.pdf|archive-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref> Both blacks and whites left the parish to move to defense industry jobs on the [[West Coast of the United States|United States West Coast]] during and after World War II.

In 1962, when only whites could vote, Tensas Parish gave [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Taylor W. O'Hearn]] 48.2 percent of the vote in a race for the [[U.S. Senate]] against powerful [[incumbent]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Russell B. Long]]. Long overwhelmingly defeated O'Hearn statewide.

Prior to January 1964, when fifteen [[African American]]s were permitted to register, there had been no black voters on the Tensas Parish rolls since the state passed a constitution in 1898 to [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchise blacks]]. In 1964 the parish consisted of 7,000 blacks and 4,000 whites. Whites had controlled the political system since the late 19th century and excluded blacks from the political system for more than 60 years. Tensas was the last of Louisiana's parishes in the 20th century to allow African Americans to register to vote.

In the fall of 1964 O'Hearn was elected to an [[at-large]] seat from Caddo Parish as a [[Louisiana State Legislature|state representative]] from [[Shreveport, Louisiana|Shreveport]]. Another white Republican was also elected from Caddo Parish, as were three Democrats, all running for at-large seats. In 1964 Tensas Parish, with mostly only conservative whites voting, supported Republican presidential nominee [[Barry M. Goldwater]] rather than incumbent Democratic President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], who was supporting civil rights. Few of the parish's thousands of black residents were yet enabled to vote.

After the passage of the [[Voting Rights Act]] of 1965, large numbers of Tensas Parish blacks began registering to vote. These new black voters were staunchly Democratic, as the national party had supported their drive for civil rights. Since then, the black majority of the parish has made it a Democratic stronghold. Some white Democrats have been elected to public offices in the parish, including [[Sheriff]] [[Rickey A. Jones]] and several school board members.

In November 2019, Alex "Chip" Watson Jr., who is African American, was elected to the District 1 police jury seat. Watson defeated incumbent Larry W. Foster, who is white and the police jury president, and challenger "Johnny" Daves, who is also white. With Watson's victory, the Tensas Parish Police Jury will be majority African American for the first time in the parish's history.

[[Image:Tensas Academy IMG 1241.JPG|thumb|Tensas Academy in St. Joseph opened in 1970.]]

Tensas Parish was ''[[de jure]]'' desegregated until the fall of 1970. Although the state officially desegregated, the schools are largely ''de facto'' segregated, as many white parents have sent their children to private academies founded at that time. The majority of white students attend the private Tensas Academy in St. Joseph. Nearly all African-American pupils attend the public schools, where few whites are registered.

Enrollment in the public system, now based in St. Joseph, has declined in recent years as parish population has declined.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dissidentvoice.org/2010/03/did-a-racist-coup-in-a-northern-louisiana-town-overthrow-its-black-mayor-and-police-chief/|author=Jordan Flaherty|title="Did a Racist Coup in a Northern Louisiana Town Overthrow Its Black Mayor and Police Chief?", March 26, 2010|work=Dissident Voice |publisher=dissidentvoice.org|access-date=June 12, 2010}}</ref> The former [[Newellton High School]] in Newellton and Waterproof High School and Lisbon Elementary School in Waterproof have closed because of decreased enrollments. Tensas High School in St. Joseph was consolidated in 2006 from the former Joseph Moore Davidson High School of St. Joseph, as well as Newellton and Waterproof high schools.

In May 2010, the graduating class of forty students at Tensas High School included three whites. Ten white students graduated from Tensas Academy, and four whites from the private Newellton Christian Academy.<ref>''Tensas Gazette'', May 12, 2010</ref>

====Partisan politics====
Historically, Tensas Parish has been heavily Democratic in orientation, although the make-up of the party has changed markedly in terms of demographics.

