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Jefferson Davis Parish was founded in 1912, when Governor
L.E. Hall signed the Parish Division Bill, Imperial Calcasieu
Parish was divided - separating Calcasieu and creating Jefferson
Davis Parish. The parish is named for the President of the
Confederacy, Jefferson Davis.
The division of the parishes occurred following 16 years of
altercation, but the bill was finally passed without dissent.
On October 12, 1912, Jennings
was selected as the permanent parish seat. In 1990,
the parish had a population of 30,722. With
a water area of 6.3 square miles, and land area covering
some 652.4 square miles; the population averages out to
approximately 47.1 people per square mile.
In addition to ancestors of the original French and
Spanish settlers, the parish includes many Cajuns and African
Americans as well as members of the Coushatta (Koasati) Indian
tribe.
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