Franklin Parish, Louisiana

Not to be confused with Franklin, Louisiana.

Franklin Parish (French: Paroisse de Franklin, Spanish: Parroquia de Franklin) is a parish located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020, its population was 19,774.^[1] The parish seat and the most populous municipality is Winnsboro.^[2] The parish was founded in 1843 and named for Benjamin Franklin.^[3][4]

Franklin Parish
Parish
Franklin Parish Courthouse in Winnsboro
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 32°08′N 91°40′W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Founded	1843
Named after	Benjamin Franklin
Seat	Winnsboro
Largest city	Winnsboro
Area
• Total	635 sq mi (1,640 km2)
• Land	625 sq mi (1,620 km2)
• Water	11 sq mi (30 km2)  1.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,774
• Density	31/sq mi (12/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th

Franklin Parish Veterans Memorial sign in Winnsboro, Louisiana

Franklin Parish Library in downtown Winnsboro historic district

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 635 square miles (1,640 km²), of which 625 square miles (1,620 km²) is land and 11 square miles (28 km²) (1.7%) is water.^[5]

Major highways

• U.S. Highway 425
• Louisiana Highway 4
• Louisiana Highway 15
• Louisiana Highway 17
• Louisiana Highway 577

Adjacent parishes

• Richland Parish (north)
• Madison Parish (northeast)
• Tensas Parish (southeast)
• Catahoula Parish (south)
• Caldwell Parish (west)

National protected area

• Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (part)

Communities

Towns

• Winnsboro (parish seat and largest municipality)
• Wisner

Villages

• Baskin
• Gilbert

Unincorporated communities

• Chase
• Crowville
• Extension
• Fort Necessity
• Jigger
• Liddieville

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1850	3,251		—
1860	6,162		89.5%
1870	5,078		−17.6%
1880	6,495		27.9%
1890	6,900		6.2%
1900	8,890		28.8%
1910	11,989		34.9%
1920	24,100		101.0%
1930	30,530		26.7%
1940	32,382		6.1%
1950	29,376		−9.3%
1960	26,088		−11.2%
1970	23,946		−8.2%
1980	24,141		0.8%
1990	22,387		−7.3%
2000	21,263		−5.0%
2010	20,767		−2.3%
2020	19,774		−4.8%
U.S. Decennial Census[6] 1790-1960[7] 1900-1990[8] 1990-2000[9] 2010-2013[10]

2020 census

Franklin Parish, Louisiana – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1980[11]	Pop 1990[12]	Pop 2000[13]	Pop 2010[14]	Pop 2020[15]	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	16,293	15,197	14,197	13,853	12,430	67.49%	67.88%	66.77%	66.71%	62.86%
Black or African American alone (NH)	7,645	7,015	6,692	6,500	6,508	31.67%	31.34%	31.47%	31.30%	32.91%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	6	31	55	36	26	0.02%	0.14%	0.26%	0.17%	0.13%
Asian alone (NH)	31	24	39	42	38	0.13%	0.11%	0.18%	0.20%	0.19%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x [16]	x [17]	1	6	0	x	x	0.00%	0.03%	0.00%
Other race alone (NH)	8	0	1	5	17	0.03%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	0.09%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x [18]	x [19]	118	129	479	x	x	0.55%	0.62%	2.42%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	158	120	160	196	276	0.65%	0.54%	0.75%	0.94%	1.40%
Total	24,141	22,387	21,263	20,767	19,774	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 19,774 people, 7,423 households, and 5,130 families residing in the parish.

Education

Franklin Parish School Board operates local public schools.^[20] Franklin Parish High School is the sole public high school in the parish.

The parish also hosts two private schools. One of them, Franklin Academy in Winnsboro, was opened as a segregation academy on September 14, 1970, three weeks after parish schools were ordered by a federal judge to desegregate.^[21][22] Franklin Academy's student body is 97% white, while Franklin Parish High School's is majority Black.^[23][24]

Culture

Franklin Parish hosts the annual Franklin Parish Catfish Festival with music, attractions and hundreds of vendors. The 2018 festival was attended by over 10,000 people in bad weather but usually the draw is between 15,000 and 20,000. People from across the region are attracted by the relatively high vendor count and this has an important economic contribution for local businesses. In past years the festival has included an antique car show, a zoo exhibit for children and an exhibit about Louisiana's contributions during World War II, along with performances from Grammy-winning artists Jo-El Sonnier and Jason Crabb.^[25]

Notable people

• Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Catahoula, Franklin, and Richland parishes in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960
• Anthony "Booger" McFarland, Winnsboro native; All-American football player at Louisiana State University; played in National Football League for Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Politics

United States presidential election results for Franklin Parish, Louisiana^[26]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
1912	8	1.37%	449	76.88%	127	21.75%
1916	10	1.44%	684	98.56%	0	0.00%
1920	173	16.15%	898	83.85%	0	0.00%
1924	143	17.23%	687	82.77%	0	0.00%
1928	492	30.13%	1,141	69.87%	0	0.00%
1932	78	2.59%	2,930	97.34%	2	0.07%
1936	231	7.25%	2,948	92.50%	8	0.25%
1940	292	8.46%	3,159	91.54%	0	0.00%
1944	597	19.43%	2,476	80.57%	0	0.00%
1948	149	3.84%	1,857	47.80%	1,879	48.37%
1952	1,614	36.29%	2,833	63.71%	0	0.00%
1956	1,130	32.69%	1,352	39.11%	975	28.20%
1960	1,336	33.08%	1,213	30.03%	1,490	36.89%
1964	5,470	87.82%	759	12.18%	0	0.00%
1968	1,052	14.76%	681	9.56%	5,394	75.68%
1972	4,967	73.76%	1,272	18.89%	495	7.35%
1976	3,947	49.39%	3,824	47.85%	220	2.75%
1980	5,301	54.38%	4,177	42.85%	270	2.77%
1984	6,708	67.80%	2,937	29.68%	249	2.52%
1988	5,520	62.19%	3,043	34.28%	313	3.53%
1992	3,889	40.29%	4,127	42.75%	1,637	16.96%
1996	3,961	44.01%	4,076	45.29%	963	10.70%
2000	5,363	64.18%	2,792	33.41%	201	2.41%
2004	6,141	67.46%	2,828	31.07%	134	1.47%
2008	6,278	67.09%	2,961	31.64%	119	1.27%
2012	6,294	67.42%	2,921	31.29%	121	1.30%
2016	6,514	71.10%	2,506	27.35%	142	1.55%
2020	6,970	71.71%	2,658	27.35%	92	0.95%
2024	6,524	74.15%	2,196	24.96%	78	0.89%

See also

• United States portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin Parish, Louisiana