Formed February 24, 1851 (47th parish)
Winn Parish (13,755), Winnfield (4,145)
The red brick and metal Modern 1962 courthouse of Winn Parish is located on Main Street between Court and Abel Streets. United States Highway 84 passes one block south of the site. Nolan, Norman and Nolan are the courthouse architects. Winnfield is the original parish seat. An 1896 and a 1922 courthouse also were located in Winnfield, the only parish seat. The parish was formed on February 24, 1851 from parts of Rapides, Natchitoches, and Catahoula parishes as the 47th parish. The marble entry is a unique feature of the facility. The origin of the name of the parish as well as the parish seat is debated between Richard O. Winn who sponsored the legislation to create the parish and Mexican War hero Winnfield Scott. Winn Parish was the birthplace of 3 Louisiana Governors, Huey P. Long, Jr, Oscar K. Allen, Sr, and Earl K. Long.
Winn Parish government consists of a President, a sheriff, a clerk, a treasurer, and a coroner (executive). It has 7 Police Jury Members (legislative.) One District Court Judge and Seven Justice Court Judges serve Winn Parish (judicial.) The parish is located in the north central part of the state. Alexandria, Louisiana is south and Shreveport, Louisiana is northwest. The parish center is in Winnfield .8 miles East of the city center. The parish is surrounded clockwise by Jackson, Caldwell, La Salle, Grant, Natchitoches, and Bienville parishes.
The area of the parish is 957 square miles. It is 15 out of 64 in the state. It ranks 54 out of 64 in population in the state. It has a density of 14.4 persons per square mile making it 60 out of 64 in the state. Winn Parish has 36.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 71 cuts the extreme southwest tip of the parish going north to south from Natchitoches to Grant parishes. United States Highway 84 crosses from La Salle Parish in the southeast into Natchitoches Parish in the west. United States Highway 167 goes north to south through the parish from Jackson Parish to Grant Parish. The parish is shaped like a scoop. Winnfield is near the center in the parish. Winnfield is the parish seat and the largest city. It is 30.1% of the parish population.
