Washington Parish, Louisiana

Washington Parish is a located in the  of. Its is. In 2000, its population was 43,926.

The Washington Parish Government is a Home Rule Charter or “President-Council” form of Government. Its current President is M. E. "Toye" Taylor.

History
Washington Parish was formed in by splitting off from. became the parish seat on,.

There are two articles about the history of Washington Parish:
 * "Washington Parish, Louisiana" by Janice M. Berfield, 1968
 * "History of Washington Parish" by Hon. Prentiss B. Carter

There is also a book which is online, "Bogalusa Story" by C. W. Goodyear.

Economy
Washington Parish is currently known for its agriculture (especially watermelons), as well as its timber and paper industry.

In 1906, The started a sawmill in. It was the first to introduce reforestation in order to sustain the timber industry locally. It later started a paper mill and other related businesses in the area.

The Great Southern Lumber Company was bought several times and is now called Temple-Inland Corporation which is the largest employer in the parish.

Geography
The parish has a total area of 1,751 (676 ). 1,734 km² (670 sq mi) of it is land and 17 km² (6 sq mi) of it (0.95%) is water.

Major Highways

 * [[Image:LA 10.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 16.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 21.PNG|20px]]
 * [[Image:LA 25.PNG|20px]]

Adjacent counties and parishes

 * (northwest)
 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (east)
 * (south)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 43,926 people, 16,467 households, and 11,642 families residing in the parish. The was 25/km² (66/sq mi). There were 19,106 housing units at an average density of 11/km² (28/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 67.42%, 31.53% or , 0.23% , 0.17% , 0.11% from , and 0.54% from two or more races. 0.76% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 16,467 households out of which 32.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.30% were living together, 17.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the parish the population was spread out with 26.80% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 22.60% from 45 to 64, and 14.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $24,264, and the median income for a family was $29,480. Males had a median income of $27,964 versus $17,709 for females. The for the parish was $12,915. About 19.40% of families and 24.70% of the population were below the, including 32.20% of those under age 18 and 20.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Students outside of the city of Bogalusa attend Washington Parish School System.

Students within the city of Bogalusa attend Bogalusa City Schools.

Louisiana Technical College - Sullivan Campus is located in Bogalusa.