Richland-Ouachita County Louisiana Archives News.....History of Richland Parish Courthouse  January 11, 1969
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Pauline Mobley http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00028.html#0006760 December 19, 2009, 2:57 pm

Richland Beacon January 11, 1969
History of Richland Parish Courthouse
  The General Assembly of the State of Louisiana convened in the year of 1868, 
provided for the creation of Richland Parish by the passage of Act. No. 115.  
This act is signed by H.C. Warmoth, Governor of the State of Louisiana; George 
E. Bovee, Secretary of State; Charles W. Lowell, Speaker of the House of 
Representatives; and Oscar J. Denn, Lieutenant Governor and President of the 
Senate; and is dated September 29, 1868.
   Section 3 of said Act 115 made provisions for the seat of justice in 
Richland Parish as follows;
   "Be it further enacted, etc., That the seat of justice for the parish of 
Richland shall be and is hereby located on or near the railroad at the town 
ship seventeen, north of range seven east."
    The erection of a courhouse was authorized by Section 4 of Act 115, as  
follows:
    " Be it further enacted, etc. that the police jury of the Parish of 
Richland shall meet within twenty days after their election as provided for in 
tis act, and at their first meeting, they shall designate a place for the 
erection of a court house, and provide for the acquisition of the site thereof 
and shall provide places for holding courts and the offices for the clerk and 
sheriff of said  parish, until suitable buildings can be erected or provided."
    The first Richland Parish Police Jury met in Rayville in December 1869, 
and authorized the building of a courthouse.  This first courthouse was a 
small wood frame affair of two rooms.  By 1872 Richland Parish was well 
organized and the Police Jury felt able to provide a better building to house 
the parish officers, so a contract was let for a new courthouse. The old 
building was sold to a negro church organization who had it rolled down to the 
banks of Little Creek, which flows behind the court square, and floated some 
ten miles downstream for use as a church.
    The courthouse erected in 1872 served the parish until 1951 when a new 
five story, concrete masonry building was constructed on the original court 
square at a cost of almost one-half million dollars.  The first offices were 
moved into a new building in December, 1951 last of the $550,000.00 Courthouse 
Construction Bonds were retired 1965 and the building and the building is debt 
free.
    The following notation is from the  minutes of the Police Jury of 
1873 "all monies received from the auction of ferry franchises across steams 
running through Richland Parish should be used for the purchase of chairs for 
the court building until such time as there was a sufficiency of chairs." 
Seven of the orginal chairs and one courtroom bench has recently been 
refinished and restored to almost original condition.  The chairs are in the 
police jury office and the bench has been placed in the courtroom.
    The present courthouse was formally decicated May 9, 1952.   

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