DeRidder’s post office opened in 1899, and 11% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns · #43 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 27 buildings. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1947 on, and the census since 1910.
The DeRidder post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1903. Another post office, Ludington (1905), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 2,100 in 19102020 census: 9,852127 years
How historic is DeRidder?
B
More historic than 60% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first DeRidder post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1903.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives DeRidder’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, DeRidder is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #43 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of DeRidder’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 DeRidder’s 38.9 sits above most of its state (79% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 38 historic buildings outnumber those of 83% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1903.
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 DeRidder’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
DeRidder was named for Ella de Ridder, the sister-in-law of a Dutch railroad financier, Jan de Goeijen (cf. De Queen, Arkansas). Her family originally came from the small town of Geldermalsen in the Netherlands, where she was one of 13 children. She ran away from home at an early age and was presumed dead by her family, who only later discovered that she had traveled to the United States. The town was named for her by her brother-in-law, who brought the first railroad to that area of Louisiana. Prior to that, the little town was known as Schovall. The first train line to serve DeRidder came in 1897. It was the Kansas City, Pittsburgh & Gulf Railroad, later called the Kansas City Southern and now Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).
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 DeRidder post office opened in 1899, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1903.
How does DeRidder rank for history?
DeRidder is more historic than 60% of U.S. towns, #43 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 DeRidder?
10 listings: 9 buildings, among them the Beauregard Parish Jail (listed 1981, the first), and 1 historic district, the DeRidder Commercial Historic District, with 27 contributing buildings. 38 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in DeRidder?
11% of DeRidder’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (16), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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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