More historic than 12% of U.S. towns · #128 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of Waggaman was built recently: 0.4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1980.
Founding year: the first Waggaman post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Waggaman’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Waggaman is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #128 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Waggaman’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 Waggaman’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (21% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.7 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 Waggaman’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
George Augustus Waggaman settled in the area with his wife, Camille Arnoult, who inherited a large tract of land there. The two built a considerable plantation which they named Avondale, which later succumbed to the Mississippi River in 1892. Today the Avondale area, an unincorporated community which abuts Waggaman, was home to Avondale Shipyards, one of the largest employers in Jefferson Parish.
The Waggaman post office opened in 1882, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Waggaman rank for history?
Waggaman is more historic than 12% of U.S. towns, #128 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.
How old are the homes in Waggaman?
0.4% of Waggaman’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1983.
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), 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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