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History · Krotz Springs

Krotz Springs dates to 1909

Most of Krotz Springs was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1959 on, and the census since 1920.

1909founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Krotz Springs’ archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Krotz Springs began

When was Krotz Springs founded?

1909

Krotz Springs dates its founding to 1909 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 247 in 19202020 census: 904117 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1910.The full story ↓

What stands out about Krotz Springs’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,435 in 1970; 904 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Krotz Springs’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Krotz Springs’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewNegro church near Krotz Springs, Louisi…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Krotz Springs, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,435

Peaked at 1,435 in 1970; 904 people lived here in 2020.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

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

The story

How Krotz Springs came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Krotz Springs.

Read it all →

Around the turn of the 20th century, an Ohio native, Charles William Krotz, bought 20,000 acres (81 km2) of woodland around the Atchafalaya Basin and set up a sawmill to trim the trees hauled out of the basin. The tiny settlement that grew up around the mill was called Latania (fan palm), after the bayou of the same name and the types of palm plants found in the area.

Thinking he was sitting on an untapped pool of oil, Krotz attempted to drill the first oil well in St. Landry Parish in 1900, but he struck water instead of oil, the result becoming known as Krotz's spring. The spring was used to supply water for the developing sawmill town, and Krotz even bottled the water, selling it throughout the country.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Krotz Springs, 1909 to 1970

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1909
    FoundingKrotz Springs is established
  3. 1910Post officeThe Krotz Springs post office opens
  4. 1938In the archiveNegro church near Krotz Springs, Louisiana
  5. 1959On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 1,435
By decade

Krotz Springs, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s1 item
Negro church near Krotz Springs, Louisiana1938Negro church near Krotz Springs, Louisiana
1940s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Krotz Springs Bridge, Spanning Atchafalaya RiverDate?Krotz Springs Bridge, Spanning Atchafalaya River
Today15 recent
Winging Its Way Into2021Winging Its Way IntoWelcome to2021Welcome toUnderbelly of a Bridge - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 20212021Underbelly of a Bridge - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb…Towering over2021Towering overRotz Rings Ater Ower - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 20212021Rotz Rings Ater Ower - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 2…Rocky Memorialized - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 20212021Rocky Memorialized - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 2021Main Street2021Main StreetLittle Oil - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 20212021Little Oil - Krotz Springs, Louisiana Feb 2021Krotz Springs - Water tower and closed Exxon2021Krotz Springs - Water tower and closed ExxonLouisiana Guard begins building protective barriers, patrols levees12016Louisiana Guard begins building protective barriers, …This is the "treasures" part of Cricket's Bait and Treasures operation2013This is the "treasures" part of Cricket's Bait and Tr…Cricket's Bait and Treasures operation in Krotz Springs, Louisiana, November 20132013Cricket's Bait and Treasures operation in Krotz Sprin…Cricket's Bait Shop2012Cricket's Bait ShopCricket's Bait Shop Krotz Springs LA - Oh Deer2012Cricket's Bait Shop Krotz Springs LA - Oh DeerLAMap-doton-Krotz Springs2004LAMap-doton-Krotz Springs
On the map

Krotz Springs on the map, 1959 to 1994

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

Krotz Springs on the 1959 USGS mapKrotz Springs on the 1968 USGS mapKrotz Springs on the 1970 USGS mapKrotz Springs on the 1994 USGS map1959Palmetto 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 Krotz Springs.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Negro church near Krotz Springs, Louisiana
Retake this viewNegro church near Krotz Springs, Louisiana, 1938

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Krotz Springs’ page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Krotz Springs

Nobody well known was born in Krotz Springs itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Armand DuplantisSwedish-American pole vaulter · b. 1999
Addison RaeAmerican singer · b. 2000
Danneel AcklesAmerican actress · b. 1979
Dustin PoirierAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1989
Jeff LandryAmerican politician · b. 1970
Daniel CormierAmerican sport wrestler and mixed martial artist · b. 1979

Questions about Krotz Springs’ history

What year was Krotz Springs founded?

In 1909, according to Wikidata. Krotz Springs’ post office opened in 1910, and the census of 1920 counted 247 people here.

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 (14), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, 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.