Raceland’s post office opened in 1855, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 30% of U.S. towns · #92 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Raceland was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Its Register listing is the Jean Baptiste Thibodaux House. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1950.
Founding year: the first Raceland post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Raceland’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Raceland is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #92 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Raceland’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 Raceland’s 1.0 sits near the middle of its state (43% 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 C. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. 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 Raceland’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Raceland. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Houma 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 Raceland.
The story so far
Raceland, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Raceland yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Raceland is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) on Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 9,768 in 2020. It is part of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. According to the Louisiana Office of Tourism, Raceland was named for the Race family that once owned a large plantation named "Raceland" on Bayou Lafourche. Raceland sugar plantation was founded by Ebeneezer Eaton Kittredge and his son in law Fayette Clay Ewing. On April 19, 1855, a daughter of Kittredge, Olivia Corrinne, married George W. Race. The plantation was named Raceland the same year in honor of the young couple who made it their first …
Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 10,193 to 9,768 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Raceland, 1814 to 1987
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
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.
The Raceland post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Raceland rank for history?
Raceland is more historic than 30% of U.S. towns, #92 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 Raceland?
One place: the Jean Baptiste Thibodaux House (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Raceland?
4% of Raceland’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1977.
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), the Library of Congress (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.
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1938