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History · Louise

Louise’s post office opened in 1888

Most of Louise was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1995. Below: maps from 1965 on and the census since 1900.

1888first post office
0on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Djmaschek · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Louise began

When was Louise founded?

1888

The Louise post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 279 in 19002020 census: 889138 years
Founding year: the first Louise post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Louise’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 Louise are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1960 and 1980, then more than doubled.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Louise’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Louise’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
People over time

Louise, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020900 in 1960Low: 310

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1960 and 1980, then more than doubled.

10 censuses, 1900–2020.

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

The story

How Louise came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Louise.

Read it all →

A Native American campsite was discovered approximately 4 mi (6 km) north of Louise on West Mustang Creek. This is the earliest known settlement near Louise. Stage Stand Creek is about 2 mi (3 km) east of Louise. The creek was supposedly named because the stagecoach once stopped there on its journey between Texana on the west and Egypt and Richmond on the east. A nearby location along East Mustang Creek was once known as Santa Anna's Crossing. Originally part of Jackson County, the area became part of Wharton County in 1846. During the mid-1800s, the region had few settlers and they were mostly ranchers who let their cattle roam freely.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Louise, 1888 to 2010

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1888Post officeThe Louise post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1965On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 21st century
  6. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 995
By decade

Louise, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Louise TX Post Office2014Louise TX Post OfficeLouise TX Junior High School22014Louise TX Junior High School2Louise TX Junior High School2014Louise TX Junior High SchoolGrain elevator Louise, a town in Wharton County in the Mid-Gulf region of Texas2014Grain elevator Louise, a town in Wharton County in th…A grain elevator in the town of2014A grain elevator in the town ofTXMap-doton-Louise2004TXMap-doton-Louise
On the map

Louise on the map, 1965 to 1994

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

Louise on the 1965 USGS mapLouise on the 1981 USGS mapLouise on the 1994 USGS map1965Louise sheet · 1:24,000

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

Questions about Louise’s history

What year was Louise founded?

The Louise post office opened in 1888, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), 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.