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History · Lydia

Lydia’s post office opened in 1898, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Lydia was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Its Register listing is the Olivier Store. Below: maps from 1937 on and the census since 1990.

1898first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Lydia began

When was Lydia founded?

1898

The Lydia post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,136 in 19902020 census: 892128 years
Founding year: the first Lydia post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Lydia’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 Lydia are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lydia’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lydia’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
The story so far

Lydia, in brief

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

Lydia is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lydia had a population of 892. It is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Its first post office opened in 1898. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 952 to 892 (-6%).

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

Timeline

Lydia, 1898 to 1937

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1898Post officeThe Lydia post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1937Post officeThe Lydia post office closes
  5. 1937On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Lydia, decade by decade

Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Lydia2004LAMap-doton-Lydia
On the map

Lydia on the map, 1937 to 1994

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

Lydia on the 1937 USGS mapLydia on the 1963 USGS mapLydia on the 1975 USGS mapLydia on the 1994 USGS map1937Derouen 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 Lydia.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Lydia

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Olivier Store
Olivier Store
Buildings
Olivier StoreBuilding

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

People over time

Lydia, census by census

02004006008001,0001,20020002020Peak: 1,136

Between 892 and 1,136 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Lydia

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

See all →
Armand DuplantisSwedish-American pole vaulter · b. 1999
Addison RaeAmerican singer · b. 2000
Danneel AcklesAmerican actress · b. 1979
Dustin PoirierAmerican mixed martial artist · b. 1989
Jeff LandryAmerican politician · b. 1970
Daniel CormierAmerican sport wrestler and mixed martial artist · b. 1979
Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Lydia had its own post office from 1898 to 1937.

Lydia
1898–1937
18901960today

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

Questions about Lydia’s history

What year was Lydia founded?

The Lydia post office opened in 1898, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Lydia?

One place: the Olivier Store (listed 1982).

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 (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.