In the [[U.S. presidential election, 1860|1860]] presidential election, the parish supported by [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] the [[Constitutional Union Party (United States)|Constitutional Union Party]] candidate, [[U.S. Senator]] [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]] of [[Tennessee]], who pledged to support the [[Constitution of the United States]], the Union of states, and the "enforcement of the laws." Louisiana as a whole narrowly cast its [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] for the Southern Democratic choice, [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[John C. Breckinridge]] of [[Kentucky]]. Regular Democratic [[nominee]] [[Stephen A. Douglas]] of [[Illinois]] ran poorly in Louisiana, and the Republican candidate, [[Abraham Lincoln]], also of Illinois, was not even listed on the state ballot.<ref>Winters, pp. 6–7</ref>

The end of the war was followed by [[emancipation]] of millions of enslaved African Americans in the South. After gaining the franchise, most black men joined the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], electing candidates who made up a biracial legislature in Louisiana during Reconstruction. White Democratic groups worked through intimidation and fraud to suppress black and white Republican voting during and after the [[Reconstruction era]]. In 1898 Louisiana passed a new state constitution with provisions that created barriers to voter registration in order to [[Disfranchisement after Reconstruction era|disenfranchise African-American voters]] and cripple the Republican Party. Louisiana was effectively a one-party state and part of the [[Solid South]] for the next several decades.

In [[1988 United States presidential election|1988]], Vice President [[George H. W. Bush]], the Republican presidential nominee, prevailed in Tensas Parish with 1,645 votes (50 percent). [[Governor of Massachusetts|Governor]] [[Michael Dukakis]] of [[Massachusetts]] trailed with 1,556 (47.3 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11081988/11081988_54.html|title=Tensas Parish presidential election returns, November 8, 1988|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

In [[U.S. presidential election, 1996|1996]], native son of the South [[U.S. President]] [[Bill Clinton]] obtained 1,882 votes (60.7 percent) in Tensas Parish, and the Republican [[Bob Dole]] of [[Kansas]] polled 1,000 votes (32.3 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11051996/11051996_54.html|title=Tensas Parish presidential election returns, November 5, 1996|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

In [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]], the Democratic nominee, Vice President [[Al Gore]], won Tensas Parish by 250 votes. The Democratic electors polled 1,580 votes that year to 1,330 for the [[George W. Bush]]-[[Dick Cheney]] ticket.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11072000/11072000_54.html|title=Tensas Parish presidential election returns, November 7, 2000|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> In [[U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004]], the Democratic ticket of U.S. Senators [[John F. Kerry]] of Massachusetts and [[John Edwards]] of [[North Carolina]] carried Tensas Parish, 1,460 (49.6 percent) to 1,453 (49 percent) for Bush-Cheney.<ref name=tensasp>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11022004/11022004_54.html|title=Tensas Parish presidential election returns, November 2, 2012|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

In the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]] presidential contest, Democratic nominee [[Barack Obama]] of Illinois won Tensas Parish, 1,646 (54.1 percent) to 1,367 (45 percent) for Republican Senator [[John McCain]] of [[Arizona]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11042008/11042008_14.html|title=Tensas Parish presidential election returns|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> In [[U.S. presidential election, 2012|2012]], President Obama again carried the parish, with 1,564 votes (55.6 percent), while rival [[Mitt Romney]] polled 1,230 votes (43.7 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11062012/11062012_54.html|title=Tensas Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> The Obama-McCain and Obama-Romney voter divisions in 2008 and 2012 reflect the demographics of the political parties in Tensas Parish.

