| 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.
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