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History · Mer Rouge

Mer Rouge’s post office opened in 1886, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Mer Rouge High School and the Walnut Grove. Below: maps from 1919 on and the census since 1900.

1886first post office
2on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mer Rouge began

When was Mer Rouge founded?

1886

The Mer Rouge post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 465 in 19002020 census: 491140 years
Founding year: the first Mer Rouge post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Mer Rouge’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 Mer Rouge are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 853 in 1960; 491 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Mer Rouge’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mer Rouge’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mer Rouge’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

Mer Rouge, census by census

02004006008001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 853

Peaked at 853 in 1960; 491 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Mer Rouge came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Mer Rouge.

Read it all →

There is a hill that serves as a boundary between Mer Rouge and Bastrop, named "Red Hill". According to legend, French settlers recognized the "sea of red sedge" between the bluffs to the north and west of the area. They called it "Prairie Mer Rouge", or the "red sea" prairie.

On February 3, 1865, near the end of the American Civil War, two squadrons of the Illinois cavalry attacked Mer Rouge and, according to historian John D. Winters, seized some horses and mules, while also freeing some enslaved African-Americans. They then "burned about 300,000 bushels of corn [and] some cotton", thus undermining the production power of the pro-slavery rebels.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Mer Rouge, 1886 to 1960

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1886Post officeThe Mer Rouge post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1916Born hereHorace Logan is born here
  5. 1935On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1949Born hereSamuel W. Mitcham is born here
  7. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 853
By decade

Mer Rouge, decade by decade

Today5 recent
Artist Lissy Sanders's 2009 Red Sea Gold historical mural, featuring the Davenport Cotton Mill, the town's principal em…2020Artist Lissy Sanders's 2009 Red Sea Gold historical m…A cotton field, ready for fall harvesting near the town of Mer Rouge, Louisiana2020A cotton field, ready for fall harvesting near the to…A cotton field, ready for fall harvesting near the town of Mer Rouge, Louisiana2020A cotton field, ready for fall harvesting near the to…A cotton field, ready for fall harvesting near the town of Mer Rouge, Louisiana2020A cotton field, ready for fall harvesting near the to…LAMap-doton-Mer Rouge2004LAMap-doton-Mer Rouge
On the map

Mer Rouge on the map, 1935 to 1988

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

Mer Rouge on the 1935 USGS mapMer Rouge on the 1956 USGS mapMer Rouge on the 1978 USGS mapMer Rouge on the 1988 USGS map1935Naff 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 Mer Rouge.

Every building

Mer Rouge, 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.

Mer Rouge fire insurance map, 1919, sheet 11919Sheet 1 of 1
Sheets
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

2 historic places in Mer Rouge

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

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2004
Mer Rouge High School
Mer Rouge High School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Jacobean Revival1
Bungalow1
All 2 listings
Mer Rouge High SchoolBuilding · listed 2004Walnut GroveBuilding · listed 2007

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 Mer Rouge

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

See all →
S
Samuel W. MitchamAmerican officer, geographer and non-fiction wr… · b. 1949
H
Horace LoganAmerican musician · b. 1916

Questions about Mer Rouge’s history

What year was Mer Rouge founded?

The Mer Rouge post office opened in 1886, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Mer Rouge?

Two places: the Mer Rouge High School (listed 2004) and the Walnut Grove (2007).

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 Library of Congress (4), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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.