Most of Kentwood was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1972. Its Register listing is the Charles Adolph Kent Sr. House. Below: maps from 1950 on and the census since 1900.
Founding year: the first Kentwood post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1893.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Kentwood’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kentwood is more historic than 42% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kentwood’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 Kentwood’s 4.8 sits near the middle of its state (56% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1893 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 Kentwood’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The Postmaster named the town in honor of Amos Kent on February 29, 1888. Kent was born in 1811 in New Hampshire and relocated to Louisiana in 1828. He landed in New Orleans, but moved to Baton Rouge, where he established a mercantile business. Kent relocated to Tangipahoa Parish after the Civil War, where he assisted in laying out the town in an area that had been cleared of pine trees. Kent died on January 31, 1906.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Questions about Kentwood’s history
What year was Kentwood founded?
The Kentwood post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1893.
How does Kentwood rank for history?
Kentwood is more historic than 42% 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.
What is on the National Register in Kentwood?
One place: the Charles Adolph Kent Sr. House (listed 1985).
How old are the homes in Kentwood?
9% of Kentwood’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1972.
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 (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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