West Monroe’s post office opened in 1885, and 5 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #58 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Most of West Monroe was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 62 buildings. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1920 on, and the census since 1890.
From West Monroe’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How West Monroe began
When was West Monroe founded?
1885
The West Monroe post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Trenton (1848), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 447 in 18902020 census: 13,103141 years
How historic is West Monroe?
B−
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first West Monroe post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives West Monroe’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, West Monroe is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #58 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of West Monroe’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 West Monroe’s 51.9 sits above most of its state (83% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 66 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.8 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 West Monroe’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Originally laid out in 1837 as Byron by John Campbell at the foot of the ferry landing to Monroe, the town floundered and Campbell went bankrupt. The area was bought by Christopher Dabbs, a doctor from Virginia who submitted the plans for Cotton Port in 1854; it officially was recognized in 1859.
It too languished until the arrival of the Vicksburg, Shreveport and Pacific Railway and the construction of the bridge over the Ouachita River. Cotton Port boomed as a river port and rail depot.
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.
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 West Monroe. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1935Drew 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 West Monroe.
Every building
West Monroe, building by building, 1920–1926
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
The West Monroe post office opened in 1885, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does West Monroe rank for history?
West Monroe is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #58 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 West Monroe?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Ouachita Parish High School (listed 1981, the first), and 1 historic district, the West Monroe Historic District, with 62 contributing buildings. 66 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in West Monroe?
4% of West Monroe’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.8 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (12), 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.
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