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History · Cotton Valley

Cotton Valley’s post office opened in 1871, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Its Register listing is the Hodges House. Most of Cotton Valley was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1930.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Cotton Valley began

When was Cotton Valley founded?

1871

The Cotton Valley post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,133 in 19302020 census: 787155 years
Founding year: the first Cotton Valley post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Cotton Valley’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Cotton Valley are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,445 in 1980; 787 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1981. Watch Cotton Valley change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Cotton Valley’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Cotton Valley, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,60019401960198020002020Peak: 1,445

Peaked at 1,445 in 1980; 787 people lived here in 2020.

9 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Cotton Valley’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Cotton Valley on the map, 1922 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Cotton Valley. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Cotton Valley on the 1922 USGS mapCotton Valley on the 1956 USGS mapCotton Valley on the 1981 USGS map1922Sarepta sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Cotton Valley.

The story so far

Cotton Valley, in brief

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

Cotton Valley is a town in central Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Cotton Valley had a population of 787.

Its first post office opened in 1871. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,009 to 787 (-22%).

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

Timeline

Cotton Valley, 1871 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Cotton Valley post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Born hereFrank Levingston is born here
  5. 1915Born hereJohn Cecil Jones is born here
  6. 1922On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,445
By decade

Cotton Valley, decade by decade

Today7 recent
Revised photo, downtown Cotton Valley, LA IMG 51282011Revised photo, downtown Cotton Valley, LA IMG 5128HO-MADE Eat In - Carry Out - sign in2010HO-MADE Eat In - Carry Out - sign inCox music family of Cotton Valley, LA IMG 35412010Cox music family of Cotton Valley, LA IMG 3541Cotton Valley, LA, sign IMG 35362010Cotton Valley, LA, sign IMG 3536Cotton Valley, LA, downtown IMG 06472009Cotton Valley, LA, downtown IMG 0647Cotton Valley (LA) High School Veterans Memorial IMG 06432009Cotton Valley (LA) High School Veterans Memorial IMG …LAMap-doton-Cotton Valley2004LAMap-doton-Cotton Valley
On the National Register

1 historic place in Cotton Valley

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Hodges House
Hodges House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
All 1 listings
Hodges HouseBuilding · listed 1983

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Cotton Valley

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Frank Levingstonb. 1905
J
John Cecil JonesAmerican lynching victim · b. 1915

Questions about Cotton Valley’s history

What year was Cotton Valley founded?

The Cotton Valley post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Cotton Valley?

One place: the Hodges House (listed 1983).

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 (7), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.