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DHistory
History · Westlake

Westlake’s post office opened in 1889

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns · #135 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Westlake was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1950.

1889first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Westlake began

When was Westlake founded?

1889

The Westlake post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1945. Another post office, Bryan (1885), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 1,871 in 19502020 census: 4,781137 years

How historic is Westlake?

D

More historic than 11% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Westlake post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1945.
History grade

What drives Westlake’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Westlake is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Westlake’s overall grade.
Founding era1889, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19400.0% of homes (±0.6) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%D−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical LA town 3.8 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 11%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 16%

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 Westlake’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 (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata gives 1945.

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 Westlake’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 Westlake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Westlake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Westlake’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
The story so far

Westlake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Westlake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Westlake is an industrial city in Calcasieu Parish, in western Louisiana, United States, and is part of the Lake Charles metropolitan statistical area. The population was 4,781 in 2020. Westlake was incorporated in 1945. There are many chemical plants and oil refineries situated around the Westlake area.

Its first post office opened in 1889. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,568 to 4,781 (+5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Westlake, 1885 to 1992

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1885Post officeThe Bryan post office opens
  3. 1889Post officeThe Bryan post office closes
  4. 1889Post officeThe Westlake post office opens
  5. 20th century
  6. 1983Born hereMikey Kile is born here
  7. 1986On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1992Born hereJoshua Ledet is born here
By decade

Westlake, decade by decade

Today1 recent
LAMap-doton-Westlake2004LAMap-doton-Westlake
On the map

Westlake on the map in 1986

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Westlake.

Westlake on the 1986 USGS map1986Lake Charles sheet · 1:100,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Westlake.

Every building

Westlake, building by building, 1914

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 sheet.

Westlake fire insurance map, 1914, sheet 11914Sheet 1 of 4
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

People over time

Westlake, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5001960198020002020Peak: 5,246

Between 1,871 and 5,246 people in every census since 1950.

8 censuses, 1950–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Westlake’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Westlake

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

See all →
Joshua LedetSinger · b. 1992
M
Mikey KileAmerican stock car racing driver · b. 1983
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Westlake’s post office has been open since 1889. Another post office, Bryan, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Bryan
1885–1889
Westlake
1889–today
18801950today
1cemetery inside Westlake
Perkins

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

Questions about Westlake’s history

What year was Westlake founded?

The Westlake post office opened in 1889, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1945.

How does Westlake rank for history?

Westlake is more historic than 11% of U.S. towns, #135 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 Westlake?

0.0% of Westlake’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1977.

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 (1), 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.