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B+History
History · Lockport

Lockport dates to 1835, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listings are the Bouverans Plantation House, the Bank of Lockport and the Merchants and Planters Bank. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.

1835founded
3on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lockport’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lockport began

When was Lockport founded?

1835

Lockport dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 171 in 18802020 census: 2,490191 years

How historic is Lockport?

B+

More historic than 75% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1877.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Lockport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Lockport is more historic than 75% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Lockport’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194011.8% of homes (±5.7) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register3 listings, 11.5 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 75%
NewerOlder

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 Lockport’s 11.5 sits above most of its state (68% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1835.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.7 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Lockport’s past

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

On the map since 18927 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1998. Watch Lockport change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Lockport.
★ What stands out · On the map

Lockport on the map, 1892 to 1998

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

Lockport on the 1892 USGS mapLockport on the 1932 USGS mapLockport on the 1941 USGS mapLockport on the 1963 USGS mapLockport on the 1974 USGS mapLockport on the 1980 USGS mapLockport on the 1998 USGS map1892Houma 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 Lockport.

Timeline

Lockport, 1835 to 1939

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingLockport is established
  3. 1860BuiltBouverans Plantation House is built
  4. 1877Post officeThe Lockport post office opens
  5. 1890In the archiveHouma Lockland Raceport Map 1890
  6. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 20th century
  8. 1901BuiltBank of Lockport is built
  9. 1904In the archiveMathewssBandLockport
  10. 1910BuiltMerchants and Planters Bank is built
  11. 1921Born hereJefferson J. DeBlanc is born here
  12. 1939In the archiveHouma Raceland Lockport Map-1939
The story

How Lockport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lockport.

Read it all →

Lockport, founded in 1835, traces its history to Jacques Lamotte, who in 1790 owned a large tract of land along Bayou Lafourche. Lemotte sold a portion of the tract to Messrs. Mercier and Marcantel in 1814. In 1823 William Field purchased a parcel of the land and later donated 5 arpents of it on both banks of Bayou Lafourche to Barataria and Lafourche Canal Company. As part of the transaction, the company agreed to build a canal, which would link Bayou Terrebonne to New Orleans. Allou D'Hemecourt surveyed the area in 1835. His map bears the name Longueville. Eventually, the village's name would become Lockport.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lockport, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1890s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s–1930s3 items
Houma Lockland Raceport Map 18901890Houma Lockland Raceport Map 1890MapMathewssBandLockport1904MathewssBandLockportHouma Raceland Lockport Map-19391939Houma Raceland Lockport Map-1939Map
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 unknown2 to date
Admiral Gary T. Blore at the launch ceremony for the USCG's last Marine Protector cutterDate?Admiral Gary T. Blore at the launch ceremony for the …Lockport Company Canal Bridge, Carries Louisiana Highway 1 (LA 1) over Lockport Company CanalDate?Lockport Company Canal Bridge, Carries Louisiana High…
Today8 recent
Locks2020LocksLA655sRoadSign-Lockport2014LA655sRoadSign-LockportLA308neRoadSign-Lockport2014LA308neRoadSign-LockportLA308eRoad-LA655sign-LockportBridge2014LA308eRoad-LA655sign-LockportBridgeLA1nRoadSign-Lockport2014LA1nRoadSign-LockportMerchlockportWM2005MerchlockportWMLockportbankWM2005LockportbankWMLAMap-doton-Lockport2004LAMap-doton-Lockport
Every building

Lockport, building by building, 1922

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 sheet.

Lockport fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

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.

MathewssBandLockport
Retake this viewMathewssBandLockport, 1904

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Lockport

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

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Bouverans Plantation House
Bank of Lockport, built 1901Merchants and Planters Bank, built 1910
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
French Creole1
Romanesque Revival1
Classical Revival1
Bouverans Plantation HouseGreek Revival · Built 1860
Bank of LockportRomanesque Revival · Built 1901
Merchants and Planters BankClassical Revival · Built 1910

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

People over time

Lockport, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,624

Between 171 and 2,624 people in every census since 1880.

14 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners

Lockport’s post office has been open since 1877.

Hamlets and corners on the map
McLeod

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

Help out

Start Lockport’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewMathewssBandLockport: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Lockport’s history

What year was Lockport founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Lockport’s post office opened in 1877, and the census of 1880 counted 171 people here.

How does Lockport rank for history?

Lockport is more historic than 75% 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 Lockport?

Three places: the Bouverans Plantation House (listed 1983), the Bank of Lockport (1995) and the Merchants and Planters Bank (1995).

How old are the homes in Lockport?

12% of Lockport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1968.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (12), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), 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.