Livingston Parish Convention and Visitors Bureau: OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Livingston was originally part of the St. Helena District. In 1832, St. Helena was divided in half and the Louisiana legislature created Livingston Parish. It was named for Edward Livingston, a prominent statesman who served as a senator, a minister to France, and Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson.
By 1835 several small industries were thriving in the area, notably sawmills and brick factories. The timber industry brought the railroads through in the early part of this century, changing commercial and residential patterns. With the construction of modern highways and the encroachment of metropolitan Baton Rouge, Livingston Parish continues to attract residents as well as businesses. The parish is located between the state capitol at Baton Rouge and the city of New Orleans.

The parish has a total area of 703 square miles (1,820 km²), of which, 648 square miles (1,678 km²) of it is land and 55 square miles (142 km²) of it (7.80%) is water. The parish is 32 miles long by 30 miles wide. The northern part of the parish consists of rolling terrain covered by pine and hardwood forests about 50 feet above sea level. In the southern end of the parish, the land submerges into rich cypress forests and marshes that border on Lake Maurepas and the Amite River.

The parish seat is located in Livingston in the center of the parish. Other towns in the parish are Albany, Denham Springs, French Settlement (so named because of the many French and Acadian settlers), Killian, Port Vincent, Springfield (Livingston's oldest community, incorporated in 1838), and Walker (only 20 miles from the State capitol).

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Livingston's neighboring parishes are Tangipahoa (east), St. Helena (north),St. John (south), East Baton Rouge (west) and Ascension (southwest).

Population:
As of the census of 2000, there were 91,814 people, 32,630 households, and 25,549 families residing in the parish. The population density was 142 people per square mile (55/km²). There were 36,212 housing units at an average density of 56 per square mile (22/km²).

Hurricane Katrina had a dramatic effect on the population in Livingston Parish. Many displaced families of the affected Parishes have moved into the area and as a result, the population of the parish has increased significantly. On June 6, 2007, the Census Bureau published a report "Special Population Estimates for Impacted Counties in the Gulf Coast Area" which shows a population increase for Livingston Parish to 111,863 as of January 1, 2006.