Berwick’s post office opened in 1854, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns · #76 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Berwick was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listings are the Morgan City City Hall and Courthouse and the Southwest Reef Lighthouse. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1880.
The Berwick post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Glenwild (1907), opened inside today’s town and later closed.
First census: 796 in 18802020 census: 4,771172 years
How historic is Berwick?
C+
More historic than 36% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Berwick post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Berwick’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Berwick is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #76 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Berwick’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 Berwick’s 4.3 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.5 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 Berwick’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first settler in the area was Thomas Berwick (c. 1740-c. 1792), a Philadelphia-born surveyor in the Opelousas district. He and his family settled on the banks of the Atchafalaya River after receiving a land grant in 1779. Berwick wanted to establish a port at the mouth of the river. His son Joseph (1783-1852) established a settlement on the west bank of the river that became the town of Berwick.
Today Berwick is home to several seafood processing plants and numerous boat companies.
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 Berwick post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Berwick rank for history?
Berwick is more historic than 36% of U.S. towns, #76 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 Berwick?
Two places: the Morgan City City Hall and Courthouse (listed 1981) and the Southwest Reef Lighthouse (1991).
How old are the homes in Berwick?
5% of Berwick’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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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2011
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