Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns · #36 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 4 buildings. Most of Chalmette was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1950.
Chalmette dates its founding to 1720 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1950.
More historic than 63% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Chalmette is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #36 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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 Chalmette’s 2.2 sits near the middle of its state (47% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 5 historic buildings outnumber those of 70% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: Wikipedia (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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Chalmette. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Chalmette.
Peaked at 33,847 in 1980; 21,562 people lived here in 2020.
6 censuses, 1950–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Chalmette’s Wikipedia page.
Chalmette’s post office has been open since 1895.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikipedia’s history of Chalmette.
Chalmette was founded by plantation owner Louis-Xavier Martin de Lino de Chalmette (1720–1755), a native of Quebec and grandson of René-Louis Chartier de Lotbinière of Maison Lotbinière. His eldest son, Louis Xavier Martin de Lino de Chalmette (1753–1814) was born there and married the sister of Antoine Philippe de Marigny, grandfather of Bernard de Marigny.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In the archiveBonzano's residence, Chalmette.Alternate Title: Louisiana scenery, 604
In the archiveBonzano house, Jackson's headquarters
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
In the archiveBattle monument
In the archiveChalmette Monument, New Orleans, La
In the archivePackenham Oaks Postcard Curtich - Reverse5 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
c. 1870Bonzano's residence, Chalmette.Alternate Title: Louis…
c. 1870Bonzano's residence, Chalmette.Alternate Title: Louis…1890Bonzano house, Jackson's headquarters
1890Jackson barracks
1890Chalmette, a section of the levee, New Orleans, La
1897–1910Detroit Photographic Company (0354) - Mississippi Riv…No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Chalmette’s page.
Retake this view · +15The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1720, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Chalmette’s post office opened in 1895, and the census of 1950 counted 1,695 people here.
Chalmette is more historic than 63% of U.S. towns, #36 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.
Two places: the Chalmette Unit of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park Historic District (listed 1966) and the 1939 St. Bernard Parish Courthouse (2019).
2% of Chalmette’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 1978.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (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.
![Chalmette oaks and [battle] monument, New Orleans, La](https://images.townratings.com/story/39972/c527d43caff33546bd2c-s.jpg)
1905
1910
1930s