Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Below: maps from 1935 on and the census since 1960.
The Pine Prairie post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 19% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pine Prairie is more historic than 19% of U.S. towns. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
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 Pine Prairie’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (21% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
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 →
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 Pine Prairie’s history is told.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pine Prairie yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pine Prairie is a village in Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Pine Prairie had a population of 1,490.
Its first post office opened in 1905. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 1,610 to 1,490 (-7%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pine Prairie. 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 Pine Prairie.
Between 387 and 1,610 people in every census since 1960.
7 censuses, 1960–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pine Prairie’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Pine Prairie itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
The Pine Prairie post office opened in 1905, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Pine Prairie is more historic than 19% 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.
12% of Pine Prairie’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1975.
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 (1), 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.
2004
