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History · Grayson

Grayson’s post office opened in 1891

Most of Grayson was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1940 on and the census since 1920.

1891first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Billy Hathorn · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Grayson began

When was Grayson founded?

1891

The Grayson post office opened in 1891, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Emory (1890), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 337 in 19202020 census: 449135 years
Founding year: the first Grayson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Grayson’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 Grayson are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Grayson’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Grayson’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
The story so far

Grayson, in brief

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

Grayson is a village in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Grayson had a population of 449.

Its first post office opened in 1891. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 532 to 449 (-16%).

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

Timeline

Grayson, 1890 to 1944

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1890Post officeThe Emory post office opens
  3. 1891Post officeThe Emory post office closes
  4. 1891Post officeThe Grayson post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1918Born hereJohn McKeithen is born here
  7. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1944Born hereBilly Masters is born here
By decade

Grayson, decade by decade

Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Grayson2004LAMap-doton-Grayson
On the map

Grayson on the map, 1940 to 1989

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

Grayson on the 1940 USGS mapGrayson on the 1957 USGS mapGrayson on the 1989 USGS map1940Columbia 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 Grayson.

People over time

Grayson, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020Peak: 564

Between 337 and 564 people in every census since 1920.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Grayson

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

See all →
John McKeithenAmerican governor of Louisiana · b. 1918
B
Billy MastersAmerican football player · b. 1944
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Grayson’s post office has been open since 1891. Another post office, Emory, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Emory
1890–1891
Grayson
1891–today
18901960today

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

Questions about Grayson’s history

What year was Grayson founded?

The Grayson post office opened in 1891, 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 (1), 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.