Originally known as Stables, the town was renamed when 200 members of the Socialist commune Llano del Rio Cooperative Colony in California relocated to this site in 1917, giving the town its present name.

It continued to function as a socialist commune with citizens pooling and sharing resources and wealth until 1937.

[citation needed] The New Llano Cooperative Colony was founded in 1917 when Job Harriman relocated, with other commune members of the Llano del Rio colony, to 20,000 acres of cut-over land two miles south of Leesville.

The location chosen was the Gulf Lumber Company sawmill town named Stables.

[1][5] According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.5 km2), all land.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,213 people, 934 households, and 591 families residing in the town.