Grant Parish, Louisiana

Grant Parish is a parish located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,309. The parish seat is Colfax . The parish was founded in 1869.Grant Parish is part of the Alexandria, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area and Red River Valley. From 1940-1960, the parish had a dramatic population loss, as many African Americans left in the Great Migration to seek better opportunities elsewhere. Such migration continued until about 1970. The parish was also one of the eleven Reconstruction parishes created, created from Winn and Rapides parishes.Grant Parish is a home of United States Penitentiary, Pollock.HistoryGrant Parish was originally a part of the more populous Rapides Parish to the south. Prior to the American Civil War, the center of activity focused upon "Calhoun's Landing," named for the cotton and sugar planter Meredith Calhoun, a native of South Carolina. Calhoun also published the former National Democrat newspaper in what became Colfax, the seat of government of the new parish.