The Counties of Orleans
Territory
as drawn by the Territorial Legislature
April 10, 1805
from the Encyclopedia Louisiana
used by permission
The County of Orleans shall comprehend
all that portion of the country lying on both sides of the river Mississippi
from Balize to the beginning of the Parish of St. Charles, including the
Parishes of St. Bernard and St. Louis.
Orleans County included
the present-day parishes of Orleans, St. Bernard. Plaquemines and Jefferson.
The County of the German Coast shall
comprehend the Parishes of St. Charles and St. John the Baptist, commonly
called the First and Second German Coasts.
The German Coast
County included the present -day parishes of St. Charles and St. John the
Baptist.
The County of Acadia shall comprehend
the Parishes of St. James and the Ascension, commonly called the First
and Second Acadian Coasts.
Acadia County included
the present-day parishes of St. James and Ascension.
The County of Lafourche shall comprehend
the parish of Assumption.
Lafourche County
included the present-day parishes of Assumption, Lafourche and Terrebonne.
The County of Iberville shall comprehend
the Parish of St. Gabriel and such part of the Parish of St. Bernard as
lies within the Territory of Orleans.
Note: that the Parish
of St. Bernard referred to here is the area around Galveztown, a settlement
on the Manchac that Bernardo Galvez fortified to guard the international
border from encroaching British settlers and armies.
Iberville County
included only a small portion of the present -day parish of Iberville on
both banks of the Mississippi River.
The County of Pointe Coupee shall comprehend
the Parish of St. Francis.
Pointe Coupee County
included the present-day parishes of Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge
and the northern portion of Iberville Parish.
The County of Concordia shall comprehend
all that portion of country lying within the following boundaries to-wit:
Beginning at the mouth of Red River and along the same to Black River;
then along Black River to the Tensa River, and along the same to Tensa
Lake, then by right line, easterly, to the Mississippi and down the same
to the point of beginning.
Note that this is
the only county that is has distinct borders outlined by the legislature.
Concordia County
included the present-day parish of Concordia and part of Tensas Parish.
The County of Ouachita shall comprehend
all that country commonly called and known by the name of the Ouachita
settlements.
Ouachita County included
the present-day parishes of Ouachita, Caldwell and Franklin, Its loosely
defined borders would also include Union, Morehouse, West Carrol, East
Carrol, Richland and Madison, as well as portions of Tensas, Lincoln and
Jackson parishes.
The County of Rapides shall comprehend
the settlement of Rapides, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Bayou Boeuf, Bayou Robert
and all other settlements which now are or may be made in the vicinity
there of, and which may in the opinion of the Superior Court lie nearer
or more conveniently to the house or seat of justice of the said County
of Rapides than to the Court House or seat of justice of any other county.
Rapides County included
the present-day parishes of Rapides, LaSalle and Catahoula as well as most
of Avoyelles and parts of Grant and Vernon parishes.
The County of Natchitoches shall comprehend
the Parish of St. Francis.
Note that this is
a second parish of St. Francis mentioned by the legislature.
Natchitoches County
included the present-day parishes of Winn, Jackson, Red River, Bossier,
Webster, Bienville, Claiborne and Caddo, most of Natchitoches Parish and
portions of Grant, Lincoln and Caldwell parishes.
The County of Opelousas shall comprehend
the Parish of St. Landry, commonly called the Parish of Opelousas.
Opelousas County
included the present-day parishes of Acadia, Evangeline and Jefferson Davis
as well as most of St. Landry Parish and portions of Avoyelles, Allen,
Calcasieu and Cameron Parishes.
The County of Attacapas shall comprehend
the Parish of St. Martin, commonly called the Parish of Attacapas.
Attakapas County
included the present-day parishes of St. Martin , St. Mary, Lafayette,
Iberia and Vermilion as well as portions of Cameron and St. Landry parishes.
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Most of present day Louisiana on the east
bank of the Mississippi remained the Spanish territory of West Florida
in 1805 with the international border along the Manchac (Iberville River).
West Florida included
the present-day parishes of East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, West Feliciana,
St. Helena, Livingston, Tangipahoa, St. Tammany and Washington.
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The western border of Orleans Territory with
Spanish Texas was still undefined in 1805. A definitive international border
would have to wait for the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1821. In the meantime Spain,
which had its own troubles in Europe with Napoleon, delayed a decision
with Neutral Ground diplomacy.
The Neutral Ground between
Louisiana and Spanish Texas included portions of the present-day parishes
of Desoto, Sabine, Natchitoches, Vernon, Rapides, Beauregard, Allen, Calcasieu,
Jefferson Davis, and Cameron.
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