Vernon Parish, Louisiana

Vernon Parish, Louisiana
Vernon Parish Courthouse
Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location in the U.S.
Founded	March 30, 1871
Named for	Mount Vernon
Seat	Leesville
Largest city	Leesville
Area
• Total	1,341 sq mi (3,473 km2)
• Land	1,328 sq mi (3,440 km2)
• Water	14 sq mi (36 km2), 1.0%
Population (est.)
• (2015)	50,803
• Density	39/sq mi (15/km²)
Congressional district	4th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.vppjla.com

Vernon Parish (French: Paroisse de Vernon) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 52,334. The parish seat is Leesville. The parish was founded in 1871.

Vernon Parish is part of the Fort Polk South, LA Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the DeRidder-Fort Polk South, LA Combined Statistical Area.

On March 30, 1871, the Louisiana General Assembly passed an act designating the creation of Vernon Parish, by taking territory from the parishes of , Rapides, and Sabine. While there seem to be four stories surrounding the naming of the Parish, only one is affirmed officially by the State which is that it was named in honor of Mt. Vernon, the home of George Washington. Other stories, though folklore, are: 1) that it was named after a race horse owned by Joe Moore, one of the members of the committee chosen to name the parish, who claimed that by naming the parish after his fast horse the committee would insure the growth of the parish to be as fast as his horse: 2) that it was named after a popular teacher who had been an officer in the Royal Navy, only mentioned as "Mr. Vernon". This was not to honor him, but to avoid disputes among the parish founders whom each wanted to name the parish after themselves. The final story is similar to the first and claims that the committee had been arguing over the name while drinking in a store, and in an attempt to preserve his precious whiskey and profits, the host suggested the committee stop a local man with a mule pulling a cart and that they should name the parish whatever the man said. The man answered them "I calls him Vernon, 'cause he's the fastes' mule in de country." Originally the area comprising Vernon was a part of a tract of land that was in dispute between the United States and Spain, this land was called the "Neutral Strip". As a result of this dispute the area became a haven for outlaws. Prior to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the only persons who came to the area were a few French and Spanish settlers. It was also during this period that Dr. Timothy Burr, a Massachusetts native who had come to Louisiana from Mt. Vernon, Knox County, Ohio, established the community of Burr Ferry. This community was known as the "Gateway to Louisiana". Also located near this community, there still stands an artillery site (now called the "Confederate Breast Works"), which was manned by the Confederacy to guard against Union movements along the Nolan Trace during the Civil War.