When was Ouachita Parish founded?

Ouachita Parish was founded in 1807, and named after Ouachita people.

What is the county seat of Ouachita Parish?

The county seat of Ouachita Parish is Monroe.

Is there an online parcel map for Ouachita Parish?

Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 91,885 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has Ouachita Parish's boundary or name changed?

Ouachita Parish was created in 1807. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 22 later changes, chiefly involving Catahoula Parish, Claiborne Parish and Franklin Parish.

Who issues building permits in Ouachita Parish?

The county's page on building permits: building permit. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.

Who issues septic and well permits in Ouachita Parish?

The county's page on septic systems and wells: Employee Health Services.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for Ouachita Parish yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Parish · code 22073

Ouachita ParishLouisiana

Ouachita Parish is a parish in northeastern Louisiana with its seat in Monroe. It was created in 1807 as a civil division within the earlier Ouachita County, and named after the Ouachita people.

Founded1807
County seatMonroe
Named forOuachita people
Land area610 sq mi + 21 sq mi water
Population160,368 2020 Census
Parcels mapped91,885 checked 15 October 2026

Open the free map Click any parcel in Ouachita Parish: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated 19 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Founded in 1807

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

The 19 parishes created on April 14, 1807, were civil divisions that reused earlier ecclesiastical boundaries and established a dual system with counties, where parishes handled judicial matters while counties managed elections and territorial taxes. This dual county-parish system remained until Louisiana's 1845 state constitution, which eliminated counties as civil divisions and redefined parish authority. Ouachita Parish underwent numerous boundary changes between 1809 and 1838, losing territory to the creation of Concordia, Warren, Catahoula, Claiborne, Carroll, and Madison parishes, while gaining and exchanging land with neighboring parishes.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

1807
Ouachita Parish created Ouachita Parish created within Ouachita County. The nineteen parishes created on 14 April 1807 were civil divisions which reused the earlier ecclesiastical boundaries and names. The division into civil parishes did not abolish the twelve counties established on 10 April 1805. This and subsequent laws set up a dual system in which the counties existed "for the purpose of making the election of the representatives of the territory, and levying the territorial taxes", while the parishes took over jurisdiction of all civil, criminal, probate and other judicial matters. The dual county / parish system remained in effect until the state constitution of 1845. Though there was no legislative act formally abolishing the old counties, the 1845 constitution dropped all reference to the county as a civil or legislative division and redefined the limits of parish autonomy and authority. 14 April 1807 · Orleans Terr. Acts 1807, 1st. Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 1, sec. 9/ p. 12; Calhoun, 85-93
1809
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Concordia.
to Concordia
18 March 1809 · Orleans Terr. Acts. 1809, 2nd Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 22/p. 54
1811
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Warren (extinct).
to Warren
20 March 1811 · Orleans Terr. Acts 1811, 3rd Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 10/pp. 34-40
1813
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Catahoula.
to Catahoula
24 March 1813 · La. Acts 1812-1813, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp.138-140
1814
Gained territory Ouachita gained the portion of Warren (extinct) lying north of the upper line of John Milliken's plantation; Warren eliminated.
from Warren
28 February 1814 · La. Acts 1814, 1st Leg., 3rd sess., p. 32-34

Show all 24 changes (19 more)

