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BHistory
History · Mansura

Mansura’s post office opened in 1839, and 5 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Mansura was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1919 on, and the census since 1890.

1839first post office
5on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Mansura’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Mansura began

When was Mansura founded?

1839

The Mansura post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 144 in 18902020 census: 1,320187 years

How historic is Mansura?

B

More historic than 62% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Mansura’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Mansura is more historic than 62% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Mansura’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19401.7% of homes (±3.0) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register5 listings, 7 historic buildings, 55.4 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 62%
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 Mansura’s 55.4 sits above most of its state (83% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 7 historic buildings outnumber those of 73% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). 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 Mansura’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 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,074 in 1980; 1,320 people lived here in 2020.Deep rootsA post office since 1839: 187 years of Mansura.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mansura’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNear Mansuria [i.e: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Mansura, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 2,074

Peaked at 2,074 in 1980; 1,320 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

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

Timeline

Mansura, 1839 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1839Post officeThe Mansura post office opens
  3. 1885Born hereGaston Louis Noel Porterie is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1926Born hereFelix Moncla is born here
  6. 1927In the archiveNear Mansuria [i.e
  7. 1940On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,074
The story so far

Mansura, in brief

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

Mansura is a town in Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mansura had a population of 1,320. Mansura is home to the Cochon de Lait Festival, and claims to be the Cochon de Lait capital of the world.

Its first post office opened in 1839. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,419 to 1,320 (-7%).

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

By decade

Mansura, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s3 items
Near Mansuria [i.e1927Near Mansuria [i.eNear Mansuria (sic), La., on Bayou des Glaises--Evacuating refugees1927Near Mansuria (sic), La., on Bayou des Glaises--Evacu…Mansuria [sic], La., Red Cross refugee camp1927Mansuria [sic], La., Red Cross refugee camp
1930s–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
Today15 recent
Pig Rig2018Pig RigMirror and Fireplace2018Mirror and FireplaceMansura Town Hall2018Mansura Town HallLouisiana Green Thumb2018Louisiana Green ThumbInside Defosse House2018Inside Defosse HouseFive Cottages2018Five CottagesEmpty Sign2018Empty SignDesfossé House2018Desfossé HouseCoco & Leglise2018Coco & LegliseCochon de Lait CENTER2018Cochon de Lait CENTERBed Defosse House2018Bed Defosse HouseA Shed in2017A Shed in1920 L'Eglise Street20161920 L'Eglise StreetMansura Battlefield Louisiana2010Mansura Battlefield LouisianaLAMap-doton-Mansura2004LAMap-doton-Mansura
On the map

Mansura on the map, 1940 to 1982

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

Mansura on the 1940 USGS mapMansura on the 1962 USGS mapMansura on the 1982 USGS map1940Marksville 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 Mansura.

Every building

Mansura, building by building, 1919

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.

Mansura fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 3
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.

Near Mansuria [i.e
Retake this viewNear Mansuria [i.e, 1927

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

5 historic places in Mansura

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

places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
7
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Dr. Jules Charles Des Fosse House
Dr. Jules Charles Des Fosse HouseSt. Paul Lutheran ChurchLouisiana Railway and Navigation Company DepotCentral Bank and Trust Company, MansuraDr. Thomas A. Roy Sr. House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Queen Anne2
Gothic Revival1
Italianate1
Dr. Jules Charles Des Fosse HouseBuilding
St. Paul Lutheran ChurchGothic Revival
Louisiana Railway and Navigation Company DepotBuilding
Central Bank and Trust Company, MansuraItalianate
All 5 listings
Dr. Thomas A. Roy Sr. HouseBuilding · listed 1985

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mansura

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

See all →
Felix MonclaUSAF pilot · b. 1926
G
Gaston Louis Noel PorterieUnited States federal judge · b. 1885
Places that used to be

Places now gone

Mansura’s post office has been open since 1839.

Gone or out of use
Mansura High Schoolschool

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.

Marksville5 historic placesA−

Questions about Mansura’s history

What year was Mansura founded?

The Mansura post office opened in 1839, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Mansura rank for history?

Mansura is more historic than 62% 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 Mansura?

5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Dr. Jules Charles Des Fosse House (listed 1976, the first). 7 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Mansura?

2% of Mansura’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1981.

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 (15), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.