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B+History
History · Edgard

Edgard dates to 1772, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Edgard was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1985. Below: 10 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1990.

1772founded
4on the National Register
1%homes built before 1940
10old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Edgard’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Edgard began

When was Edgard founded?

1772

Edgard dates its founding to 1772 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1990.

First census: 2,753 in 19902020 census: 1,948254 years

How historic is Edgard?

B+

More historic than 71% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1851.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Edgard’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Edgard is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Edgard’s overall grade.
Founding era1772, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 19401.4% of homes (±2.4) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%DNational Register4 listings, 6 historic buildings, 40.5 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 71%
NewerOlder

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 Edgard’s 40.5 sits above most of its state (80% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1772.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A+. The pre-1940 share (±2.4 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Edgard’s past

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

On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1994. Watch Edgard change.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Edgard, and 5 old place names are still on the map.Older than the countryEstablished in 1772, 4 years before the Declaration of Independence.Landmarks on the Register4 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · On the map

Edgard on the map, 1892 to 1994

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

Edgard on the 1892 USGS mapEdgard on the 1949 USGS mapEdgard on the 1962 USGS mapEdgard on the 1981 USGS mapEdgard on the 1994 USGS map1892Mount Airy 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 Edgard.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Edgard’s post office has been open since 1851. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Edgard
1851–today
Lucy
1884–1973
Wallace
1886–1961
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
ColumbiaDukeHaydelLucyTigerville
Gone or out of use
Wallace Post Officepost office
1cemetery inside Edgard
Saint John the Baptist

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

Timeline

Edgard, 1772 to 1993

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1772
    FoundingEdgard is established
  3. 19th century
  4. 1851Post officeThe Edgard post office opens
  5. 1868Born hereEtienne J. Caire is born here
  6. 1884Post officeThe Lucy post office opens
  7. 1886Post officeThe Wallace post office opens
  8. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 20th century
  10. 1910Born hereGeorge E. Burch is born here
  11. 1918Born hereDave Bartholomew is born here
  12. 1926In the archiveGilmores page95
  13. 1938In the archiveWrecking porch of old house near Edgard, Louisiana
  14. 1961Post officeThe Wallace post office closes
  15. 1973Post officeThe Lucy post office closes
  16. 1993Born hereDillon Gordon is born here
The story

How Edgard came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Edgard.

Read it all →

One of the parish's first communities and a social haunt of the privateer Jean Lafitte, Edgard has been the parish seat since 1848. Originally named St. John the Baptist for the Catholic church at its heart, Edgard was renamed in 1850 for its postmaster, Edgar Perret. Edgard's first St. John the Baptist Catholic Church (1772) was destroyed by the Poché Crévasse in 1821. Another church was soon erected. In 1918 fire gutted the building. Parishioners gave generously to replace the church and, by the time the new church opened its doors, all debts had been paid.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Edgard, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1920s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s–1930s8 items
Gilmores page951926Gilmores page95Wrecking porch of old house near Edgard, Louisiana1938Wrecking porch of old house near Edgard, LouisianaUntitled photo, possibly related to: Detail of construction of old house; note the wooden cross lath. The construction …1938Untitled photo, possibly related to: Detail of constr…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Side wall of old house dating from early nineteenth century showing details of con…1938Untitled photo, possibly related to: Side wall of old…Untitled photo, possibly related to: Side wall of old house dating from early nineteenth century showing details of con…1938Untitled photo, possibly related to: Side wall of old…Detail of construction of old house; note the wooden cross lath. The construction material composed of mud and native m…1938Detail of construction of old house; note the wooden …Side wall of old house dating from early nineteenth century showing details of construction. Showing use of mud and mos…1938Side wall of old house dating from early nineteenth c…Side wall of old house dating from early nineteenth century showing details of construction. Showing use of mud and mos…1938Side wall of old house dating from early nineteenth c…
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
Date unknown2 to date
Kroll PlantationDate?Kroll PlantationColumbia PlantationDate?Columbia Plantation
Today9 recent
Eumorpha satellitia satellita MHNT CUT 2010 0 82016Eumorpha satellitia satellita MHNT CUT 2010 0 8Eumorpha satellitia satellita MHNT CUT 2010 0 8 Edgard, Louisiana ventral2016Eumorpha satellitia satellita MHNT CUT 2010 0 8 Edgar…Eumorpha satellitia satellita MHNT CUT 2010 0 8 Edgard, Louisiana dorsal2016Eumorpha satellitia satellita MHNT CUT 2010 0 8 Edgar…Light From Haven2013Light From HavenBelief2013BeliefBehold2013BeholdCaire's General Store2012Caire's General StoreE J Caire Store12011E J Caire Store1LAMap-doton-Edgard2004LAMap-doton-Edgard
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.

Gilmores page95
Retake this viewGilmores page95, 1926

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

4 historic places in Edgard

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

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
6
each building in a district counts
first listed
1989
Dugas House
Dugas HouseSorapuru HouseCaire, E.J., & Co. StoresHaydel-Jones House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

French Creole2
French Colonial1
Creole1
Federal1
Greek Revival1
Dugas HouseFrench Colonial
Sorapuru HouseFrench Creole
Caire, E.J., & Co. StoresGreek Revival
Haydel-Jones HouseFrench Creole

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

People over time

Edgard, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,00020002020Peak: 2,753

Between 1,948 and 2,753 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Edgard

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

See all →
Dave BartholomewAmerican musician, bandleader, composer, arrang… · b. 1918
G
George E. BurchAmerican cardiologist · b. 1910
D
Dillon GordonAmerican football player · b. 1993
E
Etienne J. CaireAmerican pharmacist · b. 1868
Help out

Finish Edgard’s story

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewGilmores page95: 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.

Wallace3 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townLaplace2 historic placesCReserve3 historic placesC−Garyville4 historic placesB

Questions about Edgard’s history

What year was Edgard founded?

In 1772, according to Wikidata. Edgard’s post office opened in 1851, and the census of 1990 counted 2,753 people here.

How does Edgard rank for history?

Edgard is more historic than 71% of U.S. towns. 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 Edgard?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Dugas House (listed 1989, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Edgard?

1% of Edgard’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1985.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (10), the Library of Congress (9), the National Register of Historic Places (4), 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.