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Richland Parish, Louisiana
Parish
Richland Parish
Alto Presbyterian Church
Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
32°25′18″N 91°45′43″W / 32.421736°N 91.762070°W / 32.421736; -91.762070
Founded	September 29, 1878
Named for	Rich, Fertile Land
Largest Town	Rayville
Area
• Total	576 sq mi (1,492 km2)
• Land	559 sq mi (1,448 km2)
• Water	9.375 sq mi (24 km2), 1.6%
Population (est.)
• (2017)	20,411
Time zone	Central: UTC−6/−5

Richland Parish is a parish located in the North Louisiana Delta Country in the U.S. state of Louisiana, known for its fertile, flat farmland, cane brakes, and open spaces. The name Richland was chosen due to the rich production from farming.

History

The parish was officially created on September 29, 1868.^[1]Rayville, Louisiana, the parish seat, was named for John Ray, a politician from Monroe with large land holdings in present-day Rayville.^[2]

Richland Parish is home to the first public parish library in the State of Louisiana, the Rhymes Memorial Library. The library was built in 1925 by the Lambda Kappa Club of Rayville. R.R. Rhymes donated the original building in memory of his wife, Nonnie Roark Rhymes.^[3]

Geography

Bayou Macon flows through the western areas of Richland. Other tributaries in the parish include Crew Lake, and the Lafourche Diversion Canal are located in the western portion of the parish. Boeuf River flows from the northern end to the southern end in the center of the parish.

Adjacent parishes

• 
  Morehouse Parish (north)


• 
  West Carroll Parish (northeast)


• 
  Madison Parish (east)


• 
  Franklin Parish (south)


• 
  Caldwell Parish (southwest)


• 
  Ouachita Parish (west)

Parks and Wildlife management areas

• Poverty Point Reservoir State Park


• Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area


• Floy Ward McElroy Wildlife Management Area

Transportation

Bridge crossing the Boeuf River on Hwy 15 near Alto, LA

	Interstates and State Highways
	Interstate 20
	U.S. Highway 80
	Louisiana Highway 15
	Louisiana Highway 17
	Louisiana Highway 585
	Louisiana Highway 132
	Louisiana Highway 133
	Louisiana Highway 135

	Air, Rail, Levee
	Rayville Municipal Airport
	Delhi Municipal Airport
	Monroe Regional Airport
	Kansas City Southern Railroad
	Tensas Basin Levee District

Population Trends

As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,725.^[9] The parish seat is Rayville.^[10]

Education

Public schools

• Delhi Elementary


• Delhi Junior High


• Delhi High School


• Holli Ridge Elementary


• Mangham Elementary


• Mangham Junior High


• Mangham High School


• Rayville Elementary


• Rayville Junior High


• Rayville, High School


• Start Elementary

Private schools

• Riverfield Academy, K-12

Charter schools

• Delhi Charter, K-12

Community & Technical Colleges

• 
  Louisiana Delta Community College, (with campus locations in neighboring Tallulah, Winnsboro, Lake Providence, Bastrop, Monroe, and West Monroe.)

Regional Universities

• University of Louisiana at Monroe


• 
  Louisiana Tech University, (Ruston)


• 
  Grambling State University, (Grambling)

Communities

Towns

• Delhi


• 
  Rayville (parish seat)

Village

• Mangham

Census-designated place

• Start

Unincorporated communities

• Alto


• Archibald


• Crew Lake


• Dunn


• Girard


• Holly Ridge


• Rhymes

Other notable place names include Bardel, Bee Bayou, Buckner, Charlieville, Goff, Jonesburg, New Light, Producers Spur, Sun Spur, and Warden.

Government

Notable people

• 
  Ralph Abraham, from Alto, elected Member of Congress in The United States House of Representatives.


• 
  Jamar Adcock, a politician and banker in Monroe, born in Richland Parish


• 
  Benny Gay Christian, state representative for Richland Parish, 1964 to 1974.


• 
  Terry Doughty, is a federally appointed judge for the Western District of Louisiana.


• 
  George B. Franklin, Jr., was a prominent planter, philanthropist, and conservationist.


• 
  Elvin Hayes, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player, born in Rayville


• 
  Arlene Howell, Miss Louisiana USA 1958, Miss USA 1958


• 
  Fred W. Jones, Jr., city, district, and state court judge, born in Rayville; resided in Ruston, Louisiana


• 
  Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Richland Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960


• 
  William L Kirk, of Rayville was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe.


• 
  Ernie Ladd, a football player/professional wrestler, born in Rayville


• 
  Moses J. Liddell was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as a judge for the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory.


• 
  Wiley Person Mangham, an American publisher and editor. He is the namesake for the town of Mangham, Louisiana
  


• 
  Charles McConnell, politician in Springhill, Louisiana; a native of Richland Parish


• 
  Keith Munyan, Jr., commercial photographer in North Hollywood, California
  


• 
  Tim McGraw, Country musician, born in Delhi, and raised in Start
  


• Darryl Riser, editor of the Delhi Dispatch and Richland Beacon-News and, formerly, the Richland Journal


• 
  Robert Max Ross, was a Republican politician and activist who qualified to run for Governor, U.S. Senate, and the U.S. House, for the purpose of advancing the two-party system in Louisiana, at a time it did not exist.


• 
  Francis C. Thompson served in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1975 until 2008; since in the Louisiana State Senate
  

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  Tim McGraw, a famous country musician.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ralph Abraham, U.S. House of Representatives.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Elvin Hayes, NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Wiley Person Mangham, American Publisher and Editor.
  

  
  

  
  

Gallery

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  Former Rayville High School, operated by the Richland Parish School Board and originally designed by the Shreveport architect Edward F. Neild, was renovated into an apartment complex
  

  
  

  
  


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  Holly Ridge High School in Holly Ridge in rural Richland Parish
  

  
  

  
  


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  Veteran's Memorial in Mangham
  

  
  

  
  


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  Rhymes Memorial Library in Rayville was the first parish wide public library in Louisiana.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Poverty Point Reservoir in Delhi.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Start Baptist Church
  

  
  

  
  


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  Richland Parish Courthouse, in Rayville
  

  
  

  
  


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  Alto Presbyterian Church, built in 1873
  

  
  

  
  


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  Richland Parish Detention Center near Alto, Louisiana
  

  
  

  
  


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  First Baptist Church in Delhi
  

  
  

  
  


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  Northeast Louisiana Veterans Cemetery
  

  
  

  
  

Politics

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Richland Parish, Louisiana

Further reading

References

External links

• Richland Parish Chamber of Commerce


• Richland Parish Assessor's Office

Coordinates: 32°25′N 91°46′W / 32.42°N 91.76°W / 32.42; -91.76