In the [[United States Senate elections, 2004|2004]] U.S. Senate primary election, Tensas Parish gave a plurality to the Republican candidate, [[U.S. Representative]] [[David Vitter]] of [[St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana|St. Tammany Parish]], who polled 1,145 votes (41 percent) compared to 881 ballots (32 percent) for his chief Democratic rival, Congressman [[Chris John (politician)|Chris John]] of [[Crowley, Louisiana|Crowley]]. He won statewide. There was no [[general election]] in Tensas Parish to determine if Vitter would have surpassed 50 percent plus one vote to obtain an outright majority in this traditionally Democratic parish.<ref name=tensasp/>

In 2007, the successful Republican [[governor of Louisiana|gubernatorial]] candidate, U.S. Representative [[Bobby Jindal]], polled 40 percent in Tensas Parish. Tensas gave a plurality of 48 percent to Secretary of State Democrat [[Jay Dardenne]]. Two Republican candidates ran for a seat on the Tensas Parish Police Jury, the parish governing body, and Emmett L. Adams Jr., won over fellow Republican Patrick Glass, 207-179 votes (54–46 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/10202007/10202007_54.html|title=Tensas Parish primary election returns, October 20, 2007|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

[[Image:Legion Memorial Cemetery in Tensas Parish IMG 1267.JPG|thumb|Legion Memorial Cemetery is located north of Newellton off Louisiana Highway 605.]]

Under the state constitution, prior to 1968, each parish -regardless of population- elected at least one member to the [[Louisiana State Legislature|Louisiana House of Representatives]]. That year the US Supreme Court ruled that states had to develop legislative districts that were based on roughly equal populations and had to be redistricted after each decennial census, based on the principle of "[[one man, one vote]]". It said there was no constitutional basis for state legislatures to be based on geographical districts (such as one representative per parish), as that system had resulted in inequities: particularly marked under-representation of more populated, urbanized areas and an unequal dominance of state legislatures by rural areas. Louisiana and numerous other states had not regularly conducted redistricting, although there had been dramatic population shifts since the turn of the 20th century.

The last member to represent only Tensas Parish was Democrat [[S. S. DeWitt]] of Newellton and later St. Joseph. DeWitt won the legislative post in 1964 by unseating 20-year incumbent [[J.C. Seaman]] of Waterproof. Because of Tensas Parish's small population, the state house district was made to include part of Franklin Parish. In the 1971 primary, DeWitt lost the seat to [[Lantz Womack]] of [[Winnsboro, Louisiana|Winnsboro]] in [[Franklin Parish, Louisiana|Franklin Parish]].

==Geography==
According to the [[U.S. Census Bureau]], the parish has a total area of {{convert|641|sqmi}}, of which {{convert|603|sqmi}} is land and {{convert|38|sqmi}} (6.0%) is water.<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_22.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014|date=August 22, 2012|title=2010 Census Gazetteer Files|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928155956/http://www.census.gov/geo/maps-data/data/docs/gazetteer/counties_list_22.txt|archive-date=September 28, 2013}}</ref>

The parish seat of St. Joseph is located adjacent to the [[Mississippi River]] levee system, which protects the eastern border of the parish along the river.

The developed [[Lake Bruin State Park]] lies near St. Joseph. Lake Bruin is an [[oxbow lake]] created by the meandering of the [[Mississippi River]]; there are two other oxbow lakes in the parish.

===Adjacent parishes and counties===
{{div col}}
* [[Madison Parish, Louisiana|Madison Parish]] (north)
* [[Warren County, Mississippi|Warren County]], [[Mississippi]] (northeast)
* [[Claiborne County, Mississippi|Claiborne County]], [[Mississippi]] (east)
* [[Jefferson County, Mississippi|Jefferson County]], [[Mississippi]] (east)
* [[Adams County, Mississippi|Adams County]], [[Mississippi]] (southeast)
* [[Concordia Parish, Louisiana|Concordia Parish]] (south)
* [[Catahoula Parish, Louisiana|Catahoula Parish]] (southwest)
* [[Franklin Parish, Louisiana|Franklin Parish]] (west)
{{div col end}}

==Communities==
The largely rural parish has three communities: [[Newellton, Louisiana|Newellton]], St. Joseph, and [[Waterproof, Louisiana|Waterproof]]. Newellton was founded by the planter and [[Lawyer|attorney]] [[John Newell (city founder)|John David Stokes Newell Sr.]], who named it for his father [[Edward D. Newell]], a native of North Carolina. Tensas Parish has one principal cemetery, Legion Memorial, established in 1943 and located just north of Newellton. A new entrance sign to the cemetery has been erected.

