About Us

Today, Parks sits in the middle of the former LaPointe District of 1765, hence giving its settlement date. However, it has no claim to LaPointe. Parks was once called Potier. It was also called LaPointe de Repos, supposedly because of the cowhands in the early 1800's. They drove their cattle into the cul-de-sac formed by the sharp bend of the bayou at round-up time.

Nevertheless, Parks was not founded until 1900.  Settlement began in the village shortly after 1900.  Around that time, Paul Melancon purchased a large tract of land in the vicinity of what is now Parks in order to establish a cotton gin.  But, shortly after buying the property, he decided to divide a portion into town lots and the nucleus of the present community took shape.

The exact origin of the name "Parks" is somewhat of a mystery. Although some residents seem to think that it had something to do with the railroad.  The story goes that the first train to pass through the community arrived on Easter Sunday.  When the train engineer, who apparently did not speak or understand French, inquired about the name of the settlement. The residents, who probably spoke as much English as the engineer spoke French, replied "C'est Pacques" (it's Easter). The train engineer thought he understood the word Parks, and the name apparently stuck.

In 1907, the residents of Parks decided that the village should be incorporated and a committee composed.  The committee included, JL Ducrest, P. Almire Babin, and Adlar Barras who directed CS Babin to survey a small township of 330 acres. In 1908, the area was incorporated. Since that time, Parks remained approximately the same size, serving the farmer's needs.

 Out with the old.....

.....In with the new