About
New Orleans Historical
A project by The Midlo Center for New Orleans Studies at LSU New OrleansNew Orleans Historical promotes the idea that historical scholarship should be freely and publicly available. Our stories come from scholars, writers, artists, community members, and students in collaboration with faculty and staff at the Midlo Center. Through place-based storytelling, learn the histories of familiar landmarks and discover lesser-known narratives from New Orleans’ past.
Our tours are grouped by theme, period, or location, while links to individual sites allow users to explore the stories around them. Historical sources, oral histories, and artifacts bring these stories to life. Walk, drive, bike, or visit these sites virtually on our free app or on the web.
Featured Tours
Meet Me at the Crossroads: The Life and Legend of Marie Laveau
4 Locations ~ Curated by August DarbonneMarie Laveau is known to many as the Vodou Queen of New Orleans. Vodou is an Afro-syncretic religion, blending elements of West and Central African religion, Native American spirituality, and European Catholicism. In the 18th and 19th centuries, when enslavers trafficked West African peoples to the Americas, they banned enslaved people from practicing their traditional religions. In order to continue to practice their traditional religion, while avoiding punishment or death from French and…
The City Beneath the City: Archaeology of New Orleans
27 Locations ~ Curated by University of New Orleans, Department of Anthropology and SociologyThis tour includes information about archaeological sites already investigated in Orleans Parish. Some of these sites are now destroyed. Others are no longer accessible or have considerable untapped research potential. Most are on private property and not readily accessible to the public.
As there are few protections for archaeological resources in the city, the locations of some of these projects are only approximate. We ask that you do your part to help us preserve and protect the cultural…
Animals in the French Quarter
4 Locations ~ Curated by Alison Laurence, Sarah Waits, John Lee, and the University of New Orleans History DepartmentThis tour examines the significant ways in which animals have affected the lives of New Orleanians. Within the confines of the French Quarter, rats, mules, mosquitoes, termites, and other critters cohabitate with the human residents.
Access: Walking
Distance: ~.5 miles, ~10 minutes
Random Stories
Change and Contention: Palmer Park During the 1970s
The 1970s was a period of contention over the future of Palmer Park as local residents opposed efforts by the city to incorporate the park and convert it to a playground. Residents, labeling…
Carondelet Canal or Old Basin Canal
The site of New Orleans first appealed to the city's founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, in 1699. Native Americans had informed him about Bayou St. John, a shortcut from Lake Pontchartrain…
Pontchartrain Railroad
The Pontchartrain Railroad was one of the first lines completed in the United States. First opening in 1831, and remaining opened uninterrupted for over 100 years, it ran the five-mile length of…
Carrollton Cemeteries: A Brief History
The suburb of Carrollton became incorporated as a city in 1845. Twenty-nine years later, in 1874, the city of New Orleans absorbed the town, including its cemetery. Sometimes referred to as Green…
The Spirit: Marie Laveau & Congo Square
While Marie Laveau worshipped at Catholic Mass in St. Louis Cathedral, she likely practiced Vodou at Congo Square. While no official documents place Laveau at Congo Square, many eyewitness accounts…
Carrollton's First Ferry
Earliest ferry service from Carrollton across the Mississippi River to the West Bank area known as Nine Mile Point was operating by 1845. Rowers powered these skiff ferries. In the mid- and late…
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