Welcome to Altoona ...
Altoona is located in Madison Parish<1>.
While we don't have a date for the founding of Altoona, you might consider that their post office opened in 1888.
When the people of Altoona refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altoonan<2>
Altoona is 70 feet [21 m] above sea level.<3>.
Time Zone: Altoona lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area Codes for Altoona: 318 & 457<4>
Communities Also Named Altoona ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Altoona - they are located in Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Altoona.
Communities near Altoona ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Altoona.
- Tallulah
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tallulah
- Tallulah is located in Madison Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,460 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tallulah <5>
- Rayville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rayville have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rayville
- Rayville is located in Richland Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,436 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rayville <5>
- Epps
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Epps have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Epps
- Epps is located in West Carroll Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 809 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Epps <5>
- Richmond
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east) - Pioneer
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer have been provided by the GNIS.<6> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer
- Pioneer is located in West Carroll Parish
- Population from the 2020 Census: 150 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pioneer <5>
- Tendal
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Dunn
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dunn
- Dunn is located in Richland Parish
- Quebec
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Holly Ridge
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Ridge
- Holly Ridge is located in Richland Parish
- Darnell
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Darnell
- Darnell is located in West Carroll Parish
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 Altoona. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Altoona.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Altoona. 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 Altoona.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Altoona. See our Newspapers Page for Altoona.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Altoona ...
Looking for more information about Altoona? 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 Altoona, there are neighboring communities that do have Tourism pages. A map of those communities can be found with our TripAdvisor Page for Altoona.
Adding Altoona to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Altoona 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 for Altoona was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
X2X - From that list, the Altoona post office opened in 1888.
We also found Altoona in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Altoona.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Altoona. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Louisiana: https://www.louisiana.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Louisiana's parishes, including Madison, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Altoona refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a community's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Altoona may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <3> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Altoona - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <4> | 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 Altoona area will be assigned with one of these codes: 318 or 457. As a result, placing a call in the Altoona area will require 10-digit dialing (where you enter both the area code and then the phone number). |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <7> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |