Many, LA

Many is the Sabine Parish seat, named for Colonel James B. Many, commander of Fort Jesup, after the parish was organized in 1843. The site began as a Belgian settlement, then became the crossroads chosen for the new parish government. That courthouse role still gives the town its basic shape. Central Louisiana Technical College's Sabine Valley Campus is one of the town's present-day landmarks. The useful shorthand is western Louisiana, Fort Jesup, parish-seat business, and a town that began when the new parish needed a place to meet. Even the name carries a military connection, which is a good opener for a place called Many.