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–Not graded
History · Lafitte

19% of Lafitte’s homes were built before 1940

Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1970.

0on the National Register
19%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lafitte’s archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Lafitte’s past

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

On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1995. Watch Lafitte change.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,576 in 2000; 1,014 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the map

Lafitte on the map, 1892 to 1995

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

Lafitte on the 1892 USGS mapLafitte on the 1941 USGS mapLafitte on the 1962 USGS mapLafitte on the 1973 USGS mapLafitte on the 1995 USGS map1892Barataria 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 Lafitte.

People over time

Lafitte, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,600198020002020Peak: 1,576

Peaked at 1,576 in 2000; 1,014 people lived here in 2020.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

The story so far

Lafitte, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Lafitte yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Lafitte is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 972 at the 2010 census, and 816 in 2019. In 2020, its population increased to 1,014 people. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner metropolitan statistical area. Lafitte is located at the southern end of Louisiana Highway 45 along Bayou Barataria, and fishing is a major part of the local economy and culture.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 972 to 1,014 (+4%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Lafitte, 1892 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 20th century
  4. 1972In the archiveDERELICT BOAT
  5. 21st century
  6. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 1,576
By decade

Lafitte, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s6 items
DERELICT BOAT1972DERELICT BOATDERELICT BOAT1972DERELICT BOATIN THE SPRING OF 1973 THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER REACHED ITS HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 150 YEARS. UNPRECEDENTED FLOODING...…1973IN THE SPRING OF 1973 THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER REACHED I…IN THE SPRING OF 1973 THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER REACHED ITS HIGHEST LEVEL IN MORE THAN 150 YEARS. UNPRECEDENTED FLOODING...…1973IN THE SPRING OF 1973 THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER REACHED I…Lafitte Seafood Market 19731973Lafitte Seafood Market 1973YOUNG EMPLOYEE AT SEAFOOD MARKET. THE ECONOMY OF LAFITTE DEPENDS HEAVILY ON THE FISHING INDUSTRY1973YOUNG EMPLOYEE AT SEAFOOD MARKET. THE ECONOMY OF LAFI…
1980s–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
Today6 recent
LafitteLABaratariaSwampedBoat12010LafitteLABaratariaSwampedBoat1LafitteLA51182010LafitteLA5118LafitteLA AcrossBarataria2010LafitteLA AcrossBaratariaLafitte Louisiana - Tess Boudreaux, Shrimper2010Lafitte Louisiana - Tess Boudreaux, ShrimperLafitte Rivefront, Louisiana2009Lafitte Rivefront, LouisianaLAMap-doton-Lafitte2004LAMap-doton-Lafitte
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.

DERELICT BOAT
Retake this viewDERELICT BOAT, 1972

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Lafitte

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

See all →
Ellen DeGeneresAmerican comedian, television host, actress, an… · b. 1958
Sal KhanAmerican educator · b. 1976
Ashley ScottAmerican actress · b. 1977
Jon BatisteAmerican musician and singer (b. 1986) · b. 1986
Elfrid PaytonAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
M
Madison WolfeAmerican actress · b. 2002
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Sacred Heart Churchchurch
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Lafitte
AdamsCoulonFisherLafitte

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Lafitte’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewDERELICT BOAT: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BaratariaIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townJean LafitteIts storyD

Questions about Lafitte’s history

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 (12), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.