There are three communities in Tensas Parish,

Tensas Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The name "Tensas" is derived from an Indian tribe. The parish seat is St. Joseph and, as of 2000, the population is 6,618. St. Joseph is located adjacent to the Mississippi River levee system which runs at the east end of town. One can view the Mississippi River if he stands atop the levee.

Newellton, St. Joseph, and Waterproof. Newellton was founded by the planter and attorney John David Stokes Newell, Sr., who named it for his father Edward D. Newell, a North Carolina native. All three communities are linked by Highway 65, which passes just to the west of each town. The developed Lake Bruin State Park lies near St. Joseph. Lake Bruin is an oxbow lake created by the meandering of the Mississippi River.

Tensas Parish is served by a weekly newspaper, the Tensas Gazette, circulated Wednesdays throughout the Parish.

Tensas Parish was among the last three parishes in the state to set up a 911 telephone service. Republican Congressman Rodney Alexander of Quitman, whose district includes Tensas Parish, announced late in 2005 that a $100,000 rural development grant through the Department of Agriculture would help the parish to establish the emergency system. [1]

Tensas Parish was desegregated at one time in the fall of 1970. However, the schools remain de facto segregated by parental decisions. The lion's share of white students attend the private Tensas Academy in St. Joseph. Nearly all African American students attend the public schools, whereas few whites are registered. Enrollment in the public system, now based in St. Joseph, has been declining in recent years. Former high schools and elementary schools in Newellton and Waterproof have closed because of declining enrollments. Tensas Parish High School in St. Joseph is the latest consolidation of the former Davidson High School of St. Joseph as well as Newellton and Waterproof high schools.