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History · Roanoke

Roanoke’s post office opened in 1895

Most of Roanoke was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978.

1895first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
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Quick answers

How Roanoke began

When was Roanoke founded?

1895

The Roanoke post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Esterly (1889), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 491131 years
Founding year: the first Roanoke post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Roanoke’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 Roanoke are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Roanoke’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Roanoke’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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The story so far

Roanoke, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Roanoke yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Roanoke is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Roanoke had a population of 491. The Roanoke post office was established in 1895.

Its first post office opened in 1895. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 546 to 491 (-10%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Roanoke, 1889 to 1895

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1889Post officeThe Esterly post office opens
  3. 1895Post officeThe Esterly post office closes
  4. 1895Post officeThe Roanoke post office opens
By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Roanoke’s post office has been open since 1895. Another post office, Esterly, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Esterly
1889–1895
Roanoke
1895–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Roanoke’s history

What year was Roanoke founded?

The Roanoke post office opened in 1895, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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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 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.