Lincoln Parish, Louisiana



Lincoln Parish ( French:Paroisse de Lincoln) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,396. The parish was created on February 24, 1873, from parts of Bienville, Claiborne, Union, and Jackson parishes, and its boundaries have changed only once (in 1877). This makes Lincoln Parish one of the Reconstruction parishes.

The parish seat was Vienna from the parish's creation in 1873 until 1884, when a parish-wide vote moved it to the new railroad town of Ruston.

Lincoln Parish comprises the Ruston micropolitan statistical area.

History
Since the late 20th century, archeologists have dated eleven sites in northern Louisiana where thousands of years ago, indigenous cultures built complexes with multiple, monumental earthwork mounds during the Middle Archaic period, long before the development of sedentary, agricultural societies. At sites such as Watson Brake, Frenchman's Bend, and Caney, generations of hunter-gatherers worked for hundreds of years to build and add to mound complexes. Hedgepeth Site, located in Lincoln Parish, is dated about 5200–4500 BP (about 3300–2600 BCE), from the latter part of this period. Such finds are changing the understanding of early human cultures.

The parish was one of several new ones established by the state legislature during Reconstruction; in 1873 it was formed from land that had belonged to Bienville, Claiborne, Jackson and Union parishes to create one in which newly elected representatives might have more ties to the Republican Party. It was an attempt to break up the old order of political power, and to capitalize on the arrival of the railroad line. The parish is named for the late U.S. president Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln Parish is usually Republican in contested elections. In 2012, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney won the parish with 10,739 votes (56.5 percent) to U.S. President Barack H. Obama, the Democrat who polled 7,956 ballots (41.9 percent).

Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 472 sqmi, of which 472 sqmi is land and 0.7 sqmi (0.2%) is water.

Major highways

 * I-20.svg Interstate 20
 * US 80.svg U.S. Highway 80
 * US 167.svg U.S. Highway 167
 * Louisiana 33 (2008).svg Louisiana Highway 33

Adjacent parishes

 * Union Parish (north)
 * Ouachita Parish (east)
 * Jackson Parish (south)
 * Bienville Parish (southwest)
 * Claiborne Parish (northwest)

Cities

 * Grambling
 * Ruston (parish seat and largest municipality)

Towns

 * Dubach
 * Vienna

Villages

 * Choudrant
 * Downsville
 * Simsboro

Unincorporated communities

 * Corinth
 * Mount Zion
 * Pleasant Hill
 * Hico
 * Hilly
 * Unionville

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 48,396 people, 17,712 households, and 10,407 families residing in the parish.

Education
Lincoln Parish residents are zoned to Lincoln Parish School Board schools.

The parish is home to Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, and Grambling State University in Grambling.

Bethel Christian School is located in Ruston.

Ruston High School is located in Ruston.

Lincoln Preparatory School is located in Grambling.

Choudrant Elementary School and Choudrant High School are located in Choudrant.

Cedar Creek (K - 12) is located in Ruston

National Guard
527th Engineer Battalion (Triple Alpha) ("Anything, Anytime, Anywhere") is headquartered in Ruston, Louisiana, the parish seat. This battalion is part of the 225th Engineer Brigade of the Louisiana National Guard.

Attractions

 * Eddie G. Robinson Museum
 * Lincoln Parish Park
 * Louisiana Military Museum
 * Lincoln Parish Museum
 * Dixie Center for the Arts
 * North Central Louisiana Arts Council
 * Ruston Community Theatre
 * Celebrity Theatre (movie theater)
 * Annual Peach Festival held in Ruston
 * Annual Chicken Festival held in Dubach
 * Kingdom Collectives Film Festival held in Ruston