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C−History
History · Luling

Luling’s post office opened in 1878

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns · #115 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Luling was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1960.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Luling began

When was Luling founded?

1878

The Luling post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,122 in 19602020 census: 13,716148 years

How historic is Luling?

C−

More historic than 18% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Luling post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Luling’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Luling is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #115 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.

C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Luling’s overall grade.
Founding era1878, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19403.3% of homes (±2.0) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical LA town 3.8 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 18%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 29%

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 Luling’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (21% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C−. The pre-1940 share (±2.0 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Luling’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Luling are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1980 and 1990, then grew 4-fold.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1992. Watch Luling change.Lost villages7 hamlets and corners are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Luling’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Luling, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00019601980200020204,006 in 1980Low: 2,803

Lost a third of its people between 1980 and 1990, then grew 4-fold.

7 censuses, 1960–2020.

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

On the map

Luling on the map, 1891 to 1992

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

Luling on the 1891 USGS mapLuling on the 1932 USGS mapLuling on the 1951 USGS mapLuling on the 1967 USGS mapLuling on the 1972 USGS mapLuling on the 1989 USGS mapLuling on the 1992 USGS map1891Hahnville 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 Luling.

The story so far

Luling, in brief

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

Luling is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. Charles Parish, Louisiana. The population was 11,512 at the 2000 census and 12,119 at the 2010 census. At the 2020 census, 13,716 people lived in Luling. It is located on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Luling is part of the New Orleans—Metairie—Kenner metropolitan statistical area.

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 12,119 to 13,716 (+13%).

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

Timeline

Luling, 1878 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1878Post officeThe Luling post office opens
  3. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 20th century
  5. 1984Born hereDarius Reynaud is born here
  6. 21st century
  7. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 13,716
By decade

Luling, decade by decade

Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Luling2004LAMap-doton-Luling
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Luling’s post office has been open since 1878.

Hamlets and corners on the map
DavisDavis PlantationDufresneEllingtonKelloggLone StarMimosa Park
1cemetery inside Luling
Saint Charles

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

BoutteIts storyCHahnville2 historic placesCDestrehan2 historic placesC−St. Rose1 historic placeCAmaIts storyD

Questions about Luling’s history

What year was Luling founded?

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

How does Luling rank for history?

Luling is more historic than 18% of U.S. towns, #115 of 161 in Louisiana. 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.

How old are the homes in Luling?

3% of Luling’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1984.

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 (1), 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.