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History · Convent

Convent’s post office opened in 1847, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Convent was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers from 1881 on.

1847first post office
5on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Convent’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Convent began

When was Convent founded?

1847

The Convent post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 483179 years
Founding year: the first Convent post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Convent’s past

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

Deep rootsA post office since 1847: 179 years of Convent.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Timeline

Convent, 1847 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1847Post officeThe Convent post office opens
  3. 1881In the archiveLe Louisianais., February 12, 1881
  4. 1890In the archiveConvent near Hester's, Louisiana
  5. 1896Born herePete Herman is born here
  6. 20th century
  7. 1937In the archiveConvent, LA Jefferson College (Manresa House of Retreats) 1937s
On the National Register

5 listings protect 18 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
18
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
St. Michael's Church Historic District
St. Michael's Church Historic DistrictMather HouseLambert HouseJudge Felix Poche' Plantation HouseManresa House of Retreats/Jefferson College
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival2
French Creole2
Victorian Renaissance Revival1
Gothic Revival1
Georgian Revival1
St. Michael's Church Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Mather HouseFrench Creole
Lambert HouseFrench Creole
All 5 listings
Judge Felix Poche' Plantation HouseBuilding · listed 1980Manresa House of Retreats/Jefferson CollegeBuilding · listed 1985

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

The story

How Convent came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Convent.

Read it all →

The area now known as Convent was originally settled between 1722 and 1739 and called Baron. The town’s name derives from the Convent of the Sacred Heart, established in 1825 by the Religious of the Sacred Heart, who operated a girls’ school until 1932.

St. Michael Parish, founded in 1809, is among the oldest Catholic parishes in Louisiana. The present church, built in 1833 and enlarged in the 1870s, features Romanesque and Gothic architectural elements and includes a Lourdes Grotto constructed in 1876. The church and its associated historic district are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Convent, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s2 items
Le Louisianais., February 12, 18811881Le Louisianais., February 12, 1881BookConvent near Hester's, Louisiana1890Convent near Hester's, Louisiana
1900s–1920snothing 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
1930s4 items
Convent, LA Jefferson College (Manresa House of Retreats) 1937s1937Convent, LA Jefferson College (Manresa House of Retre…Convent, LA Jefferson College (Manresa House of Retreats) ~ 19371937Convent, LA Jefferson College (Manresa House of Retre…Negro shack near Convent, Louisiana1938Negro shack near Convent, LouisianaQuarters for laborers. Plantation near Convent, Louisiana1938Quarters for laborers. Plantation near Convent, Louis…
1940s–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
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.

Convent near Hester's, Louisiana
Retake this viewConvent near Hester's, Louisiana, 1890

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

Retake this view · +15
Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Convent’s post office has been open since 1847.

Hamlets and corners on the map
MalarcherNicholleUncle Sam
Gone or out of use
Convent StationlocaleJefferson CollegeschoolSacred Heart Conventchurch
1cemetery inside Convent
Saint Michael

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Convent’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewConvent near Hester's, Louisiana: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

St. James1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMoonshineIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Convent’s history

What year was Convent founded?

The Convent post office opened in 1847, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Convent?

5 listings: 4 buildings and 1 historic district, the St. Michael's Church Historic District, with 6 contributing buildings. 18 historic buildings in all.

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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, 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.