Alexandria’s post office opened in 1806, and 38 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 78% of U.S. towns · #18 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Alexandria was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 38 places in town are on the National Register, among them four historic districts with 445 buildings between them. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1840.
Founding year: the first Alexandria post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1818.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Alexandria’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Alexandria is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #18 of 161 in Louisiana. 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 Alexandria’s overall grade.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Alexandria’s 111 sits above most of its state (91% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 488 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1818 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 Alexandria’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Alexandria, building by building, 1885–1928
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.
Located along the Red River, the city of Alexandria was originally home to a community which supported activities of the adjacent French trader outpost of Post du Rapides. The area developed as an assemblage of traders, Caddo people, and merchants in the agricultural lands bordering the mostly unsettled areas to the north and providing a link from the south to the El Camino Real and then larger settlement of Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase.
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.
The Alexandria post office opened in 1806, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1818.
How does Alexandria rank for history?
Alexandria is more historic than 78% of U.S. towns, #18 of 161 in Louisiana. 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 Alexandria?
38 listings: 33 buildings, among them the Kent Plantation House (listed 1971, the first), 4 historic districts with 445 contributing buildings, and 2 sites. 488 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Alexandria?
5% of Alexandria’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (10), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (39), 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.
1861
1864
1864
1884
1917
1917
1917
1917
