Jennings’ post office opened in 1880, and 13 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 52% of U.S. towns · #54 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Jennings was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Below: 7 old photos and papers, maps from 1895 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: the first Jennings post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1888.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Jennings’ History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Jennings is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #54 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Jennings’ 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 Jennings’ 16.7 sits above most of its state (73% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 16 historic buildings outnumber those of 78% 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 (±2.5 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1888 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
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 Jennings’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Jennings, building by building, 1895–1915
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 year, then a sheet.
Jennings McComb, the town's namesake, was an Irish contractor for the Southern Pacific Railroad. He built the Jennings depot on a divide peculiar to the southwest Louisiana. This became the center of new development based on the railroad. The first settler was recorded as A. D. McFarlain, who came in 1881 from St. Mary Parish and opened a store. McFarlain also became the first rice grower, postmaster, brickmaker, and builder in the community. Prospering with Jennings’ growth, McFarlain was considered one of the town's prominent businessmen and civic leaders.
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.
The Jennings post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1888.
How does Jennings rank for history?
Jennings is more historic than 52% of U.S. towns, #54 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 Jennings?
13 listings: 13 buildings, among them the Jennings Carnegie Public Library (listed 1982, the first). 16 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Jennings?
8% of Jennings’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1970.
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 (9), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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.
1880
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