St. Helena Parish Police Jury

 

History of St. Helena Parish

St. Helena Parish was first inhabited by the American Indian. During the 1500's, white men began to move into the West Florida portion of Louisiana. Ponce de Leon, the Governor of Puerto Rico, discovered Florida in the year 1512. Spanish expeditions traveled and explored the Mississippi River Valley in search of gold and other riches similar to that which had been found in Mexico. The Spanish explorers were not so much interested in the colonization of the area, and when they failed to locate the treasures they searched for, they momentarily lost interest.

Spanish Flag - 1762

France entered the area in 1623 when LaSalle claimed possession of the Lower Mississippi Valley. Many French voyages followed and permanent settlements were established. In the meantime, the English had two hundred colonists on the East Coast in the year 1690. After many difficult years of colonization, this area, while under French rule failed to prosper. It was during this time that Spain allied with France in the French and Indian War against England. After the British won the French and Indian War, France ceded Louisiana to Spain in return for Spain's help during the Seven Year War. For compensation of Spain's losses, France granted her the French possessions in the lower Mississippi River Valley including present day St. Helena Parish in the secret treaty of Fontainebleau in 1762. It was during Spanish administration that great prosperity came to the area.

English Flag - 1763

However, in 1763, the Treaty of Paris confirmed the cession to Spain but modified the territory involved because England demanded East Florida, West Florida and Canada. With the existence of the British rule, this area became populated with English and American settlers migrating from Georgia and the Carolinas. In 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, Spain regained West Florida from England.

French Flag - 1800

By the Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1800, Louisiana once again became a French territory after Napoleon's negotiations with Spain. Later in the year 1803, Napoleon negotiated with the United States on the Louisiana Colony. The United States then purchased the colony and William Claiborne was established as Louisiana's first governor.

Republic of West Florida Flag - 1810

West Florida, however, continued to be held by Spain after France had transferred it to the United States in 1803. Spain continued to hold onto this area until the West Florida Rebellion of 1810 when a small group of colonists overthrew the government of Spain. The residents of West Florida, increasingly dissatisfied with Spanish rule, declared their independence from Spain and seized Baton Rouge from the Spanish officials. They declared themselves as the free and independent state of West Florida.

President James Madison had already issued a proclamation ordering Governor Claiborne of Louisiana to take possession on October 27, 1810. It was on December 10, 1810 that Governor Claiborne took possession of West Florida. It was proclaimed that all of the area eastward from the Mississippi River shall constitute one county to be known and called by the name Feliciana. The county was then divided into the parishes of Feliciana, Baton Rouge, St. Helena and St. Tammany. St Helena Parish was formed by the Act of Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the Territory of Orleans on April 24, 1811. Louisiana, including the Florida parishes, became the eighteenth state of the union. After many years of confusion and instability, the West Florida region of Louisiana was now a stable portion of the United States of America.

Note: These and other Louisiana Flag images are found at Louisiana Office of Tourism website