Jefferson

Formed February 11, 1825 (30^th parish)

Jefferson Parish (440,794), Gretna (17,813), Kenner (66,471)

A very Modern building was constructed in 2007.  The concrete structure is located on Derbigny Street at 2^nd Street.  Sizeler-Thompson-Brown Architects provided the designs.  An Annex was built in 2004.  Lafayette (not the same as the city) was the parish seat until 1852 then Carrollton was the seat until 1874.  The 1906 and 1958 courthouses were also in Gretna.  Jefferson Parish was formed on February 11, 1825 from Orleans County as the 30^th parish.  The City of Gretna gets its name from the Scottish village of Gretna Green.  The parish gets its name from United States President Thomas Jefferson and a statue of him sits in front of the courthouse.  Jefferson Parish was the birthplace of 1 Louisiana Governor, Jacques P. Villere. 

Jefferson Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 7 Council Members (legislative.)  Sixteen District Court Judges, Seven Parish Court Judges, and Eight Justice Court Judges serve Jefferson Parish (judicial.) The northern border of the parish is the Mississippi River.  Numerous bayous and estuaries are in this river delta parish.  The parish center is 24.4 miles South-Southwest of Gretna nearer Lafitte.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by Orleans and Plaquemines parishes and the Gulf of Mexico and Lafourche, Saint Charles, Tangipahoa, and Saint Tammany parishes. 

The area of the parish is 642 square miles.  It is 39 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 2 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 686.6 persons per square mile making it 4 out of 64 in the state.  Jefferson Parish has 23.8% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses east to west, Orleans Parish to Saint Charles Parish.  United States Highway 61 parallels Interstate Highway 10 from Orleans Parish into Saint Charles Parish.  United States Highway 90 enters from Orleans Parish and exits into St. Charles Parish (southwest).  The parish is shaped like a flat 3.  Gretna is on the far north of the parish.  Kenner is located in northwest corner of the parish.  Gretna is the parish seat and Kenner is the largest city.  Gretna is 4.0% of the parish population while Kenner is 15.4% of the parish population.  New Orleans, Louisiana is just north and east of the parish.  The parish seat is pronounced GRET-NA.  This parish is in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area.