St. Martinville dates to 1765, and 13 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #6 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of St. Martinville was built recently: 6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. 13 places in town are on the National Register, among them the Maison Olivier (Acadian House), a National Historic Landmark, and a historic district with 32 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1939 on, and the census since 1850.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1809.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives St. Martinville’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, St. Martinville is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #6 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of St. Martinville’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. Martinville’s 85.0 sits above most of its state (88% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 45 historic buildings outnumber those of 84% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1765.
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 (±3.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (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. Martinville’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
In the 16th century, the area between the Atchafalaya River, in Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico and Trinity River, in Texas, was occupied by numerous tribes or subdivisions of the Attakapan people. The territory was not closed to outsiders, and several traders roamed through it on business.
Europeans did not begin to settle there until French explorers claimed and founded the colony of Louisiana in 1699. They referred to the territory between the Atchafalaya River and Bayou Nezpique, where the Eastern Atakapa lived, as the Attakapas Territory, adopting the name from the Choctaw language term for this people. The French colonial government gave land away to French soldiers and settlers.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of St. Martinville. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1939St Martinsville 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 St. Martinville.
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.
Retake this viewLouisiana French 19th century document, 1860
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on St. Martinville’s page.
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Saint Martinville
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about St. Martinville’s history
What year was St. Martinville founded?
In 1765, according to Wikidata. St. Martinville’s post office opened in 1809, and the census of 1850 counted 652 people here.
How does St. Martinville rank for history?
St. Martinville is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #6 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. Martinville?
13 listings: 11 buildings, among them the Maison Olivier (Acadian House) (a National Historic Landmark since 1974) and the U.S. Post Office (listed 1972, the first), 1 historic district, the St. Martinville Historic District, with 32 contributing buildings, and 1 structure. 45 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in St. Martinville?
6% of St. Martinville’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1969.
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 (2), Wikidata (4), the National Register of Historic Places (13), 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.
★ Landmark
