Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Genealogy

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Parish Courthouse
Calcasieu Parish Police Jury 1015 Pithon Street PO Box 1583 Lake Charles, LA 70602

The Police Jury is the governing authority of the Parish.

Note: Records going back 100 years only are housed by the Health Unit.

Phone: 337-478-6020

History
The name Calcasieu (pronounced Cal-ca-shoo) comes from the Atakapan word, "quelqueshue", meaning "crying eagle". It was originally the name of an Atakapa chief, but became the name given to what was formerly the Rio Hondo River (Rio Stondo or "Deep River"), now the Calcasieu River. The parish then inherited this name.

Parent Parish

 * 1840--Calcasieu Parish was created 24 March 1840 from St. Landry Parish, one of the original nineteen civil parishes established by the Legislature in 1807. Parish seat: Lake Charles

Boundary Changes

 * Cameron Parish set off 15 March 1870, from the south portion of Calcasieu
 * part set off for Jefferson Davis Parish 12 June 1912
 * part set off for Beauregard Parish 12 Jun 1912
 * Various parts taken to add to other existing parishes, Rapides 1852, St. Landry 1852, Vermilion 1871, Allen 1912

Record Loss
The parish courthouse was destroyed by a disastrous fire on April 23, 1910, as well as most of downtown Lake Charles, and many of the records of the parish were burned or damaged.

Populated Places

 * Cities: DeQuincy . Lake Charles . Sulphur . Westlake
 * Towns: Iowa . Vinton
 * Communities: Bells City . Carlyss . Gillis . Moss Bluff . Mossville. Prien . Starks

Neighboring Parishes or Counties

 * Beauregard
 * Cameron
 * Jefferson Davis
 * Newton County, Texas
 * Orange County, Texas

Newspapers
Lake Charles American Press - Online subscriptions or day passes to the ePaper allow users to search the entire archives.

Societies

 * The Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society

Libraries

 * Calcasieu Parish Public Library
 * McNeese State University Archives and Special Collections
 * Southwest Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Library

Web Sites

 * FamilySearch.org Family History Library Catalog for Calcasieu Parish.
 * The Calcasieu Parish LAGenWeb Project, a member of The LAGenWeb Project, an affiliate of The USGenWeb Project.
 * Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)