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BHistory
History · Simmesport

Simmesport dates to 1811, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Most of Simmesport was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1955 on, and the census since 1930.

1811founded
2on the National Register
6%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Simmesport’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Simmesport began

When was Simmesport founded?

1811

Simmesport dates its founding to 1811 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1930.

First census: 638 in 19302020 census: 1,468215 years

How historic is Simmesport?

B

More historic than 64% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Simmesport’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Simmesport is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

B
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Simmesport’s overall grade.
Founding era1811, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19405.9% of homes (±5.8) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register2 listings, 12.3 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 64%
NewerOlder

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 Simmesport’s 12.3 sits above most of its state (70% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1811.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.8 points).

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Simmesport’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 2,293 in 1980; 1,468 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Simmesport.Deep rootsEstablished in 1811: 215 years of Simmesport.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Simmesport’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewFloods - Mississippi River Flood: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Simmesport, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,50019401960198020002020Peak: 2,293

Peaked at 2,293 in 1980; 1,468 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

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

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Simmesport’s post office has been open since 1892. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Simms' Port
1840–1868
Simsport
1871–1892
Simmesport
1892–today
18401930today
1cemetery inside Simmesport
Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church

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

The story

How Simmesport came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Simmesport.

Read it all →

The town was founded by Bennet Barton Simmes (1811–1888), one-time owner of White Hall Plantation, which was located on the opposite bank of the Atchafalaya River.

In December 2005 industrialist Frank Stronach founded a new community just south of Simmesport along the Atchafalaya River levee, known as Canadaville, a place intended to house people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Canadaville, Louisiana is no longer a community and was considered to be a failure by many. The site of the community is still there but many of the homes and structures have been moved. Many inhabitants of Canadaville now reside within the town and throughout the area.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Simmesport, 1811 to 1980

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1811
    FoundingSimmesport is established
  3. 1840Post officeThe Simms' Port post office opens
  4. 1868Post officeThe Simms' Port post office closes
  5. 1871Post officeThe Simsport post office opens
  6. 1892Post officeThe Simsport post office closes
  7. 1892Post officeThe Simmesport post office opens
  8. 20th century
  9. 1927In the archiveFloods - Mississippi River Flood
  10. 1943Born hereJoe Simon is born here
  11. 1943Born hereJesse Lott is born here
  12. 1947Born hereNorma McCorvey is born here
  13. 1955On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  14. 1980CensusPopulation peaks at 2,293
By decade

Simmesport, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1920s3 items
Floods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodRefugees - Simmsport [sic]1927Refugees - Simmsport [sic]
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Simmesport2004LAMap-doton-Simmesport
On the map

Simmesport on the map, 1955 to 1998

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

Simmesport on the 1955 USGS mapSimmesport on the 1969 USGS mapSimmesport on the 1970 USGS mapSimmesport on the 1998 USGS map1955Odenburg 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 Simmesport.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Floods - Mississippi River Flood
Retake this viewFloods - Mississippi River Flood, 1927

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Simmesport’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Simmesport

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1977
White Hall Plantation House
Fort No. 2 at Yellow Bayou
BuildingsStructures

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Italianate1
White Hall Plantation HouseGreek Revival
All 2 listings
Fort No. 2 at Yellow BayouStructure · listed 1997

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Simmesport

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Norma McCorveyPlaintiff in Roe v. Wade · b. 1947
J
Joe SimonAmerican soul and R&B musician · b. 1943
Jesse LottAmerican artist · b. 1943

Questions about Simmesport’s history

What year was Simmesport founded?

In 1811, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Simmesport’s post office opened in 1840, and the census of 1930 counted 638 people here.

How does Simmesport rank for history?

Simmesport is more historic than 64% of U.S. towns. 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 Simmesport?

Two places: the White Hall Plantation House (listed 1977) and the Fort No. 2 at Yellow Bayou (1997).

How old are the homes in Simmesport?

6% of Simmesport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1975.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), 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) 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.