All three communities are linked by [[U. S. Route 65|U.S. Highway 65]], which passes just to the west of each town.

===Major highways===
* [[Image:US 65.svg|25px]] [[U.S. Highway 65]]
* [[Image:Louisiana 4 (2008).svg|25px]] [[Louisiana Highway 4]]

===National protected area===
* [[Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge]] (part)

===Towns===
* [[Newellton, Louisiana|Newellton]]
* [[St. Joseph, Louisiana|St. Joseph]] (parish seat)

=== Village ===

* [[Waterproof, Louisiana|Waterproof]]

===Unincorporated communities===
* [[Balmoral, Louisiana|Balmoral]]
* [[Crimea, Louisiana|Crimea]]
* [[Helena, Louisiana|Helena]]
* [[Mayflower, Louisiana|Mayflower]]
* [[Somerset, Louisiana|Somerset]]
* [[Yucatan Landing, Louisiana|Yucatan Landing]]

==== Ghost town ====
* [[New Carthage, Louisiana|New Carthage]]

==Demographics==
The mostly rural parish has continued to lose population. Between July 1, 2006, and July 1, 2007, Tensas Parish lost 173 residents, or 2.9 percent of its population. Police Jury Vice President Jane Merriett Netterville, a Democrat from St. Joseph,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/home.aspx|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131010042350/https://voterportal.sos.la.gov/home.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 10, 2013|title=Jane Merriett Netterville|publisher=voterportal.sos.la.gov|access-date=October 9, 2013}}</ref> expressed surprise at those figures, as a number of people had moved into the parish in 2005 and 2006 as refugees from New Orleans and coastal areas after [[Hurricane Katrina]]. "Maybe the loss was the people who died. We have a large elderly population," she told the ''[[The Advocate (Baton Rouge)|Baton Rouge Morning Advocate]]''. Netterville explained that younger people leave Tensas Parish because of the scarcity of higher-paying jobs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/16944656.html?index=1&c=y|title=theadvocate.com – The Advocate – Baton Rouge News, Sports and Entertainment|first=The|last=Advocate|website=The Advocate|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref>

{{US Census population
|1850= 9040
|1860= 16078
|1870= 12419
|1880= 17815
|1890= 16647
|1900= 19070
|1910= 17060
|1920= 12085
|1930= 15096
|1940= 15940
|1950= 13209
|1960= 11796
|1970= 9732
|1980= 8525
|1990= 7103
|2000= 6618
|2010= 5252
|2020= 4147
|estyear=
|estimate=
|estref=
|align-fn=center
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=U.S. Decennial Census|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref><br />1790–1960<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mapserver.lib.virginia.edu|title=Historical Census Browser|publisher=University of Virginia Library|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref> 1900–1990<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/cencounts/la190090.txt|title=Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref><br />1990–2000<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327165705/http://www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs/phc-t4/tables/tab02.pdf |archive-date=March 27, 2010 |url-status=live|title=Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=September 2, 2014}}</ref> 2010<ref name="QF">{{cite web|title=State & County QuickFacts|url=http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/22/22107.html|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 18, 2013}}</ref>
}}

