Delhi’s post office opened in 1859, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 40% of U.S. towns · #73 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Delhi was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 21 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Delhi post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Delhi’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Delhi is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Delhi’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 Delhi’s 85.5 sits above most of its state (89% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 22 historic buildings outnumber those of 80% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. 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 Delhi’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In 1890, the Delhi Institute was founded in Delhi, Louisiana; a Black private school affiliated with the A.M.E. church. Delhi Institute was renamed to Lampton College; after a 1907 fire, the campus was moved to Alexandria, Louisiana, before being absorbed sometime after 1945 by Campbell College in Jackson, Mississippi.
In the 1940s, Delhi was the center of a large natural gas boom. Numerous workers came to work in the industry. Several functioning gas fields still surround the town.
From 1968 until 1969, Delhi Fire Department was home to the now-defunct Louisiana State Police – Troop O. The site was abandoned in 1969 after thirteen months' operation, with state services reverting to Troop F in Monroe.
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.
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 Delhi post office opened in 1859, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Delhi rank for history?
Delhi is more historic than 40% of U.S. towns, #73 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 Delhi?
Three places: the Miles-Hanna House (listed 1996), the Downtown Delhi Historic District (1997) and the Delhi Municipal Baseball Park (2000).
How old are the homes in Delhi?
0.6% of Delhi’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1971.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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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