Vernon

Formed March 30, 1871 (55^th parish)

Vernon Parish (48,754), Leesville (5,684)                

A Neo-Classical brick courthouse is located at East Courthouse Street at 3^rd Street.  Louisiana State Highway 8 joins United States 171 from the west one block west of the site.   The architect is unknown as this building was originally built as a bank.  The 1910 courthouse sits across the street.  A 1907 parish government building supports the courthouse.  An earlier version of the courthouse was built in Leesville, the only parish seat, in 1899.  The parish was created on March 30, 1871 as the 55^th parish.  Vernon Parish was originally part of Natchitoches, Rapides, and Sabine parishes.  Vernon is named after President George Washington’s estate of Mount Vernon.  Confederate General Robert E. Lee inspired the name of the parish seat. 

Vernon Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive).  It has 12 Police Jury Members (legislative.)  Three District Court Judges and Seven Justice Court Judges serve Vernon Parish (judicial.) The parish is in the southwest part of Louisiana on the border with Texas.  Lake Charles, Louisiana is south and Alexandria, Louisiana is east of the parish.  The Sabine River forms the western border with Texas.  The parish center is 6.4 miles East of Leesville.  The parish is surrounded clockwise by Natchitoches, Rapides, Allen, and Beauregard parishes and Texas and Sabine Parish. 

The area of the parish is 1341 square miles.  It is 8 out of 64 in the state.  It ranks 23 out of 64 in population in the state.  It has a density of 36.4 persons per square mile making it 35 out of 64 in the state.  Vernon Parish has 24.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 171 crosses the parish north to south from Sabine to Beauregard parishes.  The overall shape of the parish is rectangular.  Leesville is near the center of the parish.  Leesville is the parish seat and the largest city.  It is 11.7% of the parish population.  This parish is in the Fort Polk South Micropolitan Statistical Area.

De Ridder