St. Gabriel’s post office opened in 1857, and 3 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns · #79 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of St. Gabriel was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 2004. 3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 24 buildings. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 2000.
The St. Gabriel post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1994. Six smaller post offices, Iberville (1813), Sanford (1872) and Island (1875), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 5,514 in 20002020 census: 6,433169 years
How historic is St. Gabriel?
C
More historic than 34% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first St. Gabriel post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1994.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Gabriel’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Gabriel is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #79 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 St. Gabriel’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 St. Gabriel’s 39.2 sits above most of its state (80% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 26 historic buildings outnumber those of 81% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1994.
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 St. Gabriel’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Golden Gates PlantationlocaleHaaseville SchoolschoolIndian Camp PlantationlocaleLouisiana Prison FarmlocaleLouisiana Prison Farm Camp MlocaleManchac PlantationlocaleOakley PlantationlocaleRevenue PlantationlocaleSaint Gabriel SchoolschoolSunshine Post Officepost officeWillow Glen Oil FieldoilfieldWillow Glen Plantationlocale
9cemeteries and burying grounds inside St. Gabriel
Iberville Christian Center Memorial GardensJerusalem BaptistLone OakMount Bethel BaptistMount CalvaryMount CarmelPatients' Hansen's DiseaseRock ZionSaint Gabriel
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Help out
Start St. Gabriel’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how St. Gabriel’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
This area is in a part of Acadiana, which was founded by the Acadians, after their expulsion from Nova Scotia in the mid-18th century.
At the end of 1769 Luis de Unzaga, then governor of New Orleans and from 1770 also of Louisiana, authorized Father Dragobert to create a parish for the Acadians on land near the Mississippi and located between Baton Rouge, Iberville and the town of Gonzales. Between 1771 and 1773, Governor Luis de Unzaga granted the land and the necessary permits for its construction; the construction could be carried out between 1774 and 1776, still within the period of the government of Luis de Unzaga.
The St. Gabriel post office opened in 1857, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1994.
How does St. Gabriel rank for history?
St. Gabriel is more historic than 34% of U.S. towns, #79 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 St. Gabriel?
Three places: the St. Gabriel Roman Catholic Church (listed 1972), the Carville Historic District (1992) and the Bayou Paul Colored School (2016).
How old are the homes in St. Gabriel?
0.0% of St. Gabriel’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 2004.
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 (5), the Library of Congress (5), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, 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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