Sunset’s post office opened in 1890, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #80 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Sunset was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1986. Its Register listings are the Chretien Point Plantation and the Sunset High School. Below: maps from 1957 on and the census since 1910.
Founding year: the first Sunset post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Sunset’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sunset is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Sunset’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 Sunset’s 6.5 sits near the middle of its state (60% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to C+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 Sunset’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Like many towns in Southern Louisiana, Sunset began as a railroad town (for the out-distribution of cotton and sweet potatoes and the in-distribution of specialty goods), was incorporated in 1904, and had its first village meeting that December 7. Victor Hugo Sibille was the first mayor. As part of a large-scale conversion of arable land away from cotton (due to the mass-destruction from the cotton boll weevil) and toward sweet potatoes in the late 19th century, the city gave itself the nickname "Sweet Potato Capital of the Nation" at the turn of the 20th century. According to local lore, The Bank of Sunset was one of the very few that did not close throughout the Great Depression of 1929.
The Sunset post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Sunset rank for history?
Sunset is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #80 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 Sunset?
Two places: the Chretien Point Plantation (listed 1977) and the Sunset High School (1999).
How old are the homes in Sunset?
3% of Sunset’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1986.
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 (4), Wikidata (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.
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