To me a parish is the area serviced by the local church. But I’ve never heard anyone refer to geographical area as a parish. Is Louisiana the only place that does that? Why?
I remember from my state and local goverment class that 48 states have counties. Louisiana has parishes and Alaska has burroughs.
I’m sure this has something to do with the French influence. Someone else will probably be along to explain further.
Wikipedia article. It has to do with Louisiana’s formerly having been French and having a legal system based on French civil law.
Doesn’t say why a former French possession would use “parish” when France apparently doesn’t.
Alaska is the only other state that doesn’t use “county.” Alaska has “borroughs.”
Yes, the explanation via the French link doesn’t make sense…parishes (and the word especially) suggest English influence. We still have parish councils, who spend a (very small) proportion of our taxes, and other things (such as property valuations for tax) often still follow parish boundaries. Maybe the question could just as easily be asked why most of the USA didn’t acquire this system?
Because things changed a lot in France, meanwhile. There has been a revolution, in particular. Parishes were replaced by “communes”. That’s why I think it’s not related to the civil code, but I would assume an older custom that kept being used.
I’m assuming (not asserting) in my previous post that wikipedia is right in stating that the state being subdivised in parishes is actually related to it being a former french possession…
Since the Louisiana territory ran all the way up to Montana I wonder if the French colonialists mapped out parishes for the whole region?
This is why I have no faith whatsoever in Wikipedia.
Here is a different and more clear article from Wikipedia that tells the dates when the parish system was formed and how it got codified into law.
Louisiana has the Napoleonic Code. . . . 
Thanks, Shagnasty - that article is an exemplar for Wikipedia bloaters! It gives the relevant information, and stops there.
Not sure if you’re engaged in attempted wooshing, and seeing as how I’ve already been smacked down for linking a Wikipedia article, I almost hesitate to mention that upon reading a different Wikipedia article, Louisiana wasn’t under the Napoleonic Code. The French civil code was a separate thing that came into being about the same time as the NC.
[nitpick]
Alaska has boroughs.
[/nitpick]
Am I being whooshed here?
And we mustn’t forget The Shire, which has burrows.
To say that Louisiana uses the term “parish” for its basic administrative unit because it was French is to perpetuate a common myth. To say that it uses the term because it was heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic church as a result of being French, then Spanish, and finally French again would be much more accurate.
The term parish is an English term, primarily used to describe the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of an individual priest or pastor. The term comes from Greek, by way of Latin, Middle French, and Middle English. It is not in any way French or Spanish, however, being a thoroughly English word; French and Spanish have cognates (paroisse and parroquia, respectively). Thus the word comes from English.
In England, the main administrative unit for centuries has been the “county,” being the land under the jurisdiction of a count (earl). Most of the United States use this term for their basic administrative unit, following a pattern set by the original colonies, many of which were divided up into counties while still colonies.
But England, and some other countries, used the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of a parish to help further break down administrative responsibilities. You can find a good list of them here at Wikipedia. You will notice that most of the countries are former English colonies, but Spain and Portugal are there, as is Andorra. The strong influence of the Roman Catholic church upon civil as well as ecclesiastical matters cannot be denied in those countries; in France this was true as well, at least until the complete revision of the governmental scheme instituted by Napoleon.
Upon becoming a Territory (following the famous Louisiana Purchase), the Territory was divided into 12 counties. In general, they tended to conform to existing parishes (meaning the ecclesiastical units). But in 1807, the territorial legislature passed an act dividing the territory into 19 “parishes.” The term county wasn’t eliminated; it existed side-by-side until the Constitution of 1811, which was the basis for admission to statehood.
In short, the term got used because it was an accepted English term for an administrative unit, it fit, because the units were, indeed, parishes to begin with, and the importance of a parish was significant, given the history of the state. Counties were not in existence prior to statehood; the local populace, which was certainly willing to strike out on its own in matters of politics (e.g., using Napoleonic Code rather than common law), appeared willing to use its own familiar terms, admittedly, however, adopting the English version of the word, reflecting the new owners.
And Mexico, famed for its burros.
Actually, they kept the parishes They just called them “communes” and put an elected mayor in each of them (resulting in the 36 000 or so french communes, with population ranging from ten guys to 2 millions residents, that, I understand, is an oddity as far as administrative divisions go). Besides, this was implemented under the revolution, not by Napoleon.
Ah, people today. No respect for the classics. See http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044081/quotes (search for “napoleonic” on the page).
No, Mars has Burroughs.