Denham Springs, Louisiana

Denham Springs is a city in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, United States, and part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The 2010 census placed the population at 10,215.

Downtown Denham Springs has transformed itself from hardware stores, drug stores, doctors' offices, and a single movie theater, into a collection of various and varied forms of antique dealers. The downtown area is now called the Denham Springs Antique Village. The city of Gladewater, Texas, has made a similar transformation.

Denham Springs has a Mardi Gras Parade held two Saturdays before Mardi Gras. It hosts the Springfest on the last Saturday in April.

Denham Springs is the largest area of commercial and residential development in Livingston Parish. As of the 2010 census, Denham Springs and Walker are the only parish municipalities classified as cities.

History

19th century

The area has been known as Amite Springs, Hill's Springs, and Denham Springs.

The original land claims of John Noblet and Alexander Hogue form what is now the older section of Denham Springs, including the first residential and business districts. In 1828, William Denham, a Wilkinson County, Mississippi, native, married Mercy Hogue, the daughter of Alexander Hogue; and three months he later purchased the 640 acres (2.6 km²) originally claimed by his father-in-law. Denham purchased the land and a slave for $1,350.