All Stories: 561
Stories
Sort by:
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop and the Battle of New Orleans
For many years, a bar called “Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop” has occupied this building at the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip Street. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1970, Lafitte’s…
Old Absinthe House and the Battle of New Orleans
The Old Absinthe House, a stucco building at the corner of Bourbon and Bienville Streets, is one of the oldest structures in New Orleans, dating to approximately 1806.
In the nineteenth century,…
Maspero's Coffee House and the Battle of New Orleans
Maspero’s Exchange, also known as Maspero’s Coffee House and now called the “Original Pierre Maspero’s,” is located at 440 Chartres Street, on the corner of St. Louis and Chartres Streets, nearest the…
Indian Camp Plantation / Louisiana Leper Home
In the 1700s, Europeans settled this area known as Indian Camp and developed a plantation economy along the Mississippi River. Robert Camp, a planter from Virginia, began purchasing land here in the…
The Old Federal Courthouse: Present Day Andrew Jackson Hotel
The Andrew Jackson French Quarter Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at 919 Royal Street, the former site of the old United States courthouse where Major General…
Jackson Square during the Battle of New Orleans
Formerly the Place d'Armes around which New Orleans was built, Jackson Square, a National Historical Landmark, is the most prominent location in the “Vieux Carre” or Old Quarter.
On December 18,…
The Cabildo: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1853-1910
Regarded as Louisiana’s most important historical building, the Cabildo is located at 701 Chartres Street, the corner of Chartres and St. Peter Streets. Viewed from Jackson Square across Chartres…
Rougelot's Department Store
From the late 1890s until 1948, Rougelot's was the largest department store downriver from Canal Street. Located at the intersection of Esplanade Avenue and Decatur Street, it served as the anchor…
Carville Jail and Cottage Grove
Like any small town, Carville offered various services to its inhabitants. A one room school house educated the people quarantined at the site. Sacred Heart Chapel hosted Catholic services…
Carville: Silos for Dairy Barn & Armadillo Research
The two silos and barns in front of you were built for a dairy herd in the 1920s. By the mid-1950s, an outside vendor was supplying milk to the Leprosarium and the barn fell into…
Hansen's Disease
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease (HD), is a chronic disease of the skin and peripheral nerves.
95% of the world’s population is naturally immune to the disease. Mycobacterium leprae, the…
Carville, The National Leprosarium: Patient Life
In 1940, the patient population was between 400 and 450 and a massive renovation was underway. The improved hospital created individual rooms for 450 patients and the 13” thick concrete walls made the…
Carville Patients' Cemetery, National Leprosarium.
The Carville cemetery is the only stop on the tour where you may exit your vehicle and take photographs. Just beyond the cemetery is a hospital incinerator with a driving ramp and tower built in…
Greenville Encampment: Union Cavalry and Barracks
The Village of Greenville, now part of Uptown New Orleans near the Carrollton area, was the site of a federal encampment during the Civil War. New Orleans was captured by U.S. forces early in the war…
Camp Parapet: The Confederacy
Camp Parapet was built within the current boundaries of Jefferson Parish when Carrollton was still the commercial center of the parish. Intended to help defend against both a naval and land…
Hamilton Square: The Original Palmer Park
In 1831, McCarty Plantation, located upriver from the central hub of New Orleans, was bought by several investors including the New Orleans Canal and Banking Company and Senator John Slidell. Two…
Palmer Park: The Name
Hamilton Square was renamed Palmer Park as a “testimony to the honor of the late B. M. Palmer” through a city ordinance on July 1902. Benjamin Morgan Palmer was pastor of New Orleans First…
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 Nix Family: Prominent Figures in the Carrollton Cemeteries
Born in South Carolina in 1852, Colonel James Thomas Nix (Col. Nix) was the son of Rev. John Darling Nix, lieutenant to General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. Col. Nix was also the great-grandson…
Cloverland Dairy
Although dairies are often left out of tales of New Orleans food history, they played an important role in early New Orleanians lives. Through specialty traditions like Creole cream cheese, New…
The Julia Montgomery Memorial Oak in Palmer Park
In March 1923, an oak tree was planted in Palmer Park to honor the death of Julia Blocker Montgomery, a nearby resident. The Daughters of the American Revolution dedicated the tree in memory of…
Music in Palmer Park
Music has played an important role in the history of Palmer Park. A band stand was built in 1923 and every summer a series of concerts was held in the park featuring military bands, marching bands,…
Political Rallies in Palmer Park
Political rallies were an important part of Palmer Park’s early history. Local political organizations held numerous rallies and speeches in the park in the first half of the 20th century. The 1919…
Camp Parapet: The Union
After the Confederate retreat and Admiral Farragut's capture of New Orleans and the surrounding area by May 1, 1862, federal forces continued to use the fortifications and even improved them…