Richland Parish is a parish located in the North Louisiana Delta Country in the U.S. state of Louisiana, known for its fertile, flat farmland, cane brakes, and open spaces. The parish had a population of 20,043 at the 2020 United States census. The name Richland was chosen due to the rich production from farming. The parish seat and largest community is Rayville.
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History
The parish was officially created on September 29, 1868. Rayville, Louisiana, the parish seat, was named for John Ray, a politician from Monroe with large land holdings in present-day Rayville.
Richland Parish is home to the first public parish library in the State of Louisiana, the Rhymes Memorial Library. The library was built in 1925 by the Lambda Kappa Club of Rayville. R.R. Rhymes donated the original building in memory of his wife, Nonnie Roark Rhymes.
In 2024, Louisiana state political leaders cleared regulatory and tax disincentives to attract a data center for Meta called Hyperion to be built upon approximately six square miles in Richland Parish. The legislation was created and passed in secret, with state officials and legislators bound by controversial non-disclosure agreements. The data center is located on mostly abandoned former rice and soybean farms. As temporary workers arrived to build the project, some longtime residents saw rents increase six-fold and were forced to relocate to areas not affected by the influx.
Geography
Bayou Macon flows through the eastern areas of Richland. Other tributaries in the parish include Crew Lake, and the Lafourche Diversion Canal are located in the western portion of the parish. Boeuf River flows from the northern end to the southern end in the center of the parish.
Adjacent parishes
Morehouse Parish (north)
West Carroll Parish (northeast)
East Carroll Parish (east)
Madison Parish (east)
Franklin Parish (south)
Caldwell Parish (southwest)
Ouachita Parish (west)
Parks and wildlife management areas
Poverty Point Reservoir State Park
Russell Sage Wildlife Management Area
Communities
Towns
Delhi
Rayville (parish seat and largest municipality)
Village
Mangham
Unincorporated areas
Start
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the parish had a population of 20,043, a median age of 40.4 years, with 23.3% of residents under the age of 18 and 18.0% of residents 65 years of age or older; for every 100 females there were 98.4 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males age 18 and over.
There were 7,674 households in the parish, including 4,972 families; 32.4% had children under the age of 18, 42.4% were married-couple households, 18.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, 33.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present, 27.8% consisted of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
The racial makeup of the parish was 58.8% White, 36.6% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% Asian, <0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 0.9% from some other race, and 3.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 2.0% of the population.
<0.1% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 8,628 housing units, of which 11.1% were vacant; 68.6% of occupied housing units were owner-occupied and 31.4% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.2% and the rental vacancy rate was 5.5%.
Education
Public schools
Delhi Elementary
Delhi Middle School
Delhi High School
Holly Ridge Elementary
Mangham Elementary
Mangham Junior High
Mangham High School
Rayville Elementary
Rayville Junior High
Rayville High School
Start Elementary
Private schools
Riverfield Academy, K–12
Charter schools
Delhi Charter, K–12
Community and technical colleges
Louisiana Delta Community College, (with campus locations in neighboring Tallulah, Winnsboro, Lake Providence, Bastrop, Monroe, and West Monroe.)
Regional universities
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Louisiana Tech University, (Ruston)
Grambling State University, (Grambling)
Notable people
Julia Letlow, from Start, elected Member of Congress in the United States House of Representatives.
Luke Letlow, from Start, elected to the United States House of Representatives, but died of a heart attack caused by COVID-19 before he could be seated.
Ralph Abraham, from Alto, elected Member of Congress in United States House of Representatives.
Harry W. Addison was a Southern author and humorist who resided in Rayville from 1945 to 1957.
Jamar Adcock, a politician and banker in Monroe, born in Richland Parish.
Terry Doughty, is a federally appointed judge for the Western District of Louisiana.
Elvin Hayes, Hall of Fame basketball player, born in Rayville.
Arlene Howell, Miss Louisiana USA 1958, Miss USA 1958.
Ralph E. King, Winnsboro physician who represented Richland Parish in the Louisiana State Senate from 1944 to 1952 and again from 1956 to 1960.
William L. Kirk, of Rayville was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe/Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe.
Ernie Ladd, a football player/professional wrestler, born in Rayville.
Moses J. Liddell was appointed by President Grover Cleveland as a judge for the Supreme Court of the Montana Territory.