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History · Doyline

Doyline’s post office opened in 1884

Most of Doyline was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1947 on, and the census since 1950.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: MyName (Billy Hathorn) · Public domain
Quick answers

How Doyline began

When was Doyline founded?

1884

The Doyline post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,170 in 19502020 census: 674142 years
Founding year: the first Doyline post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Doyline’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Doyline’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps -…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Doyline came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Doyline.

Read it all →

Doyline is an entry point to Lake Bistineau and the Lake Bistineau State Park, a popular fishing destination and the reservoir of Dorcheat Bayou.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Doyline, 1880 to 1947

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880In the archive1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Webster Parish - Doyline - ED 60…
  3. 1884Post officeThe Doyline post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1914Born hereJames E. Bolin is born here
  6. 1927Born hereJim Willis is born here
  7. 1947On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Doyline, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1880s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Webster Parish - Doyline - ED 60-4318801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA…
1890s–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
Today7 recent
Revised, Doyline, LA welcome sign IMG 56412012Revised, Doyline, LA welcome sign IMG 5641United Methodist Church in Doyline, LA IMG 06042009United Methodist Church in Doyline, LA IMG 0604Doyline, LA, welcoming sign IMG 05972009Doyline, LA, welcoming sign IMG 0597Doyline, LA, Town Hall IMG 06002009Doyline, LA, Town Hall IMG 0600Doyline, LA, Cemetery IMG 06032009Doyline, LA, Cemetery IMG 0603Another view of Lake Bistineau IMG 05922009Another view of Lake Bistineau IMG 0592LAMap-doton-Doyline2004LAMap-doton-Doyline
On the map

Doyline on the map, 1947 to 1998

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

Doyline on the 1947 USGS mapDoyline on the 1981 USGS mapDoyline on the 1998 USGS map1947Minden 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 Doyline.

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.

1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Webster Parish - Doyline - ED 60-43
Retake this view1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Webster Parish - Doyline - ED 60-43, 1880

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Doyline, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001960198020002020Peak: 1,170

Between 674 and 1,170 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Doyline

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

See all →
J
James E. BolinLouisiana legislator and judge · b. 1914
J
Jim WillisAmerican baseball player · b. 1927

Questions about Doyline’s history

What year was Doyline founded?

The Doyline post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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 (8), 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.