Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #8 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Marksville Prehistoric Indian Site, a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 48 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1870.
Marksville dates its founding to 1794 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1870.
More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marksville is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #8 of 161 in Louisiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
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 Marksville’s 104 sits above most of its state (91% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 51 historic buildings outnumber those of 85% of U.S. towns.
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 →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Marksville’s history is told.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier.
★ Landmark
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
From Wikipedia’s history of Marksville.
The land where Marksville was founded on was once a meeting place, leading to the present day Marksville Prehistoric Indian Site.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
BuiltHypolite Bordelon House is built
Born hereJohn H. Overton is born here
Born hereH. Claude Hudson is born here
In the archiveMarksville, La., Red Cross refugee camp
Born hereElaine Edwards is born here
Born hereLittle Walter is born here
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological SurveyOne decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marksville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marksville.
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.
1920Sheet 1 of 4Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Marksville’s page.
Retake this view · +15Between 437 and 5,702 people in every census since 1870.
16 censuses, 1870–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marksville’s Wikipedia page.
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Marksville’s post office has been open since 1821.
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
In 1794, according to Wikidata. Marksville’s post office opened in 1821, and the census of 1870 counted 437 people here.
Marksville is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #8 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.
5 listings: 3 buildings, 1 historic district, the Marksville Commercial Historic District, with 48 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 51 historic buildings in all.
12% of Marksville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1980.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (3), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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.
1927
1927
2021
2017
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