Timeline of New Orleans

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 19th century

• 1718 - La Nouvelle-Orléans founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville of the Mississippi Company.
• 1722 - Capital of La Louisiane is relocated to New Orleans, from Biloxi.
• 1734 - Ursuline Convent built.
• 1752 - Modern-day Ursuline Convent building is finished, today the oldest and finest French Colonial building in the U.S.
• 1762 - French colony ceded to Spain.
• 1770's - Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop was built, one of the oldest extant buildings in New Orleans.
• 1779–1781 - Governor-general Bernardo de Gálvez successfully wages the Gulf Coast campaign against British West Florida, as part of the Anglo-Spanish War (1779–83) and in support of the American Revolutionary War.
• 1788
  • Great New Orleans Fire
  • Lafayette Square laid out (approximate date), by the Surveyor-general Charles Trudeau, who would later serve as interim mayor.
  • Madame John's Legacy was built, today a rare example of a raised cottage in the French Quarter.
• 1789 - Saint Louis Cemetery established.
• 1792 - Theatre de la Rue Saint Pierre opened.
• 1794
  • 2nd Great New Orleans Fire
  • St. Louis Cathedral built on the site of an earlier Catholic church.
  • Carondelet Canal constructed.
• 1799 - The rebuilt Cabildo was finished.

19th century

1800s-1840s

• 1802 - France regains power, on paper.
• 1803
  • Napoleon sells a huge swath of North America to the U.S. via the Louisiana Purchase. Formalities of the Spanish transfer to France and the French cession to the United States do not take place until November and December, at the Cabildo; with Upper Louisiana (St. Louis)'s ceremony occurring in the spring of 1804.
  • Etienne de Boré becomes the first mayor, under territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne.
• 1804
  • Orleans Gazette newspaper begins publication.^[1]
  • The Territory of Orleans (future state of Louisiana) is established, with the seat of government in New Orleans.
• 1806 - New Orleans Mechanics Society instituted.^[2]
• 1811 - Largest slave revolt in American history occurs nearby, with Orleans Parish involved in its aftermath.
• 1812
  • April - Louisiana becomes a state, with New Orleans as its first capital.
  • August - 1812 Louisiana hurricane
• 1813 - The Presbytere built.
• 1815
  • January - Battle of New Orleans
  • Charity Hospital built.^[3]
  • Théâtre d'Orléans opens.
• 1817 - First Congregational Church built.^[3]
• 1818 - Fort Pike built.
• 1822 - Fort Macomb built.
• 1824
  • American Theatre built.^[4]
  • Pontchartrain Hotel built at Spanish Fort.^[5]
• 1827
  • L’Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orléans newspaper begins publication.
  • Algiers ferry in operation, which has run continuously to the present day.
• 1830 - Introduction of natural gas
• 1831 - Pontchartrain Railroad begins operating.
• 1832 - First steam-powered cotton press
• 1833 - Lafayette Cemetery is founded.
• 1834 - Medical College of Louisiana and U.S. Mint established.
• 1835
  • New Orleans and Carrollton Railroad begins operating, which became today's streetcar lines.
  • U.S. military barracks^[3] and First Presbyterian Church built.^[3]
• 1836
  • City is divided into three municipalities, which system existed for about twenty years.
  • St. Louis Hotel in business.^[6][7]
  • Female Orphan Asylum in operation.^[3]
• 1837
  • The Picayune newspaper begins publication.
  • U.S. economic recession begins with the Panic of 1837.
  • Christ Church built.^[3]
• 1838
  • St. Charles Hotel in business.^[6][8]
  • New Basin Canal opens, connecting uptown and the lakefront.
  • St. Vincent De Paul Church built.
• 1840
  • Population reaches approximately 102,000 or double the 1830 population. At this point, New Orleans is the wealthiest city in the nation, the third-most populous city, and the largest city in the South. (New York City's population was 312,000. Baltimore and New Orleans were the same size, with Baltimore showing only 100 more people.)^[9]
  • Beginning of the city's public school system
  • 25th anniversary celebration of the Battle of New Orleans victory, with former President Andrew Jackson in attendance
  • Antoine's restaurant in business.
  • St. Patrick's Church built.
  • Cypress Grove Cemetery^[10] and First German Lutheran Congregation established.^[11]
• 1841 - Boston Club formed.^[12]
• 1842
  • St. Augustine Church dedicated.
  • Holy Family Sisters founded.^[13]
• 1845 - City Hall built.
• 1846
  • Abdiel Crossman becomes mayor.
  • Public School Library, 1st District, established.^[14]
  • Jackson monument erected.^[6]
  • De Bow's Commercial Review begins publication.
• 1847 - University of Louisiana Law School opens.
• 1849 - State capital is relocated to the then-small-town of Baton Rouge.