===2020 census===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+'''Tensas Parish, Louisiana – Racial and ethnic composition'''<br><small>{{nobold|''Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.''}}</small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(''NH = Non-Hispanic'')</small>
!Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>{{Cite web|title=P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Tensas Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/table?q=P004&g=050XX00US22107&tid=DECENNIALSF12000.P004|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Tensas Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US22107&tid=DECENNIALPL2010.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!{{partial|Pop 2020}}<ref name=2020CensusP2>{{Cite web|title=P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Tensas Parish, Louisiana|url=https://data.census.gov/table?g=050XX00US22107&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref>
!% 2000
!% 2010
!{{partial|% 2020}}
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] alone (NH)
|2,842
|2,178
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,728
|42.94%
|41.47%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41.67%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] alone (NH)
|3,642
|2,957
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,232
|55.03%
|56.30%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |53.82%
|-
|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] or [[Alaska Native]] alone (NH)
|3
|6
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0
|0.05%
|0.11%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.00%
|-
|[[Asian Americans|Asian]] alone (NH)
|7
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |6
|0.11%
|0.15%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%
|-
|[[Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.02%
|-
|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Other race]] alone (NH)
|0
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |11
|0.00%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.27%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed race or Multiracial]] (NH)
|41
|38
|style='background: #ffffe6; |102
|0.62%
|0.72%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.46%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (any race)
|83
|65
|style='background: #ffffe6; |67
|1.25%
|1.24%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.62%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''6,618'''
|'''5,252'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''4,147'''
|'''100.00%'''
|'''100.00%'''
|style='background: #ffffe6; |'''100.00%'''
|}

Out of [[List of parishes in Louisiana|Louisiana's 64 parishes]], it is [[List of U.S. communities with African-American majority populations in 2020#Counties|one of six that have an African-American Majority]] (2020).

As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 4,147 people, 1,792 households, and 1,102 families residing in the parish. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 5,252 people living in the county. 56.5% were [[African American|Black or African American]], 41.9% [[White American|White]], 0.2% [[Asian American|Asian]], 0.1% [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]], 0.5% of some other race and 0.8% [[Multiracial American|of two or more races]]. 1.2% were [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]] (of any race).

As of the [[census]] of 2000, there were 6,618 people, 2,416 households, and 1,635 families living in the parish. The [[population density]] was {{convert|11|/sqmi|/km2|disp=preunit|people&nbsp;|people|abbr=out}}. There were 3,359 housing units at an average density of {{convert|6|/sqmi|/km2|abbr=out}}. The racial makeup of the parish was 55.6% [[Race (United States Census)|Black]] or [[Race (United States Census)|African American]], 43.2% [[Race (United States Census)|White]], 0.1% [[Race (United States Census)|Native American]], 0.2% [[Race (United States Census)|Asian]], 0.29% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.9% from two or more races. 1.4% of the population were [[Race (United States Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Race (United States Census)|Latino]] of any race.

There were 2,416 households, out of which 30.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.10% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 20.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.30% were non-families. 29.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the parish the population was spread out, with 26.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 25.10% from 25 to 44, 22.90% from 45 to 64, and 15.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 97.80 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.20 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $19,799, and the median income for a family was $25,739. Males had a median income of $26,636 versus $16,781 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the parish was $12,622. About 30.00% of families and 36.30% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 48.20% of those under age 18 and 29.60% of those age 65 or over.

==Education==
Public schools in Tensas Parish are operated by the elected seven-member [[Tensas Parish School Board]].

==Government==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Parish Administration !! Administrators
|-
| Sheriff || Robert L. "Rob" Rushing 
|-
| Coroner || David McEacharn
|-
| Assessor || Donna R. Ratcliff
|-
| School Board Superintendent || Joyce M. Russ
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Parish Police Jury !! Police Jurors
|-
| District 1 || Alex "Chip" Watson Jr.
|-
| District 2 || Terrence South
|-
| District 3 || Bill Crigler
|-
| District 4 || Billy Arceneaux
|-
| District 5 || Cash Clay Foster
|-
| District 6 || Bubba Rushing (President)
|-
| District 7 || Robert Clark (Vice President)
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! 6th Judicial District !! Parish Judicial Leaders
|-
| Judge of Division "A" || Angela L. Claxton
|-
| Judge of Division "B" || Laurie R. Brister (Chief Judge)
|-
| District Attorney || James E. Paxton
|-
| Clerk of Court || Christina "Christy" C. Lee
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Parish School Board !! Board Members
|-
| District 1 || Jennifer Burnside
|-
| District 2 || Knola Faye Ransome
|-
| District 3 || George Matthews
|-
| District 4 || Annice Miller
|-
| District 5 || Esaw Turner (Vice President)
|-
| District 6 || Joseph Tarver
|-
| District 7 || John L. Turner (President)
|}
The Tensas Parish Library was established in 1952.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1993-04-28 |title=Progress |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tensas-gazette-progress/153296172/ |access-date=2024-08-14 |work=Tensas gazette |pages=34}}</ref>

