Plaquemine dates to 1775, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 94% of U.S. towns · #2 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
10 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 184 buildings. Below: 9 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1822.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Plaquemine’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Plaquemine is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #2 of 161 in Louisiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Plaquemine’s overall grade.
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 Plaquemine’s 319 sits above most of its state (97% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 194 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.0 points). Two sources give 1775.
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 →
What stands out about Plaquemine’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Every building
Plaquemine, building by building, 1885–1925
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 year, then a sheet.
Early inhabitants of the area were the Chitimacha people. Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville claimed all of Louisiana in 1699 for King Louis XIV of France. Plaquemine was settled by 1775, and its name comes from the French word plaquemine meaning persimmon.
Due to its location at the juncture of Bayou Plaquemine and the Mississippi River, the village soon began to prosper and grow, beginning a long history of prosperity. By 1838, the town was incorporated, electing Zénon Labauve, for whom a street in New Orleans' Garden District is named, as its first mayor.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1775, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Plaquemine’s post office opened in 1822, and the census of 1860 counted 1,663 people here.
How does Plaquemine rank for history?
Plaquemine is more historic than 94% of U.S. towns, #2 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.
What is on the National Register in Plaquemine?
10 listings: 8 buildings, 1 historic district, the Plaquemine Historic District, with 184 contributing buildings, and 1 site. 194 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Plaquemine?
13% of Plaquemine’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (9), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), 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.
1880
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1895
1927
1927
2009
2007