Morehouse

Formed January 1, 1844 (43^rd parish)

Morehouse Parish (25,629), Bastrop (9,676)

A clock dome sits on top of the tan brick Classical Revival courthouse building.  It was constructed in 1914 using designs from Stevens and Nelson Company.  The structure is located on the city square at East Madison Avenue and Franklin Avenue.  Madison Avenue is westbound lanes of United States Highway 165 going through the city.  The courthouse was enlarged in 1935 and 1966.  Bastrop has been the only seat for the parish with an 1871 courthouse prior to the current one.  Morehouse Parish was created on January 1, 1844 from Ouachita Parish as the 43^rd parish.  Bastrop got its name from Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron of Bastrop, who was given the first opportunity to settle this part of Louisiana.  Morehouse namesake is Colonel Abraham Morehouse, a land investor from Kentucky.  Morehouse Parish was the birthplace of 1 Louisiana Governor, Luther E. Hall. 

Morehouse Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 7 Police Jury Members (legislative.)  Twelve District Court Judges serve Morehouse and Ouachita parishes and Eight Justice Court Judges serve Morehouse Parish (judicial.) The parish is in the far north bordering Arkansas.  Bayou Boeuf forms the eastern border of the parish.  The parish center is 9.9 miles East-Northeast of Bastrop nearer Mer Rouge.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by Arkansas and West Carroll, Richland, Ouachita, and Union parishes. 

The area of the parish is 805 square miles.  It is 25 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 37 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 31.8 persons per square mile making it 40 out of 64 in the state.  Morehouse Parish has 41.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 165 comes in from the north, Arkansas, and goes to the southwest, Ouachita Parish.  United States Highway 425 enters from Arkansas and terminates at Bastrop.  The parish is shaped like a capital letter V.  Bastrop is slightly west of center.  Bastrop is the parish seat and the largest city.  It is 37.8% of the parish population.  The parish seat is pronounced BAS-TROP.  This parish is in the Bastrop Micropolitan Statistical Area.