Feliciana Parish, Louisiana

30°52′15″N 91°12′52″W / 30.87083°N 91.21444°W / 30.87083; -91.21444

*Parish of New Feliciana*, outlined in dark green - circa 1816

Feliciana Parish, or New Feliciana, French: Paroisse de Félicianne, was a parish of the Territory of Orleans and the state of Louisiana, formed in 1810 from West Florida territory. Given an increase in population, it was divided in 1824 into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish.

Feliciana is a Spanish word meaning "happy land". Formerly part of the French

La Louisiane, the area was settled largely by French colonists by about 1775, when it came under Spanish control during the American Revolutionary War. It was named by Spanish Governor Galvez.^[1] In 1777 he married a widow named Marie Félicité St. Maxent and honored her in the name.^[2]

The town of Jackson was founded in 1815 as the seat of justice for Feliciana Parish, before the parish was divided into two jurisdictions. The town also served as a land office and as a center for learning and culture. Legend holds that the town was originally called Bear Corners for the many wild black bears crossing nearby Thompson's Creek. It was named by Anglo-American settlers after General Andrew Jackson, who reportedly camped there with his troops on the return trip from the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812.

History

Aboriginal residents here at the time of European encounter were

Louis XIV

.

In 1763, at the

plantations

based on the labor of hundreds of enslaved African Americans.

Pensacola from British forces. At the end of the American Revolutionary War, Spain had regained both the West and East Florida colonies. Thus, the part of today's Louisiana which is east of the Mississippi River and north of Lake Pontchartrain

fell under Spanish control, from about 1780 until 1810.

In 1800, Spain was compelled to cede

Pensacola was the capital

.)

Feliciana colonists, unhappy under the Spanish regime, revolted in 1810 and established the short-lived Republic of West Florida. They petitioned President James Madison to annex the area. Their request was honored when, in October 1810, the Florida Parishes area was declared to be part of the Louisiana Purchase and an American possession.

The United States initially established "Feliciana County" as part of the Territory of Orleans, later subdividing it to form four parishes: New Feliciana, East Baton Rouge, St. Helena, and St. Tammany. In 1812, Louisiana was admitted to the Union, with Feliciana Parish included.

Addressing complaints that citizens of western Feliciana Parish found it difficult to travel during bad weather to the parish seat of Jackson in the eastern section, in 1824 the state legislature divided the area into East and West Feliciana parishes. This was also in recognition of the increased population in the area. At that point, two new parish seats were selected, Clinton in East Feliciana and St. Francisville in West Feliciana.^[3]

Adjacent parishes/counties

References

^ "History of East Feliciana Parish". Archived from the original on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
^ ST. MAXENT, Marie Félicité (Felicítas) Archived 2016-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, in Louisiana Historical Association's Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, retrieved on 6 June 2017.
^ History of East Feliciana Parish Archived 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, Feliciana Tourism

External links

Media related to Feliciana Parish, Louisiana at Wikimedia Commons

[1] "History of East Feliciana Parish". Archived from the original on 2016-10-12. Retrieved 2008-01-29.

[2] ST. MAXENT, Marie Félicité (Felicítas) Archived 2016-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, in Louisiana Historical Association's Dictionary of Louisiana Biography, retrieved on 6 June 2017.

[3] History of East Feliciana Parish Archived 2016-10-12 at the Wayback Machine, Feliciana Tourism

[1]

[2]

[3]

History

Adjacent parishes/counties

See also

References

External links