1850s-1890s

• 1852
  • Lafayette becomes part of city.
  • Union Race Course opens.
  • Touro Infirmary founded.^[15]
• 1853
  • City Park established.
  • Major yellow fever epidemic.
• 1855 - Swiss Benevolent Society founded.^[16]
• 1856
  • Mistick Krewe of Comus founded.
  • Last Island hurricane dumps 13 inches of rainfall on the city.
• 1857
  • Saint Alphonsus Church built.
  • Pickwick Club formed.^[6]
• 1859
  • French Opera House opens.
  • Locust Grove Cemetery established.^[10]
• 1860
  • Louisiana Historical Society incorporated.^[17]
  • St. Mary's Assumption Church built.
  • Population: 168,675.^[18]
• 1861 - January - Louisiana votes to secede from the Union.
• 1862
  • Capture of New Orleans by Union forces.
  • Café du Monde in business.
  • Harmony Club formed.^[6]
• 1863 - New-Orleans Times newspaper begins publication.^[1]
• 1866 - New Orleans riot
• 1867 - Another in the long series of yellow fever epidemics; this one took its toll in Texas, as well.
• 1868
  • Louisiana readmitted to the Union.
  • Straight University founded.
• 1869 - New Orleans University founded.^[19]
• 1870
  • Algiers and Jefferson City annexed.
  • Leland College established.
  • Population: 191,418.^[18]
• 1874 - Battle of Liberty Place, white insurrection against the Reconstruction government.
• 1876
  • St. Roch Cemetery chapel dedicated.^[20]
  • New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club^[21] and Atheneé Louisianaise founded.^[6]
• 1881 - Southern University opens.
• 1883 - Theatre built at Spanish Fort.^[5]
• 1884 - World Cotton Centennial.
• 1886 - New Orleans Camera Club organized.^[22]
• 1887 - Howard Memorial Library built.^[6]
• 1889 - Louisiana Historical Association founded.
• 1890 - Confederate Memorial Hall built. Commander's Palace restaurant opens.
• 1891 - Jackson Brewery building constructed.
• 1892
  • New Orleans Union Station opens.
  • Street Railway Union established.^[23]
  • June - Homer Plessy arrested.
• 1893 - Electric streetcars begin operating.
• 1894 - U.S. Naval Station built.^[6]
• 1895 - 1895 New Orleans dockworkers riot
• 1895 - Hennen Building completed.
• 1896 - Fisk Free and Public Library in operation.
• 1897 - Storyville district established.

20th century

1900s-1940s

• 1900
  • Robert Charles Riots
  • Art Association of New Orleans founded.^[24]
  • Population: 287,104.^[25]
• 1901 - Louisiana hurricane causes much flooding in the city, due partly to the overflowing Carondelet Canal.
• 1904
  • Loyola College established.
  • Martin Behrman becomes mayor.
• 1905 - Galatoire's restaurant in business.
• 1906
  • Louisiana State Museum founded.
  • Beth Israel synagogue opens.
• 1907
  • Dixie Brewing Company in business.
  • New Orleans Library Club formed.^[26]
  • White City amusement park in business.
• 1908 - New Orleans Public Library main branch building opens.
• 1909 - The Grand Isle hurricane causes much New Orleans flooding.
• 1911 - Delgado Museum of Art and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of New Orleans established.^[27]
• 1915
  • Xavier College established.^[19]
  • 1915 New Orleans hurricane inflicts great wind damage, destroying churches and the Presbytere's cupola.
• 1916 - Our Lady of Holy Cross College and Zulu Social Aid & Pleasure Club established.
• 1917
  • Livery Stable Blues recorded by the Original Dixieland Jass Band.
  • Storyville closed.
• 1918
  • 1918 influenza epidemic.^[28]
  • Arnaud's restaurant in business.
• 1919 - The French Opera House is destroyed by fire
• 1920 - Broussard's restaurant in business.
• 1921
  • Delgado Central Trades School opens.
  • Orpheum Theater in operation.
  • Hibernia Bank Building constructed.
• 1923
  • Notre Dame Seminary founded.
  • Roosevelt Hotel in business.
  • Industrial Canal Lock built.
• 1924 - New Orleans Item-Tribune begins publication.
• 1925 - Lakeview Presbyterian Church built.
• 1926
  • State Palace Theatre built.
  • Tulane Stadium opens.
• 1927
  • Saenger Theatre opens.
  • First National Bank of Commerce Building constructed.
  • Pontchartrain Hotel in business.
• 1928 - Pontchartrain Beach amusement park opens.
• 1929 - National American Bank Building constructed.
• 1930
  • Dillard University chartered.
  • Municipal Auditorium opens.
  • Broadmoor Improvement Association formed.^[29]
• 1932 - Bureau of Governmental Research established.^[30][31]
• 1933 - O'Brien's in business.
• 1935 - Sugar Bowl begins.
• 1936
  • New Orleans Botanical Garden opens.
  • Robert Maestri becomes mayor.
• 1937 - New Orleans Roosevelt Review begins publication.^[32]
• 1938
  • Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament begins.
  • Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents, and Associates preservation group incorporated.^[33]
• 1939
  • Charity Hospital built.
  • Lincoln Beach amusement park in business.
• 1946
  • Moisant International Airport opens.^[34]
  • Chep Morrison becomes mayor.
  • New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary formed.
• 1947
  • Joy Theater opens.
  • New Orleans Emergency Medical Services established.
  • September hurricane creates tremendous flooding, shutting down Moisant Airport.
• 1949 - Middle South Utilities in business.

