Ville Platte dates to 1780, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #30 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Ville Platte was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1870.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Ville Platte’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Ville Platte is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #30 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Ville Platte’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 Ville Platte’s 9.6 sits above most of its state (66% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 6 historic buildings outnumber those of 72% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1780.
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 (±4.4 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 Ville Platte’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The area surrounding Ville Platte was likely first settled in the latter half of the eighteenth century, during the period of Spanish rule in Louisiana. The earliest record of settlement in the immediate vicinity dates to the 1780s.
According to popular legend, the founder of Ville Platte was Marcellin Garand, an adjudant major in the Army of the French Empire during the reign of Napoleon. In 1824, Garand obtained one of the first two lots that were platted in what is now Ville Platte, with the second being obtained by Dr. Robert Windex. Those lots were obtained from the estate of William O'Donegan, marking what is generally considered the town's founding.
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.
In 1780, according to Wikidata. Ville Platte’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1870 counted 135 people here.
How does Ville Platte rank for history?
Ville Platte is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #30 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 Ville Platte?
5 listings: 5 buildings, among them the Alexis LaTour House (listed 1987, the first). 6 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Ville Platte?
8% of Ville Platte’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.4 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1975.
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), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (5), 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), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1915–1920
1915
1915
