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–Not graded
History · Barataria

Barataria’s post office opened in 1879, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers from 1972 on.

1879first post office
0on the National Register
11%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Barataria’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Barataria began

When was Barataria founded?

1879

The Barataria post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 1,057147 years
Founding year: the first Barataria post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Barataria’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Barataria’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Barataria’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLouisiana - Bayou Barataria - 30 Septem…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story so far

Barataria, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Barataria yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Barataria ( BAIR-ə-TAIR-ee-ə) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,057 in 2020. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area.

Its first post office opened in 1879. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,109 to 1,057 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Barataria, 1879 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1879Post officeThe Barataria post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1972In the archiveLouisiana - Bayou Barataria - 30 September 1972
  5. 1985In the archiveBarataria Louisiana 1985 Bisante's Seafood and Fur processing place (10)
By decade

Barataria, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1970s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s–1980s3 items
Louisiana - Bayou Barataria - 30 September 19721972Louisiana - Bayou Barataria - 30 September 1972Barataria Louisiana 1985 Bisante's Seafood and Fur processing place (10)1985Barataria Louisiana 1985 Bisante's Seafood and Fur pr…Gilbert's Seafood & Fur - Barataria, Louisiana 19851985Gilbert's Seafood & Fur - Barataria, Louisiana 1985
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
BaratariaBridgeGulfwards2010BaratariaBridgeGulfwardsBaratariaAcrossBayouToLaffite2010BaratariaAcrossBayouToLaffiteLAMap-doton-Barataria2004LAMap-doton-Barataria
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Louisiana - Bayou Barataria - 30 September 1972
Retake this viewLouisiana - Bayou Barataria - 30 September 1972, 1972

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Barataria’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Barataria

Nobody well known was born in Barataria itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Ellen DeGeneresAmerican comedian, television host, actress, an… · b. 1958
Sal KhanAmerican educator · b. 1976
Ashley ScottAmerican actress · b. 1977
Jon BatisteAmerican musician and singer (b. 1986) · b. 1986
Elfrid PaytonAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
M
Madison WolfeAmerican actress · b. 2002
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Barataria’s post office has been open since 1879.

Gone or out of use
Bayou Perot Oil and Gas FieldoilfieldWest Barataria Oil and Gas Fieldoilfield
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Barataria
BaileyCoulonLittle VillageSaint Anthony

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.

LafitteIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJean LafitteIts storyD

Questions about Barataria’s history

What year was Barataria founded?

The Barataria post office opened in 1879, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.