==''The Tensas Gazette''==
Tensas Parish is served by a weekly newspaper, ''The Tensas Gazette'', which began in 1871 under the title ''The North Louisiana Journal''. It was renamed ''The Tensas Gazette'' in 1886. Some 1,300 copies are circulated each Wednesday throughout the parish.<ref>John Marvin Bush, "The ''Tensas Gazette'': A Brief Sketch," ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Vol. 5, No. 4 (Summer 1974), pp. 135–137</ref>

Josiah Scott (born 1874 in [[Vidalia, Louisiana|Vidalia]]) was reared by a maternal uncle who was the editor of the ''Concordia Sentinel''. At the age of twenty, Scott took over ''The Tensas Gazette'', then owned by Judge Hugh Tullis. In 1906, Scott purchased the paper from Tullis and continued as editor until his death in 1953. He was known for political commentary over the decades.<ref>[[Henry E. Chambers]], ''History of Louisiana'' ([[Chicago]]: American Historical Society, 1925), pp. 206–207</ref>

Upon Scott's death, Paul Alexander Myers Jr., and his wife, the former Patricia Wilds (1924–1999) purchased ''The Tensas Gazette'' and operated it together until his death in 1964. Thereafter until her retirement in 1988, Mrs. Myers owned and published the paper.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/tensas/obits/myerpat.txt|title=Patricia Wilds Myers|publisher=files.usgwarchives.net|access-date=June 8, 2013}}</ref>

No longer under local ownership, ''The Tensas Gazette'' is now published by Louisiana State Newspapers, Inc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/18/7505/22269|title=''Tensas Gazette''|publisher=mondotimes.com|access-date=May 29, 2013}}</ref> After years in a downtown location, ''The Tensas Gazette'' moved to 118 Arts Drive near the new Tensas Parish Civic Center off [[U.S. Highway 65]].

