1 of Winnfield’s places is on the National Register
More historic than 31% of U.S. towns · #86 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it
Its Register listing is the George Parker Long House. Most of Winnfield was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1907 on, and the census since 1880.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Winnfield is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #86 of 161 in Louisiana. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Winnfield’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 Winnfield’s 2.5 sits near the middle of its state (49% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±2.5 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Winnfield’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
When Winn Parish was officially formed by the state legislature in 1852, Winnfield was established as the parish seat.
Winnfield was a major producer of salt in the Civil War days; salt kettles used at Big Cedar and Drake's Salt Works furnished salt for the Confederate army. One still exists today in front of the Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame, turned into a fountain. The salt works was located on Saline Bayou. Later the Cary Salt Works started an 840-foot deep mine west of Winnfield. The mine was used by the federal government in Project Coyboy Plowshare Program, Cowboy Event. Between December 1959 and March 1960 a series of high explosives were set off inside the Carry Salt Works in an unused portion of the mine.
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 Winnfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1950Winnfield 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 Winnfield.
Every building
Winnfield, building by building, 1907–1911
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.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Hatfield
1cemetery inside Winnfield
Winnfield
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Winnfield’s history
How does Winnfield rank for history?
Winnfield is more historic than 31% of U.S. towns, #86 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 Winnfield?
One place: the George Parker Long House (listed 1982).
How old are the homes in Winnfield?
4% of Winnfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.5 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1967.
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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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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