Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Most of Ridgecrest was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: maps from 1909 on and the census since 1970.
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 Ridgecrest’s history is told.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Ridgecrest. 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 Ridgecrest.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Ridgecrest yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Ridgecrest is a small town in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Ridgecrest had a population of 583.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 694 to 583 (-16%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Between 583 and 1,076 people in every census since 1970.
6 censuses, 1970–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Ridgecrest’s Wikipedia page.
Nobody well known was born in Ridgecrest itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
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). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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