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B−History
History · Montegut

Montegut’s post office opened in 1885, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Montegut School. Below: maps from 1894 on and the census since 1990.

1885first post office
1on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Montegut began

When was Montegut founded?

1885

The Montegut post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 1,784 in 19902020 census: 1,465141 years

How historic is Montegut?

B−

More historic than 54% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

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

What drives Montegut’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Montegut is more historic than 54% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.

B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Montegut’s overall grade.
Founding era1885, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194016.8% of homes (±15.6) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register1 listing, 7.9 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 54%
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 Montegut’s 7.9 sits near the middle of its state (63% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±15.6 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 Montegut’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 Montegut are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18946 editions of the USGS map, 1894 to 1994. Watch Montegut change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Montegut’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Montegut’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
On the map

Montegut on the map, 1894 to 1994

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

Montegut on the 1894 USGS mapMontegut on the 1935 USGS mapMontegut on the 1941 USGS mapMontegut on the 1963 USGS mapMontegut on the 1980 USGS mapMontegut on the 1994 USGS map1894Dulac 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 Montegut.

The story

How Montegut came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Montegut.

Read it all →

Montegut developed around a sugar mill founded in 1883. Named by Congressman Edward James Gay when the post office was opened in 1885, it honored Gabriel Montegut, a prominent resident of parish seat Houma.

The 1941 WPA guide to Louisiana reported an elevation of 8 feet and population of 200.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Montegut, 1885 to 1894

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Montegut post office opens
  3. 1890Born hereAllen J. Ellender is born here
  4. 1894On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Montegut, decade by decade

Today18 recent
FEMA - 16440 - Photograph by Greg Henshall taken on 09-28-2005 in Louisiana2005FEMA - 16440 - Photograph by Greg Henshall taken on 0…LAMap-doton-Montegut2004LAMap-doton-MontegutFEMA - 7134 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7134 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7062 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7062 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7060 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7060 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7059 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7059 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7058 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7058 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7057 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7057 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7055 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7055 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7054 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10-08-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7054 - Photograph by Lauren Hobart taken on 10…FEMA - 7038 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7038 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 7036 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7036 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 7034 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7034 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 7033 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7033 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 7031 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7031 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 7028 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7028 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 7027 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 7027 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-…FEMA - 12510 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10-07-2002 in Louisiana2002FEMA - 12510 - Photograph by Bob McMillan taken on 10…
On the National Register

1 historic place in Montegut

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
1993
Montegut School
Montegut School
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Vernacular1
All 1 listings
Montegut SchoolBuilding · listed 1993

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

People over time

Montegut, census by census

05001,0001,5002,00020002020Peak: 1,803

Between 1,465 and 1,803 people in every census since 1990.

4 censuses, 1990–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Montegut’s post office has been open since 1885.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Point-Aux-Chenes
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Montegut
DugasSacred Heart

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.

ChauvinIts storyC−

Questions about Montegut’s history

What year was Montegut founded?

The Montegut post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Montegut rank for history?

Montegut is more historic than 54% 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 Montegut?

One place: the Montegut School (listed 1993).

How old are the homes in Montegut?

17% of Montegut’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±15.6 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1970.

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 (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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) 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.