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History · Loreauville

Loreauville dates to 1871

Most of Loreauville was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1982. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1941 on, and the census since 1910.

1871founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Loreauville’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Loreauville began

When was Loreauville founded?

1871

Loreauville dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1910.

First census: 291 in 19102020 census: 658155 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1873.The full story ↓

What stands out about Loreauville’s 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 938 in 2000; 658 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Loreauville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMasso's Cafe in Loreauville, Louisiana,…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Loreauville, census by census

02004006008001,000192019401960198020002020Peak: 938

Peaked at 938 in 2000; 658 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Loreauville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Loreauville.

Read it all →

Loreauville was initially called "Fausse Pointe", then "Dugasville" after the Dugas family, who opened a trading post at the site. The name was changed to "Picouville" when a Picou family member donated land to build a chapel.

On April 15, 1871, the name was changed from Picouville to Loreauville for Ozaire Loreau, who had contributed the property for the old Catholic church and cemetery, and had also aided in the agricultural, industrial and political growth of the village.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Loreauville, 1871 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871
    FoundingLoreauville is established
  3. 1873Post officeThe Loreauville post office opens
  4. 1874Born hereEdwin S. Broussard is born here
  5. 20th century
  6. 1941On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1963Born hereLionel Vital is born here
  8. 1975In the archiveMasso's Cafe in Loreauville, Louisiana, USA. Circa 1975 (Date approximate)
  9. 1981In the archiveHomer's Texaco Service Station, Loreauville, LA, Circa 1981
  10. 21st century
  11. 2000CensusPopulation peaks at 938
By decade

Loreauville, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1970s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1970s–1980s2 items
Masso's Cafe in Loreauville, Louisiana, USA. Circa 1975 (Date approximate)1975Masso's Cafe in Loreauville, Louisiana, USA. Circa 19…Homer's Texaco Service Station, Loreauville, LA, Circa 1981c. 1981Homer's Texaco Service Station, Loreauville, LA, Circ…
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
Today4 recent
Rear of "Welcome to Loreauville" sign at North end of Village of2014Rear of "Welcome to Loreauville" sign at North end of…Photograph of the Loreauville sign at the North entrace to the Village of2014Photograph of the Loreauville sign at the North entra…Main Street, looking North towards the Village center2014Main Street, looking North towards the Village centerLAMap-doton-Loreauville2004LAMap-doton-Loreauville
On the map

Loreauville on the map, 1941 to 1973

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

Loreauville on the 1941 USGS mapLoreauville on the 1954 USGS mapLoreauville on the 1960 USGS mapLoreauville on the 1973 USGS map1941Loreauville 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 Loreauville.

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.

Masso's Cafe in Loreauville, Louisiana, USA. Circa 1975 (Date approximate)
Retake this viewMasso's Cafe in Loreauville, Louisiana, USA. Circa 1975 (Date approximate), 1975

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

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Loreauville

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

See all →
Edwin S. BroussardAmerican politician · b. 1874
L
Lionel VitalAmerican football player (born 1963 · b. 1963
Places that used to be

Old corners

Loreauville’s post office has been open since 1873.

Hamlets and corners on the map
BronsonOubre

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

Questions about Loreauville’s history

What year was Loreauville founded?

In 1871, according to Wikidata. Loreauville’s post office opened in 1873, and the census of 1910 counted 291 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 (6), 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.