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History · Shongaloo

Shongaloo’s post office opened in 1878, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1922 on and the census since 1970.

1878first post office
0on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Billy Hathorn at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Shongaloo began

When was Shongaloo founded?

1878

The Shongaloo post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 173 in 19702020 census: 151148 years
Founding year: the first Shongaloo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Shongaloo’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 Shongaloo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19223 editions of the USGS map, 1922 to 1981. Watch Shongaloo change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shongaloo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Shongaloo’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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On the map

Shongaloo on the map, 1922 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Shongaloo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Shongaloo on the 1922 USGS mapShongaloo on the 1956 USGS mapShongaloo on the 1981 USGS map1922Sarepta 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 Shongaloo.

The story so far

Shongaloo, in brief

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

Shongaloo is a village in Webster Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, Shongaloo had a population of 151. Shongaloo has a civic center for town council meetings as well as general usage. There is an adjacent museum with a restored log cabin. Shongaloo (pronounced Shawn-ga-lew) is an Indian term meaning "Running Water" or "Cypress Tree".

Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 182 to 151 (-17%).

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

By decade

Shongaloo, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Shongaloo, LA, Civic Center IMG 06622009Shongaloo, LA, Civic Center IMG 0662Shongaloo (LA) log cabin museum IMG 06632009Shongaloo (LA) log cabin museum IMG 0663Parey Branton home in Shongaloo, LA IMG 06652009Parey Branton home in Shongaloo, LA IMG 0665North Webster Lower Elementary School–Shongaloo (LA) High School IMG 06592009North Webster Lower Elementary School–Shongaloo (LA) …Mt. Parran Baptist Church in Shongaloo, LA IMG 06562009Mt. Parran Baptist Church in Shongaloo, LA IMG 0656LAMap-doton-Shongaloo2004LAMap-doton-Shongaloo
People over time

Shongaloo, census by census

0100200198020002020Peak: 182

Between 151 and 182 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Shongaloo’s Wikipedia page.

Questions about Shongaloo’s history

What year was Shongaloo founded?

The Shongaloo post office opened in 1878, 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 →
Start a conversation
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 Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.