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History · Sulphur

A history of Sulphur,
then and now

Postcards, papers and photographs of Sulphur from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

6old images & papers
0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Sulphur is named for the sulfur mines that were operated in the area in the 1900s. In 1867, Professor Eugene W. Hilgard, an experienced geologist who was prospecting for oil and other minerals, conducted exploratory borings in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana and discovered sulfur in the caprock of a salt dome. However, the sulfur was beneath several hundred feet of muck and quicksand containing deadly hydrogen sulfide gas, which made mining extremely hazardous. Repeated unsuccessful attempts to sink conventional mining shafts in the 1870s and 1880s resulted in the loss of many lives.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
18801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisia…Commons
1890–1919Nothing in the archives yet
1920s2 items · Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulph…Map
1940s3 items · Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulph…Map
1950–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Sulphur’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1950 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from SulphurWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Sulphur.Meet them →
By decade

Sulphur, decade by decade

1880s1 item
1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Calcasieu Parish - Sulphur - ED 10-56 to 64Commons1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Ca…1880
1890s–
1910s
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.
📷 Add from your album
1920s2 papers
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, 1929, Plate 0003MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, …1929Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, 1929, Plate 0005MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, …1929
1940s3 papers
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, 1946, Plate 0001MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, …1946Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, 1946, Plate 0004MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, …1946Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, 1946, Plate 0005MapSanborn Fire Insurance Map from Sulphur, Calcasieu Parish, …1946
1950s–
1990s
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.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Sulphur is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Sulphur has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Calcasieu Parish Courthouse in Lake Charles, 8.2 miles away.

Sulphur and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Sulphur. Tap a dot.
Calcasieu Parish CourthouseWaters Pierce Oil Company Stable BuildingLake Charles City Hall, OldCathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionNoble BuildingCalcasieu Marine Bank

Closest to Sulphur

Calcasieu Parish CourthouseLake Charles · Classical Revival8.2miWaters Pierce Oil Company Stable BuildingLake Charles · Building8.2miLake Charles City Hall, OldLake Charles · Italian Renaissance8.3miCathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionLake Charles · Building8.3miNoble BuildingLake Charles · Building8.3mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Calcasieu Parish Courthouse’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Sulphur?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Sulphur’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as 1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Louisiana (LA) - Calcasieu Parish - Sulphur - ED 10-56 to 64 (1880) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Westlake📜 Lake Charles📜 Vinton📜 DeQuincy

From Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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