Welcome to Alto ...

While we don't have a date for the founding of Alto, you might consider that their post office opened in 1871.

Alto is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Alto lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Codes for Alto: 318 & 457<3>

Communities Also Named Alto ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 18 communities that are also named Alto - they are located in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota (2), Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alto.

Communities near Alto ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alto.

Monroe
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
- Monroe is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
- Population from the 2020 Census: 46,998 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Monroe <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Monroe
- From Alto to Monroe
Winnsboro
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)
- Winnsboro is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winnsboro
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,462 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winnsboro <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Winnsboro
- From Alto to Winnsboro
Rayville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
- Rayville is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayville
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,436 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rayville <4>
Richwood
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
- Richwood is located in Ouachita Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richwood
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,375 people
Mangham
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Mangham is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mangham
- Population from the 2020 Census: 627 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mangham <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Mangham
- From Alto to Mangham
Baskin
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
- Baskin is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Baskin
- Population from the 2020 Census: 240 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Baskin <4>
Oak Ridge
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)
- Oak Ridge is located in Morehouse Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Ridge
- Population from the 2020 Census: 118 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Ridge <4>
Archibald
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Archibald is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Archibald
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Archibald <4>
Big Creek
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Big Creek is located in Franklin Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Creek
New Light
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- New Light is located in Richland Parish
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Light
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to New Light
- From Alto to New Light

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alto. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alto.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alto. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alto.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alto. See our Newspapers Page for Alto.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alto ...

Looking for more information about Alto? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

While we are unaware of a Tourism page that is specific to Alto, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Alto.

Adding Alto to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Alto in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Alto was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Alto post office opened in 1871. The Alto post office closed in 1965.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Alto.

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Louisiana's parishes, including Richland, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alto - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>	When there's a risk of an area code running out of phone numbers, an 'Overlay Area Code' is created that has the same geographic boundaries as the existing area code. In this case, the 318 code has been Overlayed with the 457 area code. New phone numbers in the Alto area will be assigned with one of these codes: 318 or 457. As a result, placing a call in the Alto area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number).
<4>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>	A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/