West Carroll

Formed March 26, 1877 (58^th parish)

West Carroll Parish (9,755), Oak Grove (1,445)

The tan brick and wood construction of the 1916 Classical Revival courthouse was designed by W. L. Stevens.  The structure is located on East Main at Briggs.  Louisiana State Highway 2 is Main Street through the town.  The courthouse was enlarged in 1963.  An Administration Building was added in 2013.  Lake Providence (East Carroll Parish) was the original parish seat of Carroll Parish.  It was later switched to Floyd (1877) and then to Oak Grove (1915) when the parishes were split.  Carroll Parish was created as an original in 1832 and later separated into East Carroll and West Carroll parishes on March 26, 1877 as the 58^th parish.  Carroll Parish is named in honor of Charles Carroll, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.  The parish seat’s name is a geographic term for the nearby oak groves. 

West Carroll Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 5 Police Jury Members (legislative.)  Three District Court Judges serve West Carroll, Franklin, and Richland parishes and Five Justice Court Judges serve West Carroll Parish (judicial.) The parish is in northeast Louisiana on the border with Arkansas.  Bayou Macon is the east border and Bayou Boeuf is the west.  The parish center is 11.7 miles Southwest of Oak Grove nearer Pioneer.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by Arkansas and East Carroll, Richland, and Morehouse parishes. 

The area of the parish is 360 square miles.  It is 58 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 58 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 27.1 persons per square mile making it 46 out of 64 in the state.  West Carroll Parish has 26.7% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the parish.  The parish shape is an Italic capital letter I.  Oak Grove is in the northeast part of the parish.  Oak Grove is the parish seat and the largest city.  It is 14.8% of the parish population.