==Notable people==
* [[Henry Watkins Allen]], [[Confederate States of America]] general and [[American Civil War|Civil War]] [[governor of Louisiana]], grew cotton in Tensas Parish near Newellton in the years prior to the war before he relocated to [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] and became a public figure.
* [[Daniel F. Ashford]] (1879–1929), member of the [[Louisiana House of Representatives]] from 1916 until his death; planter, first person in Tensas Parish to own an automobile and a wristwatch.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11082006-162523/unrestricted/jmreonasdiss.pdf|title=James Matthew Reonas, ''Once Proud Princes: Planters and Plantation Culture in Louisiana's Northeast Delta, From the First World War Through the Great Depression''|publisher=[[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]]: Louisiana State University Ph.D. dissertation, December 2006, pp. 262–263|access-date=July 19, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921054752/http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11082006-162523/unrestricted/jmreonasdiss.pdf|archive-date=September 21, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Andrew Brimmer]], the first African American appointed (by President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]) to the [[Federal Reserve Board]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], was born in Tensas Parish.
* [[Clifford Cleveland Brooks]], cotton planter; member of the Louisiana State Senate from 1924 to 1932<ref>[[Henry E. Chambers]], ''History of Louisiana'', Vol. 2 ([[Chicago]] and [[New York City]]: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, p. 71)</ref>
* [[Sharon Brown (Miss USA)|Sharon Renee Brown]], [[Miss Louisiana USA]] 1961, [[Miss USA]] 1961, was Miss Waterproof that same year.
* [[Buddy Caldwell]], [[district attorney]] from East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes and thereafter [[attorney general]] of Louisiana, elected 2007.
* [[Claire Chennault]] of the "Flying Tigers," though born in [[Commerce, Texas|Commerce]], [[Texas]], lived for a time in Waterproof in southern Tensas Parish.
* [[George Henry Clinton]], chemist, lawyer, member of both houses of the legislature from Tensas Parish.<ref name="legis.la.gov">{{cite web|url=http://www.legis.la.gov/legisdocs/members/h1812-2012.pdf|title=Membership of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812–2012: Tensas Parish|publisher=legis.la.gov|access-date=July 14, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004235758/http://www.legis.la.gov/legisdocs/members/h1812-2012.pdf|archive-date=October 4, 2013}}</ref><ref name="senate"/>
* [[Charles C. Cordill]], Louisiana state senator from Tensas Parish from 1884 to 1912<ref name=senate>{{cite web|url=http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/Documents/SenateMembership1880ForwardRevisedMar2011.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120821060814/http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/Documents/SenateMembership1880ForwardRevisedMar2011.pdf |archive-date=August 21, 2012 |url-status=live|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880–2012|publisher=legis.state.la.us|access-date=July 15, 2013}}</ref>
* [[Brenham C. Crothers]] (1905–1984), Ferriday cattleman who represented Tensas Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1948 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960<ref name=senate/>
* [[Joseph T. Curry]] (1895–1961), Louisiana state representative from Tensas Parish from 1930 to 1944<ref name="legis.la.gov"/>
* [[Jimmie Davis|James Houston "Jimmie" Davis]], singer, songwriter and governor; owned farm property in Tensas Parish.
* [[Sarah Dorsey]], author and benefactor of [[Jefferson Davis]]
* [[C. B. Forgotston]] (1945–2016), [[Hammond, Louisiana|Hammond]] attorney, political activist, and state government watchdog
* [[Samuel W. Martien]] (1854–1946), planter from Waterproof and member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1906 to 1920<ref>Obituary of Samuel Winter Martien, ''Tensas Gazette'', June 7, 1946, p. 6</ref>
* [[James A. Noe|James Albert Noe Sr.]], former governor of Louisiana; once owned farm property in Tensas Parish.
* [[Phil Preis]], [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana|Baton Rouge]] attorney; gubernatorial candidate in 1995 and 1999
* [[Clyde V. Ratcliff]], Louisiana state senator from 1944 to 1948 and planter in Newellton until his death in 1952<ref>Obituary of Clyde V. Ratcliff Sr., ''Tensas Gazette'', October 8, 1952</ref>
* [[J.C. Seaman]], state representative from Tensas Parish from 1944 to 1964; promoter of [[Lake Bruin State Park]]
* [[Jefferson B. Snyder]], district attorney for Tensas, Madison, and East Carroll parishes from 1904 to 1948<ref>Frederick W. Williamson and George T. Goodman, eds. ''Eastern Louisiana: A History of the Watershed of the Ouachita River and the Florida Parishes'', 3 vols. ([[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]]: Historical Record Association, 1939, pp. 569–571)</ref>
* [[Robert H. Snyder]], state representative from Tensas Parish from 1890 to 1896 and 1904–1906, [[Speakers of the Louisiana House of Representatives|Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives]] in the second term, died in office; [[Lieutenant Governors of Louisiana|Lieutenant governor]] from 1896 to 1900
* [[Thomas M. Wade]] (1860–1929), member of Louisiana House of Representatives from 1888 to 1904, Louisiana State Board of Education, and Tensas Parish School Board; Tensas school superintendent for some twenty years after 1904<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0i5PAAAAMAAJ&q=thomas+m.+wade+of+tensas+parish&pg=PA102|title=Yearbook of American Clan Gregor Society, pp. 101–103|year=1916|publisher= [[Richmond, Virginia]]: Appeals Press, 1916, Egbert Watson Magruder, ed.|access-date=July 18, 2013}}</ref>

