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C−History
History · Walker

Walker’s post office opened in 1856, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns · #108 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Walker was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1998. Its Register listing is the Walker High School. Below: maps from 1934 on.

1856first post office
1on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Walker began

When was Walker founded?

1856

The Walker post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Melton Old Field (1876) and Corbin (1909), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 6,374170 years

How historic is Walker?

C−

More historic than 20% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Walker post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Walker’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Walker is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #108 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 Walker’s overall grade.
Founding era1856, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.8) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−National Register1 listing, 1.6 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 20%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 33%

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 Walker’s 1.6 sits near the middle of its state (46% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C. The pre-1940 share (±0.8 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 Walker’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Walker are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Walker, and 3 old place names are still on the map.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Walker’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Walker’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Walker had its own post office from 1856 to 1860. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Walker
1856–1860
Melton Old Field
1876–1877
Walker
1890–today
Corbin
1909–1967
18501940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Big D Mobile Home ParkCorbinPalmetto Mobile Home Park
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Walker
MintonPalmettoSaint Mark BaptistWalker Baptist

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Walker came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Walker.

Read it all →

The area now known as Walker was founded by Michael Joseph Milton, Jr. (1795-1863) and “several slaves” in 1825. Michael Milton married in 1832 in Livingston Parish. He and his wife, Martha Clark Milton (1803-1878) developed 343 acres from a Land Grant for his service in the War of 1812. The Milton family was a pioneering family from North Carolina and a first family in Virginia who settled in an area in Alabama, and in Florida before establishing the new community in the piney woods east of the Amite River and Denham Springs. In this sense, Walker, Louisiana, by virtue of its establishment, traces its roots to the founding of the nation in Jamestown, Virginia. The Federal government recognized the growth of the settlement and opened a post office as Milton Old Field in 1856. The "Old Field" part of the original name referred to the open, cleared land that was suitable for grazing cattl…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Walker, 1856 to 2002

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1856Post officeThe Walker post office opens
  3. 1860Post officeThe Walker post office closes
  4. 1876Post officeThe Melton Old Field post office opens
  5. 1877Post officeThe Melton Old Field post office closes
  6. 1890Post officeThe Walker post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1930BuiltWalker High School is built
  9. 1934On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1986Born hereChris Hawkins is born here
  11. 1987Born hereJosh Wall is born here
  12. 1996Born hereMattie Liptak is born here
  13. 21st century
  14. 2002Born hereBrian Thomas Jr. is born here
By decade

Walker, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Walker, Louisiana from Interstate 122026Walker, Louisiana from Interstate 12Walker, Louisiana from the air, April 20212021Walker, Louisiana from the air, April 2021Family Dollar Clearance2020Family Dollar ClearanceFEMA - 21263 - Photograph by Robert Kaufmann taken on 01-12-2006 in Louisiana2006FEMA - 21263 - Photograph by Robert Kaufmann taken on…FEMA - 21260 - Photograph by Robert Kaufmann taken on 01-12-2006 in Louisiana2006FEMA - 21260 - Photograph by Robert Kaufmann taken on…LAMap-doton-Walker2004LAMap-doton-Walker
On the map

Walker on the map, 1934 to 1991

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Walker. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Walker on the 1934 USGS mapWalker on the 1953 USGS mapWalker on the 1962 USGS mapWalker on the 1980 USGS mapWalker on the 1991 USGS map1934Denham Springs 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 Walker.

On the National Register

1 historic place in Walker

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2000
Walker High School
Walker High School, built 1930
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italian Renaissance1
All 1 listings
Walker High SchoolBuilding · listed 2000

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Walker

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Brian Thomas Jr.American football player · b. 2002
M
Mattie LiptakAmerican actor · b. 1996
Josh WallBaseball player · b. 1987
C
Chris HawkinsNational Football League player · b. 1986

Questions about Walker’s history

What year was Walker founded?

The Walker post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Walker rank for history?

Walker is more historic than 20% of U.S. towns, #108 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 Walker?

One place: the Walker High School (listed 2000).

How old are the homes in Walker?

0.0% of Walker’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1998.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, 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.