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History · Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s post office opened in 1907, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the Elizabeth Hospital Building. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1948 on, and the census since 1950.

1907first post office
1on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Elizabeth’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Elizabeth began

When was Elizabeth founded?

1907

The Elizabeth post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,113 in 19502020 census: 417119 years
Founding year: the first Elizabeth post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Elizabeth’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Elizabeth’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewSawmill Town of Elizabeth: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Elizabeth came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Elizabeth.

Read it all →

As the village's website notes, the Village of Elizabeth was once known as the "Town of Elizabeth". It became a town legally on January 23, 1964, when Gov. Jimmie H. Davis signed a proclamation making Elizabeth the fifth incorporated town in Allen Parish.

"The name Elizabeth was chosen as a tribute to the daughter of Sam Parks, one of the men who established the Industrial Lumber Company's Calcasieu Paper Mill. Elizabeth was carefully planned and held the component of a company town built to feed the lumber mill and made every effort to making them superior. The Town hospital for the mill, now holds Elizabeth's Village Hall."

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Elizabeth, 1907 to 1948

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1907Post officeThe Elizabeth post office opens
  3. 1917Born hereFaye Emerson is born here
  4. 1931Born hereCloves Campbell Sr. is born here
  5. 1948On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Elizabeth, decade by decade

Date unknown3 to date
Sawmill Town of ElizabethDate?Sawmill Town of ElizabethSawmill Town of Elizabeth, Company HospitalDate?Sawmill Town of Elizabeth, Company HospitalSawmill Town of Elizabeth, Company Church (Methodist)Date?Sawmill Town of Elizabeth, Company Church (Methodist)
Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Elizabeth2004LAMap-doton-Elizabeth
On the map

Elizabeth on the map, 1948 to 1959

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

Elizabeth on the 1948 USGS mapElizabeth on the 1959 USGS map1948Elizabeth sheet · 1:24,000

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

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.

Sawmill Town of Elizabeth
Retake this viewSawmill Town of Elizabeth

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Elizabeth

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
1985
Elizabeth Hospital Building
Elizabeth Hospital Building
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Colonial Revival1
Elizabeth Hospital BuildingColonial Revival

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

People over time

Elizabeth, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001960198020002020Peak: 1,113

Between 414 and 1,113 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Elizabeth

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

See all →
Faye EmersonAmerican actress · b. 1917
C
Cloves Campbell Sr.American politician · b. 1931

Questions about Elizabeth’s history

What year was Elizabeth founded?

The Elizabeth post office opened in 1907, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Elizabeth?

One place: the Elizabeth Hospital Building (listed 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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.