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History · Gilbert

Gilbert’s post office opened in 1890

Most of Gilbert was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1920.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Gilbert began

When was Gilbert founded?

1890

The Gilbert post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 442 in 19202020 census: 449136 years
Founding year: the first Gilbert post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Gilbert’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Gilbert are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 800 in 1980; 449 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilbert’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Gilbert, census by census

0200400600800192019401960198020002020Peak: 800

Peaked at 800 in 1980; 449 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story so far

Gilbert, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Gilbert yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Gilbert is a village in Franklin Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Gilbert had a population of 449. The Gilbert welcome sign describes the village as the home of U.S. Lieutenant General Claire Chennault.

Its first post office opened in 1890. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 521 to 449 (-14%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Gilbert, 1890 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Gilbert post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 800
By decade

Gilbert, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Gilbert Water Tower2022Gilbert Water TowerLt Gen Chennault Marker2012Lt Gen Chennault MarkerGilbert, LA, welcome sign IMG 03192010Gilbert, LA, welcome sign IMG 0319Gilbert, LA, City Hall IMG 03212010Gilbert, LA, City Hall IMG 0321First Baptist Church, Gilbert, LA IMG 03162010First Baptist Church, Gilbert, LA IMG 0316LAMap-doton-Gilbert2004LAMap-doton-Gilbert
On the map

Gilbert on the map, 1935 to 1983

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

Gilbert on the 1935 USGS mapGilbert on the 1958 USGS mapGilbert on the 1976 USGS mapGilbert on the 1983 USGS map1935Winnsboro 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 Gilbert.

Every building

Gilbert, building by building, 1922

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Gilbert fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Questions about Gilbert’s history

What year was Gilbert founded?

The Gilbert post office opened in 1890, 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 (6), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.