Tensas Parish, Louisiana
| Tensas Parish, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
Tensas Parish Courthouse at St. Joseph
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 Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana |
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 Louisiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 17, 1843 |
| Named for | Taensa people |
| Seat | St. Joseph |
| Largest town | Newellton |
| Area | |
| • Total | 641 sq mi (1,660 km2) |
| • Land | 603 sq mi (1,562 km2) |
| • Water | 38 sq mi (98 km2), 6.0% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2013) | 4,908 |
| • Density | 8.7/sq mi (3/km²) |
| Congressional district | 5th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | louisiana |
Tensas Parish (French: Paroisse des Tensas) is a parish located in the northeastern section of the State of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,252, making it the least populous parish in Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Joseph. The name Tensas is derived from the Taensa people. The parish was founded in 1843.
Though the 56 percent black population is large in comparison to most other parishes; Tensas Parish, a century earlier in the 1910 census had 15,614 African Americans (92 percent) and only 1,446 whites (8 percent). In 1940, there were 11,194 blacks (70 percent) and 4,746 whites (30 percent).
Tensas Parish was the home to many succeeding Native American groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Village and mound sites once built by these peoples have now become archaeological sites. One example is the Flowery Mound, a rectangular platform mound just east of St. Joseph measuring 10 feet (3.0 m) in height and 165 feet (50 m) by 130 feet (40 m) at its base and a summit measuring 50 feet (15 m) square. Core samples taken during investigations at the site have revealed the mound was built in a single stage and because the fill types can still be differentiated it suggests the mound is relatively young. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal found in a midden under the mound reveals that the site was occupied from 996–1162 during the Coles Creek period. The mound was built over the midden between 1200–1541 during the Plaquemine/Mississippian period. The corners are oriented in the cardinal directions. Several others include Balmoral Mounds, Ghost Site Mounds, and Sundown Mounds.
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