Jefferson’s post office opened in 1854, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 44% of U.S. towns · #67 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Jefferson was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1958. Its Register listings are the Camp Parapet Powder Magazine, the Southern Pacific Steam Locomotive #745 and the Young Men's Protective League Union Benevolent Association Hall. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1960.
Founding year: the first Jefferson post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jefferson’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jefferson is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #67 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jefferson’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 Jefferson’s 3.1 sits near the middle of its state (51% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 Jefferson’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Early French colonial documents show what would become Jefferson as part of the "Tchoupitoulas Coast" of Native American settlement. In the French and Spanish colonial era it was divided into a series of plantations with boundary lines perpendicular to the Mississippi River.
In the American Civil War, Camp Parapet was built originally by Confederate forces to defend New Orleans from an attack from the upriver side. After the Union liberated the city sailing up from downriver, U.S. troops expanded the fortifications to defend against Confederate counterattacks which never came.
The Jefferson post office opened in 1854, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Jefferson rank for history?
Jefferson is more historic than 44% of U.S. towns, #67 of 161 in Louisiana. 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.
What is on the National Register in Jefferson?
Three places: the Camp Parapet Powder Magazine (listed 1977), the Southern Pacific Steam Locomotive #745 (1998) and the Young Men's Protective League Union Benevolent Association Hall (2026).
How old are the homes in Jefferson?
9% of Jefferson’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 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) 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.
