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History · White Castle

A history of White Castle,
since 1883

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

1883established
12old images & papers
0recent photos
From White Castle’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The town of White Castle was carved out of the George Wailes plantation "White Castle". The 1883 Charles H. Dickinson Survey of several parishes of Louisiana shows the White Castle Plantation property. Nottoway Plantation, a prominent antebellum mansion, was located nearby.

White Castle was established as a town in the 1880s with the influx of people and business brought by the logging industry in the cypress swamps of the area. When the cypress wood was depleted, the main economic activity reverted to the sugar cane industry which had been established in the latter part of the 18th century.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1883Established
1920s2 items · Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommons
1930s10 items · Historic American Buildings Survey Ri…Commons
1940–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish White Castle’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 viewFloods - Mississippi River Flood, 1927: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from White CastleWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in White Castle.Meet them →
By decade

White Castle, decade by decade

1920s2 items
Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927Floods - Mississippi River FloodCommonsFloods - Mississippi River Flood1927
1930s10 items
Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer October, 1936 INSIDE DETAIL COLUMN FRONT ELEVATION - Bell…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer September 1936 DETAIL OF PORTICOS AT WEST CORNER - Belle …CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer September, 1936 COLUMNS AND PILASTERS IN DRAWING ROOM - B…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer September, 1936 DETAIL OF FIREPLACE AND OVEN (KITCHEN) - …CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer September, 1936 IRONWORK ON FRONT GALLERY - Belle Grove, …CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer September, 1936 VIEW OF REAR - LOOKING NORTH - Belle Grov…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer, October, 1936 COLUMN AND PILASTER AT STAIR HALL END OF S…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photographer, September, 1936 DRAWING ROOM (NORTHEAST WALL) IN 1936. -…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Richard Koch, Photograph…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer December 1936 DETAIL OF COLUMN AND PILASTER AT STAI…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Thomas T. Waterman, Phot…1936Historic American Buildings Survey Thomas T. Waterman, Photographer December 1936 EXTERIOR VIEW OF CIRCULAR BAY ON DRAW…CommonsHistoric American Buildings Survey Thomas T. Waterman, Phot…1936
1940s–
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 White Castle is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean White Castle has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is St. John Baptist Church in Dorseyville, 1.3 miles away.

White Castle and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = White Castle. Tap a dot.
St. John Baptist ChurchNottoway Plantation HouseCarville Historic DistrictSupple's, J., Sons Mercantile Company, Ltd.Tally-Ho Plantation HouseEvan Hall Slave Cabins

Closest to White Castle

St. John Baptist ChurchDorseyville · Building1.3miNottoway Plantation HouseDorseyville · Greek Revival2miCarville Historic DistrictSt. Gabriel · Classical Revival2.8miSupple's, J., Sons Mercantile Company, Ltd.Bayou Goula · Building3.4miTally-Ho Plantation HouseBayou Goula · Greek Revival3.7mi

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. St. John Baptist Church’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in White Castle?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to White Castle’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 Floods - Mississippi River Flood (1927) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 St. Gabriel📜 Plaquemine📜 Donaldsonville📜 Gonzales

From Wikimedia Commons (12). 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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