La Grange’s post office opened in 1827, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 77% of U.S. towns · #38 of 142 in Kentucky. What drives it
Most of La Grange was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. 4 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 189 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1886 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: the first La Grange post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives La Grange’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, La Grange is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #38 of 142 in Kentucky. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of La Grange’s overall grade.
Kentucky towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kentucky town has 29.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so La Grange’s 185 sits above most of its state (79% of Kentucky towns have fewer) while its 191 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share (±2.8 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1840 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about La Grange’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1886Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
La Grange was founded in 1827 when the Oldham County seat was relocated from Westport at the suggestion of Major William Berry Taylor. The new town was named for Château de la Grange-Bléneau, the French country estate of Gilbert du Motier, the American Revolutionary hero better known as the Marquis de Lafayette, who had visited the area in 1824. For unknown reasons, the county seat returned to Westport from 1828 to 1838 before settling at La Grange. The city was formally incorporated by the state legislature on January 23, 1840.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about La Grange’s history
What year was La Grange founded?
The La Grange post office opened in 1827, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1840.
How does La Grange rank for history?
La Grange is more historic than 77% of U.S. towns, #38 of 142 in Kentucky. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in La Grange?
4 listings: 2 buildings, among them the D. W. Griffith House (listed 1976, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Central La Grange Historic District and the Russell Court, with 189 contributing buildings. 191 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in La Grange?
6% of La Grange’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.8 points), against a typical 5.9% for a Kentucky town; the median home was built in 1998.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (9), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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