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PARISH PLANNING BASELINE |
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Allen Parish
On the western edge of the "Cajun Prairie," Allen Parish is a diverse blend of cultures, including Southern Baptist, Catholic Cajun-French and Native American. The flat landscape is largely rural, with a scattering of small towns. The largest is Oakdale in the northern part of the parish, with a population of 8,000. To the south, along US Highway 165, are the agricultural towns of Oberlin (the Parish seat) and Kinder, each with less than 2,500 residents.
Timber, wood products, cattle, rice, and crawfish farming dominate the economy. Allen Parish is home to the Coushatta Grand Casino, the largest gaming facility in Louisiana. The one hundred square mile West Bay Wildlife Management Area, located just to the west of the Calcasieu River, is a forested refuge for migratory birds, deer and abundant fish and ducks. The Ouiska Chitto River is a nationally-known canoe course and one of Louisiana's officially-designated Scenic and Natural Rivers.
After Hurricane Rita, Allen Parish residents were asked what they value most about their parish and local communities. They responded:
"We treasure our quiet lifestyle which has been altered by increased traffic since the storm. We value our recreational activities such as canoeing, hunting and fishing.” |
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- The parish was named for Henry W. Allen, Civil War Governor of the portion of Louisiana that was not held by the Union Army
- The parish is the home of the Coushatta Indian Tribe, known as “Red Shoes People.”
- The parish has 764 square miles in land area and a population density of 33.2 per square mile. In the last three decades of the 1900s, its population grew by 22.3%.
- On the 2000 census form, 99.0% of the population reported only one race, with 24.6% of these reporting African-American. The population of this parish is 4.5% Hispanic (of any race).
- The average household size is 2.62 persons compared to an average family size of 3.12 persons.
- In 2004, Public Administration (Government) was the largest of 20 major employment sectors. It had an average wage per job of $43,835.
- Per capita income grew by 25.9% between 1993 and 2003 (adjusted for inflation).
- The parish seat is Oberlin.
- Larger communities are Elizabeth, Kinder, Oakdale, Oberlin and Reeves.
- Pre-storm, the population was 25,000.
- The parish economy is based on forestry, livestock, agriculture, and a large federal detention facility. Chief crops include soybeans and a growing seafood processing industry.
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