Parish · code 22079
Rapides ParishLouisiana
Rapides Parish is a parish in central Louisiana with its seat in Alexandria. It was created on April 14, 1807, as one of nineteen civil parishes established under a dual system with Louisiana's counties.
- Founded1807
- County seatAlexandria
- Land area1,320 sq mi + 41 sq mi water
- Population130,023 2020 Census
- Parcels mapped76,473 checked 15 October 2026
Where it is
Rapides on the map of Louisiana
Louisiana has 64 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.
History
Founded in 1807
An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.
Rapides Parish was created on April 14, 1807, as a civil division that reused ecclesiastical boundaries, while the earlier Rapides County remained for electoral and territorial tax purposes until Louisiana's 1845 constitution. The parish has experienced several boundary changes over time, including the loss of territory to the creation of Catahoula, Winn, Grant, and Vernon parishes, along with various exchanges with neighboring parishes such as Avoyelles and Natchitoches.
- 1807Rapides Parish created Rapides Parish created within Rapides 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. · Orleans Terr. Acts 1807, 1st. Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 1, sec. 9/ p. 12; Calhoun, 85-93
- 1808Lost territory Rapides lost to creation of Catahoula. · Orleans Terr. Acts 1808, 2nd Leg., 1st sess., ch. 10/p. 30
- 1813Lost territory Rapides lost to Catahoula. · La. Acts 1812-1813, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp.138-140
- 1818Exchanged territory Rapides exchanged with Avoyelles. · La. Act. 1818, 3rd Leg., 2nd sess., p. 10
- 1847Exchanged territory Rapides exchanged with Natchitoches. · La. Acts 1847, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 96-97
Show all 13 changes
- 1807Rapides Parish created Rapides Parish created within Rapides 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. · Orleans Terr. Acts 1807, 1st. Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 1, sec. 9/ p. 12; Calhoun, 85-93
- 1808Lost territory Rapides lost to creation of Catahoula. · Orleans Terr. Acts 1808, 2nd Leg., 1st sess., ch. 10/p. 30
- 1809Changed Rapides boundary with Natchitoches defined (no change). · Orleans Terr. Acts 1809, 2nd Leg., 2nd sess., ch. 16/p. 40
- 1813Lost territory Rapides lost to Catahoula. · La. Acts 1812-1813, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp.138-140
- 1818Exchanged territory Rapides exchanged with Avoyelles. · La. Act. 1818, 3rd Leg., 2nd sess., p. 10
- 1846Changed Rapides authorized to gained from Natchitoches. Boundary for this change cannot be drawn as described in this 12 May 1846 law. An accurate description for the change intended here was approved by the legislature on 15 April 1847 (no change). · La. Acts 1846, 1st Leg., 1st sess., p. 42
- 1847Exchanged territory Rapides exchanged with Natchitoches. · La. Acts 1847, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 96-97
- 1847Exchanged territory Rapides exchanged with Avoyelles. · La. Acts 1847, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., p. 113
- 1852Lost territory Rapides lost to creation of Winn; gained very small areas along the Dugdemona River from Catahoula. · La. Acts 1852, 4th Leg., pp. 67-69
- 1852Gained territory Rapides gained from Calcasieu and Natchitoches, exchanged with St. Landry. · La. Acts 1852, 4th Leg., pp. 83-84, 87-88
- 1869Lost territory Rapides lost to creation of Grant. · La. Acts 1869, 1st Leg., 2nd sess., pp. 79-80
- 1871Lost territory Rapides lost to creation of Vernon. · La. Acts 1871, 2nd Leg., 1st sess., pp. 175-176
- 1910Exchanged territory Rapides exchanged with Natchitoches and Vernon, lost to Calcasieu. · Natchitoches Parish Police Jury. Correspondence, 8 Aug 2008; Rapides Parish Police Jury. Correspondence, 15 Aug 2008; Rapides Parish Police Jury Minutes Jan. 1910, pp. 299-305
Land and parcels
What the maps cover in Rapides
Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.
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Parcels Fallback
Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 76,473 parcels from Alexandria International Airport. Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey. This copy is a fallback, not the county's own: use it as a guide and check the official record.
edited 24 June 2021 · checked 15 October 2026 -
Address points Missing
No public address points layer found for Rapides Parish yet.
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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
Rapides by the Census
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.
Zoning and code
County government
- County government
The official website of Rapides Parish.
See your own lot on these maps
Open Rapides 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.
Questions
Common questions about Rapides Parish
- When was Rapides Parish founded?
- Rapides Parish was founded in 1807.
- What is the county seat of Rapides Parish?
- The county seat of Rapides Parish is Alexandria.
- Is there an online parcel map for Rapides Parish?
- Yes. Alexandria International Airport publishes a parcel map of 76,473 parcels, rated fallback here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
- Has Rapides Parish's boundary or name changed?
- Rapides Parish was created in 1807. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 10 later changes, chiefly involving Catahoula Parish, Natchitoches Parish and Avoyelles Parish.
- Is my lot in a flood zone?
- We do not have flood maps for Rapides Parish yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.
Nearby