St. James Parish, located midway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge on the mighty Mississippi River and divided in two by the Father of Waters, is one of the original nineteen parishes created on March 31, 1807, by an act of the Orleans Territorial Legislature.

Prior to its creation as a civil parish, St. James Parish formed a part of the "Comte' d'Acadie" or Country of Acadia, which was composed of the old ecclesiastical parishes of the St. James and "The Ascension," commonly referred to then as the First and Second Acadian Coasts.

The original seat of government was in St. James on the west bank of the river, but in 1869 it was changed to the east bank, near the "Convent of the Sacred Heart" and a new courthouse was erected. This structure was destroyed by a fire in 1970 and another was built in the same location. In 1971 the present courthouse was constructed. The area is now known as Convent and is at present the parish seat.