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Calcasieu Parish
French: Paroisse de Calcasieu
The name Calcasieu comes from the
Atakapan word, "quelqueshue", meaning "crying eagle".
It was originally the name of an Atakapa chief, but became the name given
to what was formerly the Rio Hondo River (Rio Stondo or "Deep
River"), now the Calcasieu River. The parish then inherited this
name. Calcasieu Parish was created March 24, 1840, from the parish of
Saint Landry, one of the original nineteen civil parishes established by
the Louisiana Legislature in 1807.
The early history of the parish dates back to the time of the Spanish
occupation of Louisiana, when, in 1797, Jose M. Mora was granted a large
tract of land between the Rio Hondo (now Calcasieu) and the Sabine River,
known for years as the "Neutral Strip". After the grant to Mora,
this area became a refuge for "desperadoes from the eastern
states" and for outlaws and "filibusters from Carolina, Georgia,
and Mississippi".
This strip of land, long in dispute between Spain and the United States
after France had ceded Louisiana to the American government in 1803, was
definitively acquired by the US by treaty in 1819. Originally, Spanish
land grants were recognized when proof of ownership was established, but
most grants in Calcasieu were made to actual settlers. By an act of
Congress approved on March 3, 1823, this strip of land was attached to the
district south of the Red River. The parish seat is Lake Charles.
Cities and towns
DeQuincy
Iowa
Lake Charles
Sulphur
Vinton
Westlake
Unincorporated areas
Bell City
Carlyss
Gillis
Moss Bluff
Mossville
Prien
Starks
Calcasieu Courthouse |
Welcome to
this Louisiana Genealogy Trails Website.
My name is Janice,
and I am your host for Louisiana. If you would like to submit data
for this site, please email me
with your submissions. Happy Trails to you on your quest for your
ancestors.
This is a new site, fashioned after our successful Illinois
Trails websites, and we hope
to soon add data here that can help Louisiana researchers as much as we've
been able to help our Illinois researchers.
We need some help to do that though - volunteers to host these county
websites. If you can make a basic webpage, and you have a desire to
transcribe data for the free use of all researchers, we can use your
talents!
Review our Volunteer
Information and email
Kim.
In the meantime, join
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apprised of updates to this website.
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