Union Parish, Louisiana
| Union Parish, Louisiana | |
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Union Parish Courthouse in Farmerville
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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 13, 1839 |
| Named for | Union of American states |
| Seat | Farmerville |
| Largest town | Farmerville |
| Area | |
| • Total | 905 sq mi (2,344 km2) |
| • Land | 877 sq mi (2,271 km2) |
| • Water | 28 sq mi (73 km2), 3.06% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 22,477 |
| • Density | 26/sq mi (10/km²) |
| Congressional district | 4th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
Union Parish (French: Paroisse de l'Union) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,721. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on March 13, 1839, from a section of Ouachita Parish. Its boundaries have changed four times since then (in 1845, 1846, 1867, and 1873, respectively).
Union Parish is part of the Monroe, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
In 1931, a monument was erected at the Union Parish border with Union County, Arkansas, through the private efforts of former Arkansas Governor George Washington Donaghey (1856–1937). He was born in Union Parish and grew up in the border area before moving with his family as a teenager to Conway, Arkansas. As governor of Arkansas, Donaghey oversaw the construction of the state capitol building in Little Rock and implemented founding of the state health unit and its agricultural colleges.
Long having felt a kinship to both states, after his gubernatorial tenure Donaghey commissioned a park on the border land and a monument. The monument is known for its intricate carvings and Art Deco style. It includes references to different modes of transportation in 1831 and 1931 and mentions Louisiana Governor Huey P. Long, Jr., whose educational program Donaghey admired. The land was not registered with the state parks offices in either state, timber companies cut trees thereabouts, and the monument was forgotten. In 1975, State Representative Louise B. Johnson gained passage of a law to refurbish the monument. A completed restoration was unveiled in 2009.
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