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Livingston
Parish has become one of fastest growing parishes in Louisiana.It
is located 10 minutes from Baton Rouge(the state capital)
the home of two major universities, L.S.U and Southern. Although
on the outskirts of Baton Rouge it maintains it's rich heritage
of hometown hospitality and community spirit.
Livingston
Parish was created in 1832 on February 10th when the state
Legislature divided St. Helena Parish in to twoparts. According
to historians the parish was named after Robert or Edward
Livingston. Livingston Parish is also knownas one oftheFlorida
Parishes because up until 1810 it was still part of West Florida.
The
longest part measures 32 miles and its widest part is 30 miles
consisting of 642 square miles. The Amite River, which empties
into Lake Maurepas, forms the western border, while the Petite
Amite and Blind rivers define the southern border and the
Natalbany River forms part of the eastern border. Traveling
through the parish one will find two distinct types of terrain.
In the northern part of the parish are many pine and Hardwood
forests. Yet, when you head to the southern area of Livingston
Parish you find marshes and cypress forests along the borders
of the Amite River and Lake Maurepas.
Livingston
Parish continues to be mostly rural except for on the western
side of the parish as this is where the more populated communities
of Denham Springs, Walker and Watson are located. Livingston
Parish has eight incorporated areas. The largest of these
is the City of Denham Springs. Others include the towns of
French Settlement, Livingston, Springfield, Walker and the
villages of Albany, Port Vincent,and Killian. UN-incorporated
communities located in Livingston Parish include Bayou Barbary,
Clio, Corbin, Doyle, Frost, Holden, Hungarian Settlement,
Live Oak/Watson, Maurepas Island, Satsuma, Springville and
Weiss. In 1941 the town of Livingston became the parish seat
when the courthouse was moved from Centerville (Springville)
to Livingston.
Through
out Livingston Parish several industries in wood and metal
products can be found, as well as farms, livestock and orchards.
Much more information on the industrial development in Livingston
Parish can be found out at www.dschamber.org.
The
schools in Livingston Parish are rated as some of the best
in the state. The success of the schools in Livingston Parish
has been a major attraction to those relocating. This has
caused rapid growth throughout the parish but can be seen
mostly in the western part of theparish. As a result of this,
property value and industries have steadily increased along
with the student population. The school system is composed
of 40 schools and 22,236 students in a K-12 public school
district. The central office for the Livingston Parish school's
system is located in the town of Livingston
Music
has also been and still is a vital part of Livingston Parish
for many decades. This can be seen and heard at the Old South
Jamboree which holds country and bluegrass music shows on
the first Saturday of each month and features gospel music
on third Saturday of each month. In the Denham Springs Historical
Downtown Antique area, one can also find free outdoor concerts.
These concerts feature local artist performing music from
jazz to gospel music and even magic shows. The concerts are
held at the Train Station Park pavilion on Thursday nights
during the months of April through December. Our parish is
also well known as being the home of Livingston Parish Choirs
which include the award winning Childrens Choir and
Chorale. It also hosts two Livingston Parish Community bands.
They are the Concert Band and the newly formed Jazz Band.
Livingston
Parish also welcomes many travelers and tourists throughout
the year as they travel across the parish onInterstate 12.
Along with hotels in the Denham Springs area visitors can
stay overnight at the Denham Springs KOA Campground, Bayside
Marina and Campground, Lakeside RV Park, Tickfaw StatePark
or other campgrounds in theparish. During their stay here
a few of the places one may want to visit are the following:
Denham Springs Antique District, the waterways in southern
Livingston Parish, take a tour of the swamps and area rivers
on the Tickfaw Water Taxi, go tubing or kayaking on the upper
Amite River at Tiki Tubing, The Hungarian Settlement area
south of Albany, LIGO(Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave
Observatory), and the French Settlement Historical Society
Museum.
The
future for Livingston Parish looks positive with continued
growth of residential areas, commercial developments such
as the Bass Pro Complex in Denham Springs, Juban Crossing
and the continued population growth that is happening throughout
the parish.
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