Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Newellton

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Newellton

Newellton’s post office opened in 1880, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Newellton was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1970. Its Register listing is the Routhwood Elementary School. Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1910.

1880first post office
1on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Newellton began

When was Newellton founded?

1880

The Newellton post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 424 in 19102020 census: 886146 years
Founding year: the first Newellton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Newellton’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 Newellton are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 1,726 in 1980; 886 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Newellton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Newellton’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

Newellton, census by census

02004006008001,0001,2001,4001,6001,800192019401960198020002020Peak: 1,726

Peaked at 1,726 in 1980; 886 people lived here in 2020.

12 censuses, 1910–2020.

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

The story

How Newellton came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Newellton.

Read it all →

Newellton itself was founded in the early 19th century by the Routh family, for whom the defunct Routhwood Elementary School was named. John David Stokes Newell Sr., a planter and lawyer in St. Joseph, the seat of Tensas Parish, named the settlement for his father, Edward D. Newell, a native of North Carolina who relocated to Tensas Parish in 1834.

Newellton was designated a village in 1904. On April 4, 1951, under Mayor T. T. Hargrove, Newellton was upgraded to a town through the state Lawrason Act.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Newellton, 1880 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1880Post officeThe Newellton post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1926Born hereAndrew Brimmer is born here
  5. 1945Born hereC.B. Forgotston is born here
  6. 1950Born herePhil Preis is born here
  7. 1957Born hereVictor King is born here
  8. 1963On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 1,726
By decade

Newellton, decade by decade

Today18 recent
S. S. DeWitt gravestone, Newellton, LA 0081 (2)2016S. S. DeWitt gravestone, Newellton, LA 0081 (2)Newellton, LA, welcome sign IMG 0075 (2)2016Newellton, LA, welcome sign IMG 0075 (2)Legion Memorial Cemetery, Newellton, LA (2016) IMG 0086 (2)2016Legion Memorial Cemetery, Newellton, LA (2016) IMG 00…Grave of Clyde V. Ratcliff of Tensas Parish, LA IMG 0083 (2)2016Grave of Clyde V. Ratcliff of Tensas Parish, LA IMG 0…Ben Burnside mailbox in Newellton, LA IMG 00722016Ben Burnside mailbox in Newellton, LA IMG 0072Lake St. Joseph in Newellton, LA (2013) IMG 7476 22013Lake St. Joseph in Newellton, LA (2013) IMG 7476 2Revised copy, S.S. DeWitt grave marker, Newellton, LA IMG 02382010Revised copy, S.S. DeWitt grave marker, Newellton, LA…Lake St. Joseph near Newellton, LA IMG 02342010Lake St. Joseph near Newellton, LA IMG 0234Grave of Theo "Bill" Poe, Newellton, LA IMG 02432010Grave of Theo "Bill" Poe, Newellton, LA IMG 0243Grave of A.D. Foster, Newellton, LA IMG 02392010Grave of A.D. Foster, Newellton, LA IMG 0239Legion Cemetery2009Legion CemeteryNewellton crossroads IMG 12692008Newellton crossroads IMG 1269Newellton cemetery IMG 12682008Newellton cemetery IMG 1268Legion Memorial Cemetery in Tensas Parish IMG 12672008Legion Memorial Cemetery in Tensas Parish IMG 1267Lake Bruin in Newellton IMG 12702008Lake Bruin in Newellton IMG 1270Grave of C.E. Thompson IMG 12642008Grave of C.E. Thompson IMG 1264George Prince grave IMG 12652008George Prince grave IMG 1265LAMap-doton-Newellton2004LAMap-doton-Newellton
On the map

Newellton on the map, 1963 to 1994

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

Newellton on the 1963 USGS mapNewellton on the 1994 USGS map1963Newellton sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Newellton.

Every building

Newellton, building by building, 1922

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.

Newellton fire insurance map, 1922, sheet 11922Sheet 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

1 historic place in Newellton

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
2015
Routhwood Elementary School
Routhwood Elementary School
Buildings
All 1 listings
Routhwood Elementary SchoolBuilding · listed 2015

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Newellton

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

See all →
Andrew BrimmerAmerican economist · b. 1926
C
C.B. ForgotstonLouisiana political activist · b. 1945
P
Phil PreisAmerican politician · b. 1950
V
Victor KingAmerican basketball player · b. 1957

Questions about Newellton’s history

What year was Newellton founded?

The Newellton post office opened in 1880, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Newellton?

One place: the Routhwood Elementary School (listed 2015).

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 (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), 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.