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History · Grand Cane

Grand Cane’s post office opened in 1838, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 6 buildings. Below: maps from 1921 on and the census since 1890.

1838first post office
3on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Grand Cane began

When was Grand Cane founded?

1838

The Grand Cane post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1899.

First census: 351 in 18902020 census: 217188 years
Founding year: the first Grand Cane post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1899.The full story ↓

What stands out about Grand Cane’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 Grand Cane are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 485 in 1910; 217 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1838: 188 years of Grand Cane.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grand Cane’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grand Cane’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

Grand Cane, census by census

01002003004005001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 485

Peaked at 485 in 1910; 217 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Grand Cane, 1838 to 1945

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1838Post officeThe Grand Cane post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1905Born hereRudy Leopold is born here
  5. 1905Born hereB. H. "Johnny" Rogers is born here
  6. 1910CensusPopulation peaks at 485
  7. 1945On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Grand Cane came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Grand Cane.

Read it all →

Prior to the incorporation of the village of Grand Cane in 1899, the settlement of four families (Thomas Abington, Israel Rogers, Wright Hobgood, and John Wagner) influenced the development of the area around two wagon trails that intersected in the sparsely populated area known as the Grand Cane Territory. In 1881, Amanda Hobgood (widow of Wright Hobgood) deeded land to the New Orleans & Pacific Railway and had the village of Grand Cane laid out in lots and streets. By 1899, the village was incorporated, and the first mayor was E.R. Fortson. The first village councilmen were Paul E. Allen, Loderick Monroe Cook, and Dr. J.B. Johns. The population soon grew to almost 500.

ChaptersPresent day

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Grand Cane, decade by decade

Today2 recent
RosenwaldSchoolGrandCane (1 of 1)2017RosenwaldSchoolGrandCane (1 of 1)LAMap-doton-Grand Cane2004LAMap-doton-Grand Cane
On the map

Grand Cane on the map, 1945 to 1994

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

Grand Cane on the 1945 USGS mapGrand Cane on the 1957 USGS mapGrand Cane on the 1972 USGS mapGrand Cane on the 1994 USGS map1945Grand Cane 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 Grand Cane.

Every building

Grand Cane, building by building, 1921

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.

Grand Cane fire insurance map, 1921, sheet 11921Sheet 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.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Grand Cane

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
8
each building in a district counts
first listed
1988
Bank of Grand Cane
Bank of Grand CaneGrand Cane United Methodist ChurchGrand Cane Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Romanesque Revival2
Gothic Revival1
Bank of Grand CaneRomanesque Revival
Grand Cane United Methodist ChurchGothic Revival
All 3 listings
Grand Cane Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 1995

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Grand Cane

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

See all →
R
Rudy LeopoldAmerican baseball player · b. 1905
B
B. H. "Johnny" RogersAmerican farmer and politician · b. 1905

Questions about Grand Cane’s history

What year was Grand Cane founded?

The Grand Cane post office opened in 1838, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1899.

What is on the National Register in Grand Cane?

Three places: the Bank of Grand Cane (listed 1988), the Grand Cane United Methodist Church (1992) and the Grand Cane Historic District (1995).

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 (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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), 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.