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History · Lecompte

Lecompte’s post office opened in 1878, and 20% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Lecompte High School and the Pegram Plantation House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1935 on, and the census since 1910.

1878first post office
2on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lecompte’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lecompte began

When was Lecompte founded?

1878

The Lecompte post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Lecomte (1854), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

First census: 1,058 in 19102020 census: 845148 years
Founding year: the first Lecompte post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lecompte’s past

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

Boom and bustPeaked at 1,661 in 1980; 845 people lived here in 2020.Mystery photos6 old photos have no date. Neighbors can guess the decade.Old housesHalf of Lecompte’s homes were built before 1962.
★ What stands out · People over time

Lecompte, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,661

Peaked at 1,661 in 1980; 845 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

Help out

Start Lecompte’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo6 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMeeker Sugar Cooperative, U.S. Highway …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lecompte came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lecompte.

Read it all →

The town of Lecompte, Louisiana, was named after a famous race horse owned by the Wells family who lived on a plantation south of the town. The horse's name was LeComte. He won races at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. During the days of the Lecompte High School, the yearbook was named The LeComte with a picture of the horse on the first page. When the railroad company painted a sign for the town on the side of the train depot, a "p" was accidentally added to the name and it has remained there ever since. The horse was named after horse breeder Ambrose LeComte who lived in the area and was a great lover of fine stock and owner of a fine string of race horses.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Lecompte, 1854 to 1996

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1854Post officeThe Lecomte post office opens
  3. 1866Post officeThe Lecomte post office closes
  4. 1878Post officeThe Lecompte post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1925BuiltLecompte High School is built
  7. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1939Born hereJesse Hickman is born here
  9. 1943Born hereClyde C. Holloway is born here
  10. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,661
  11. 1996Born hereAnna Margaret is born here
By decade

Lecompte, decade by decade

Date unknown6 to date
Meeker Sugar Cooperative, U.S. Highway 71Date?Meeker Sugar Cooperative, U.S. Highway 71Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Sugar Mill, U.S. Highway 71Date?Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Sugar Mill, U.S. Highway 71Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Warehouse & Privy, U.S. Highway 71Date?Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Warehouse & Privy, U.S. Hig…Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Administrative Office, U.S. Highway 71Date?Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Administrative Office, U.S.…Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Chemist's Office, U.S. Highway 71Date?Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Chemist's Office, U.S. High…Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Syrup Canning Building, U.S. Highway 71Date?Meeker Sugar Cooperative, Syrup Canning Building, U.S…
Today9 recent
Lecompte High School, Louisiana2016Lecompte High School, LouisianaRed River Bank, Lecompte, LA IMG 42532014Red River Bank, Lecompte, LA IMG 4253Lecompte, LA, Town Hall IMG 42572014Lecompte, LA, Town Hall IMG 4257Lecompte, LA welcome sign IMG 42482014Lecompte, LA welcome sign IMG 4248Lea's Restaurant, Lecompte, LA IMG 49922011Lea's Restaurant, Lecompte, LA IMG 4992Bayou Boeuf at Lecompte, LA IMG 49962011Bayou Boeuf at Lecompte, LA IMG 4996LAMap-doton-Lecompte2004LAMap-doton-LecompteLea's Lecompte Louisiana 20022002Lea's Lecompte Louisiana 2002Cleanest City in State of Louisiana2002Cleanest City in State of Louisiana
On the map

Lecompte on the map, 1935 to 1992

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

Lecompte on the 1935 USGS mapLecompte on the 1957 USGS mapLecompte on the 1972 USGS mapLecompte on the 1992 USGS map1935Lecompte 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 Lecompte.

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.

Meeker Sugar Cooperative, U.S. Highway 71
Retake this viewMeeker Sugar Cooperative, U.S. Highway 71

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Lecompte

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1992
Lecompte High School
Lecompte High School, built 1925Pegram Plantation House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Classical Revival1
Beaux Arts1
Greek Revival1
Lecompte High SchoolClassical Revival · Built 1925
All 2 listings
Pegram Plantation HouseBuilding · listed 2003

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Lecompte

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Anna MargaretAmerican singer, songwriter and actress · b. 1996
Clyde C. HollowayAmerican politician · b. 1943
Jesse HickmanAmerican baseball player · b. 1939
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Lecompte’s post office has been open since 1878. Another post office, Lecomte, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Lecomte
1854–1866
Lecompte
1878–today
18501940today
1cemetery inside Lecompte
Lecompte

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Lecompte’s history

What year was Lecompte founded?

The Lecompte post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lecompte?

Two places: the Lecompte High School (listed 1992) and the Pegram Plantation House (2003).

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 (9), the Library of Congress (6), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.