Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Gilliam

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Gilliam

Gilliam’s post office opened in 1900, and 46% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1932 on and the census since 1970.

1900first post office
0on the National Register
46%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Gilliam began

When was Gilliam founded?

1900

The Gilliam post office opened in 1900, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 211 in 19702020 census: 123126 years
Founding year: the first Gilliam post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Gilliam’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 Gilliam are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 244 in 1980; 123 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Gilliam’s homes were built before 1950.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Gilliam’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gilliam’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

Gilliam, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 244

Peaked at 244 in 1980; 123 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story

How Gilliam came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gilliam.

Read it all →

On May 13, 1908, a tornado struck the community around dinnertime, killing 34 people and devastating the town, leaving only two homes standing. Fifteen others were killed in nearby communities.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gilliam, 1900 to 1980

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1900Post officeThe Gilliam post office opens
  3. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 244
By decade

Gilliam, decade by decade

Today4 recent
Main Street Restaurant, Gilliam, LA IMG 13452017Main Street Restaurant, Gilliam, LA IMG 1345Untitled photo2012Untitled photoSunflower Trail and Festival, Gilliam, LA 2011 - Bubba's Alligator & Shrimp2011Sunflower Trail and Festival, Gilliam, LA 2011 - Bubb…LAMap-doton-Gilliam2004LAMap-doton-Gilliam
On the map

Gilliam on the map, 1932 to 1971

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

Gilliam on the 1932 USGS mapGilliam on the 1948 USGS mapGilliam on the 1956 USGS mapGilliam on the 1971 USGS map1932Hosston SE sheet · 1:31,680

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

Places that used to be

Places now gone

Gilliam’s post office has been open since 1900.

Gone or out of use
Elmore Schoolschool

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

Questions about Gilliam’s history

What year was Gilliam founded?

The Gilliam post office opened in 1900, 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 (4), Wikipedia, 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.