Arabi’s post office opened in 1882, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #32 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
3 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 175 buildings between them. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Arabi is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #32 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Arabi’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 Arabi’s 383 sits above most of its state (98% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 177 historic buildings outnumber those of 92% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Arabi’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Arabi was established in the 19th century as a suburb of New Orleans, along the east bank of the Mississippi River. Arabi was part of Orleans Parish; however, a law passed in the 1880s stated that slaughterhouses could not be located within the City of New Orleans. An 1851 map calls the area Jacksonburgh, a name believe to be derived from Andrew Jackson. It is speculated by the publication that the town is named after Arabi Pasha (a mis-transliteration of his actual name Ahmed Urabi) who burned Alexandria, Egypt in 1882 while engaged in a revolt against the British administration in Egypt.
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.
Between 3,635 and 10,248 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Arabi’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and places now gone
Arabi’s post office has been open since 1882.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Claude Heights
Gone or out of use
Arabi Elementary SchoolschoolCarolyn Park SchoolschoolSaint Claude Heights SchoolschoolSaint Louise De Marillac SchoolschoolSaint Robert Bellarmine Schoolschool
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Arabi post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Arabi rank for history?
Arabi is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #32 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 Arabi?
Three places: the Friscoville Street Historic District (listed 1998), the Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant (2018) and the Old Arabi Historic District (1998).
How old are the homes in Arabi?
11% of Arabi’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1964.
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 (14), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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