Most of Jean Lafitte was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1992. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1980.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1914.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jean Lafitte’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jean Lafitte is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jean Lafitte’s overall grade.
Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Jean Lafitte’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (21% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1974.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Jean Lafitte’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Jean Lafitte was initially settled by Native Americans and later explored and settled by the French, who established it as a harbor for large vessels coming in and out of New Orleans. Today, the communities along Bayou Barataria include Jean Lafitte, Crown Point and Barataria.
The town of Jean Lafitte was officially incorporated in 1974, an effort led by Leo E. Kerner Jr., who became the town's first mayor. His son, Tim Kerner Sr., later served 7 terms as mayor from 1992 to 2020. In 2020, his son Tim Kerner, Jr. was elected as mayor.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1974, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Jean Lafitte’s post office opened in 1914, and the census of 1980 counted 936 people here.
How does Jean Lafitte rank for history?
Jean Lafitte is more historic than 7% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Jean Lafitte?
4% of Jean Lafitte’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1992.
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).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), 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.
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