Concordia Parish

Concordia Parish, Louisiana
Concordia Parish Courthouse in Vidalia
Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	1807
Named for	Possibly a land grant, New Concordia
Seat	Vidalia
Largest city	Vidalia
Area
• Total	747 sq mi (1,935 km2)
• Land	697 sq mi (1,805 km2)
• Water	50 sq mi (129 km2), 6.7%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	20,142
• Density	30/sq mi (12/km²)
Congressional district	5th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.conppj.org

Concordia Parish (French: Paroisse de Concordia) borders the Mississippi River in eastern Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 20,822. The parish seat is Vidalia. The parish was formed in 1807.

Concordia Parish is part of the Natchez, MS–LA Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Concordia Parish was the home to many succeeding Native American groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Peoples of the Marksville culture, Troyville culture, Coles Creek culture and Plaquemine culture built villages and mound sites throughout the area. Notable examples include Cypress Grove Mound, DePrato Mounds, Frogmore Mound Site, and Lamarque Landing Mound.

Concordia was named for a Latin word meaning "harmony".

During the American Civil War, Concordia Parish was staunchly Confederate. According to the historian John D. Winters in his The Civil War in Louisiana (1963), Concordia, "a planter-dominated parish, displayed unusual Confederate patriotism in early March [1862]. A handsome bounty of $100 was offered to any man who joined one of three designated companies forming for the duration of the war. A bounty of $50 would be paid to those joining either of two companies being raised in the neighboring parish of Catahoula. A $50,000 bond issue was voted to finance the bounty program. . . . $40,000 was appropriated for the relief of needy families of volunteers in the parish."