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Tensas Parish, Louisiana|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 7, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|1,093|1,002|33|Louisiana}}{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|1,197|1,329|28|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|1,182|1,332|34|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|1,230|1,564|18|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|1,367|1,646|27|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|1,453|1,469|41|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|1,330|1,580|100|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|1,000|1,882|217|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|1,153|1,666|447|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|1,645|1,556|89|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|1,956|1,628|71|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,645|2,046|94|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|1,553|2,081|43|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|1,729|1,568|129|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|503|845|1,290|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|1,655|192|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|510|247|451|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|359|324|343|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|703|688|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|72|239|734|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|160|638|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|95|957|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|23|812|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|29|635|1|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|96|350|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|21|338|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|15|243|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|5|204|2|Louisiana}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|1|220|19|Louisiana}}

==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Tensas Parish, Louisiana]]

{{Portal|United States}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tensas-progress.com/ Tensas Progress] Community Progress Site for Tensas

==Gallery==
<gallery>
Image:Tensas Parish welcoming sign IMG 1226.JPG|Tensas Parish welcoming sign on [[United States Highway 65]]

Image:Winter Quarters Plantation IMG 1259.JPG|[[Winter Quarters State Historic Site]] near [[Newellton, Louisiana|Newellton]]

Image:Tensas Parish Civic Center, St. Joseph, LA IMG_7489_1.jpg|The Tensas Parish Civic Center is located at 115 Arts Drive off [[U.S. Highway 65]] in St. Joseph.

Image:Tensas Gazette IMG 1247.JPG|Former location downtown in St. Joseph of the weekly [[newspaper]], ''The Tensas Gazette'' (established 1886).

Image:Tensas Gazette office, St. Joseph, LA IMG 0092.JPG|''The Tensas Gazette'' currently shares space with the arts council at 118 Arts Drive.

Image:Flowers Landing Baptist Church, Tensas Parish, LA IMG 0093 (2).JPG|Flowers Landing Baptist Church, a [[Southern Baptist]] congregation at 2302 Louisiana Highway 888 northwest of Newellton, serves a rural clientele.

File:A lone boat on Lake Bruin IMG 1250.JPG|Boating on popular Lake Bruin in Tensas Parish near St. Joseph

Image:Mississippi River levee road IMG 1257.JPG|[[Mississippi River]] [[levee]] road in Tensas Parish near St. Joseph

Image:Hay harvest, south of Newellton, LA IMG_0087_(2).JPG|The [[hay]] harvest south of Newellton (2016)
</gallery>

{{Geographic Location
|Centre    = Tensas Parish, Louisiana
|North     = [[Madison Parish, Louisiana|Madison Parish]]
|Northeast = [[Warren County, Mississippi]]
|East      = [[Claiborne County, Mississippi]] and [[Jefferson County, Mississippi]]
|Southeast = [[Adams County, Mississippi]]
|South     = [[Concordia Parish, Louisiana|Concordia Parish]]
|Southwest = [[Catahoula Parish, Louisiana|Catahoula Parish]]
|West      = [[Franklin Parish, Louisiana|Franklin Parish]]
|Northwest =
}}

{{Tensas Parish, Louisiana}}
{{Louisiana parishes}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|32.00|-91.33|display=title|type:adm2nd_region:US-LA_source:UScensus1990}}

[[Category:Tensas Parish, Louisiana| ]]
[[Category:Louisiana parishes]]
[[Category:Louisiana parishes on the Mississippi River]]
[[Category:Louisiana placenames of Native American origin]]
[[Category:1843 establishments in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1843]]
[[Category:Black Belt (U.S. region)]]
[[Category:Majority-minority parishes in Louisiana]]