1807
Ouachita Parish created Ouachita Parish created within Ouachita County. The nineteen parishes created on 14 April 1807 were civil divisions which reused the earlier ecclesiastical boundaries and names. The division into civil parishes did not abolish the twelve counties established on 10 April 1805. This and subsequent laws set up a dual system in which the counties existed "for the purpose of making the election of the representatives of the territory, and levying the territorial taxes", while the parishes took over jurisdiction of all civil, criminal, probate and other judicial matters. The dual county / parish system remained in effect until the state constitution of 1845. Though there was no legislative act formally abolishing the old counties, the 1845 constitution dropped all reference to the county as a civil or legislative division and redefined the limits of parish autonomy and authority. 14 April 1807 · Orleans Terr. Acts 1807, 1st. Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 1, sec. 9/ p. 12; Calhoun, 85-93
1809
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Concordia.
to Concordia
18 March 1809 · Orleans Terr. Acts. 1809, 2nd Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 22/p. 54
1811
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Warren (extinct).
to Warren
20 March 1811 · Orleans Terr. Acts 1811, 3rd Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 10/pp. 34-40
1813
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Catahoula.
to Catahoula
24 March 1813 · La. Acts 1812-1813, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp.138-140
1814
Gained territory Ouachita gained the portion of Warren (extinct) lying north of the upper line of John Milliken's plantation; Warren eliminated.
from Warren
28 February 1814 · La. Acts 1814, 1st Leg., 3rd sess., p. 32-34
1827
Exchanged territory Ouachita exchanged with Natchitoches when the eastern boundary of Natchitoches was defined for the first time.
with Natchitoches
15 March 1827 · La. Acts 1827, 8th Leg., 1st sess., p. 30
1828
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Claiborne, and gained very small area along Dugdemona River from Natchitoches.
to Claiborne to Natchitoches
13 March 1828 · La. Acts 1828, 8th Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 70-76
1830
Exchanged territory Ouachita exchanged with Catahoula.
with Catahoula
4 March 1830 · La. Acts 1830, 9th Leg., 2nd sess., p. 36
1832
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Carroll (extinct).
to Carroll
14 March 1832 · La. Acts 1832, 10th Leg., 3rd sess., pp. 100-106
1834
Gained territory Ouachita gained from Catahoula.
from Catahoula
10 March 1834 · La. Acts 1833, 11th Leg., 2nd sess., p. 122
1835
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Catahoula.
to Catahoula
28 March 1835 · La. Acts 1835, 12th Leg., 1st sess., p. 160
1838
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Madison.
to Madison
19 January 1838 · La. Acts 1837, 13th Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 13-14
1838
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Caldwell.
to Caldwell
6 March 1838 · La. Acts 1837, 13th Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 38-41
1839
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Union.
to Union
13 March 1839 · La. Acts 1839, 14th Leg., 1st sess., pp. 22-26
1841
Gained territory Ouachita gained from Catahoula; exchanged with Claiborne.
from Catahoula from Claiborne
6 February 1841 · La. Acts 1841, 15th Leg., 1st sess., p. 10-11
1842
Changed Ouachita's west boundary defined to run along the east branch of the Dugdemona River (no change). 27 January 1842 · La. Acts 1841, 15th Leg., 1st sess., p. 30
1843
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Franklin.
to Franklin
1 March 1843 · La. Acts 1843, 16th Leg., 1st sess., pp. 22-24
1844
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Morehouse.
to Morehouse
25 March 1844 · La. Acts 1844, 16th Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 77-79
1845
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Jackson; Ouachita divided into two parts as a result.
to Jackson
27 February 1845 · La. Acts 1845, 17th Leg., 1st sess., pp. 16-19
1845
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Catahoula; Ouachita remained divided into two parts.
to Catahoula
10 March 1845 · La. Acts 1845, 17th Leg., 1st sess., p. 68
1846
Gained territory Ouachita gained from Union; lost to Jackson.
from Union from Jackson
1 June 1846 · La. Acts 1846, 1st Leg., 1st sess., pp. 159-160
1847
Lost territory Ouachita lost to Morehouse.
to Morehouse
15 April 1847 · La. Acts 1847, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., p. 91
1848
Gained territory Ouachita gained from Franklin.
from Franklin
24 February 1848 · La. Acts 1848, 2nd Leg., 1st sess., p. 8
1868
Lost territory Ouachita lost to creation of Richland.
to Richland
29 September 1868 · La. Acts 1868, 1st Leg., 1st sess., p. 151

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Ouachita

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Good enough

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 91,885 parcels. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 27 August 2025 · checked 15 October 2026
Address points Missing

No public address points layer found for Ouachita Parish yet.
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

Ouachita by the Census

Population

160,368 2020 Census count

Housing units

70,028 2020 Census count

Land area

610 square miles

Water area

21 square miles

People per sq mi

263 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Records

Assessor and property records
2024 Tax Millage Roll Forward Notice
from oppj.org · checked 13 October 2026

Permits

Health department: septic and well
Employee Health Services
from oppj.org · checked 13 October 2026
building permitfrom oppj.org
Building permitsfrom oppj.org

Zoning and code

Planning and zoning 318-398-9780from oppj.org · checked 13 October 2026
Planning and Zoningfrom oppj.org

County government

County government
The official website of Ouachita Parish.
oppj.org

See your own lot on these maps

Open Ouachita Parish on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about Ouachita Parish

When was Ouachita Parish founded?: Ouachita Parish was founded in 1807, and named after Ouachita people.
What is the county seat of Ouachita Parish?: The county seat of Ouachita Parish is Monroe.
Is there an online parcel map for Ouachita Parish?: Yes. A public source publishes a parcel map of 91,885 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Ouachita Parish's boundary or name changed?: Ouachita Parish was created in 1807. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 22 later changes, chiefly involving Catahoula Parish, Claiborne Parish and Franklin Parish.
Who issues building permits in Ouachita Parish?: The county's page on building permits: building permit. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Who issues septic and well permits in Ouachita Parish?: The county's page on septic systems and wells: Employee Health Services.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for Ouachita Parish yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby