On April 10, 1805, the Territorial Legislature organized 12 counties (starting from the southeast corner moving west and north): Orleans, Lafourche, German Coast, Acadia, Iberville, Attakapas, Pointe Coupée, Opelousas, Rapides, Concordia, Natchitoches, and Ouachita. These were replaced in 1807 by 19 civil parishes.[5]
The area that later became the Florida Parishes on the east side of the Mississippi River was not included in Orleans Territory at this time, as it was in the Spanish territory of West Florida. This area was formally appended to the territory on April 14, 1812,[6] after having been annexed forcibly by the U.S. in 1810, although Spain did not formally relinquish any of West Florida until 1821. The western boundary with Spanish Texas was not fully defined until the Adams–Onís Treaty was negotiated in 1819. A strip of land known as the Sabine Free State just east of the Sabine River served as a neutral ground buffer area from about 1807 until the treaty took effect after ratification in 1821.
The Orleans Territory was the site of the largest slave revolt in American history, the 1811 German Coast Uprising.
Colonial map showing territorial border on the Ouachita RIver
Leaders and representatives
William C. C. Claiborne was appointed Governor of the Orleans Territory; he held this position throughout the territorial period. Later he became the first Governor of the state of Louisiana.
↑ John H., Long; Tuck Sinko, Peggy, eds. (2009). "Louisiana: Individual County Chronologies". Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. The Newberry Library. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
↑ William C. C. Claiborne (December 2, 1804). "Letter to Thomas Jefferson". National Archives. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
Further reading
Julien Vernet, Strangers on Their Native Soil: Opposition to United States' Governance in Louisiana's Orleans Territory, 1803–1809. Jackson, MS: University Press of Mississippi, 2013.[ISBNmissing]
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