1950s-1990s

• 1950 - New Orleans Pharmacy Museum opens.^[35]
• 1954
  • McDonogh Day Boycott
  • New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal opens.
• 1956
  • Louisiana State University in New Orleans and Southern University at New Orleans established.
  • Lake Pontchartrain Causeway opens.
• 1957
  • Pontchartrain Expressway opens.
  • Harvey Tunnel built.
• 1958 - Greater New Orleans Bridge opens.
• 1960 - November: Desegregation of New Orleans Public Schools begins, with Ruby Bridges attending William Frantz Elementary.
• 1961 - Vic Schiro becomes mayor.
• 1965
  • Annual Marathon race begins.
  • I-10 Twin Span Bridge opens.
  • Hurricane Betsy causes great damage to the city, the worst before Katrina 40 years later.
• 1966 - Historic New Orleans Collection and Amistad Research Center established.^[36]
• 1967
  • New Orleans Saints football team formed.
  • International Trade Mart building constructed.
• 1969
  • Plaza Tower built.
  • Hurricane Camille inflicts $320 million damage in Louisiana.
• 1970
  • Jazz Fest begins.
  • Moon Landrieu becomes mayor.
• 1972 - One Shell Square built.
• 1973 - UpStairs Lounge arson attack
• 1974 - Preservation Resource Center founded.
• 1975 - Superdome opens.
• 1978
  • Ernest Nathan Morial becomes mayor.
  • New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts established.
• 1979
  • K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen in business.
  • Annual Crescent City Classic running race begins.
  • New Orleans Regional Transit Authority established.
• 1980 - Longue Vue House and Gardens opens.^[37]
• 1981 - New Orleans Mint museum active.
• 1983
  • Lakefront Arena opens.
  • Luling Bridge opens.
• 1984
  • French Quarter Festival begins.
  • Convention Center opens.
  • 1984 Louisiana World Exposition
  • Place St. Charles built.
• 1986
  • Sidney Barthelemy becomes mayor.
  • Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival begins.
• 1988 - 1988 Republican National Convention
• 1989 - New Orleans Film Society founded.
• 1990
  • Emeril’s restaurant in business.
  • Aquarium of the Americas opens.
  • Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge established.
  • Population: 496,938.^[18]
• 1991 - Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra formed.
• 1994
  • Marc Morial becomes mayor.
  • New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park created.
• 1995
  • Essence Music Festival begins.
  • May 1995 Louisiana flood
• 1998 - City website online (approximate date).^[38]
• 1999 - Voodoo Fest of music begins.

21st century

2000s

• 2000
  • National World War II Museum opens.
  • Six Flags New Orleans theme park opened (closed 2005); initially called Jazzland.
  • Population: 484,674.^[25]
• 2001 - New Orleans Bowl begins.
• 2002
  • Ray Nagin becomes mayor.
  • Hornets basketball team relocates to New Orleans.
  • New Orleans VooDoo football team formed.
• 2003
  • Iron Rail Book Collective founded.^[39]
  • Ogden Museum of Southern Art established.
  • John McDonogh High School shooting
• 2004 - Christmas Eve snowstorm
• 2005
  • August - Hurricane Katrina; levee failures.^[40][41]
  • September - Hurricane Rita.
  • Bring New Orleans Back Commission formed.
  • Big Easy Rollergirls established.
• 2006
  • World Cultural Economic Forum begins.^[42]
  • January - Chocolate City speech.
• 2008
  • Hurricane Gustav
  • Prospect New Orleans art exhibit begins.
  • Audubon Insectarium opens.
• 2009 - Joseph Cao becomes U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, Congress's first Vietnamese American member.

2010s

• 2010
  • Mitch Landrieu becomes mayor.^[43]
  • Population: 343,829.
• 2011 - Cedric Richmond becomes U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district.^[44]
• 2012
  • BlightStatus city app launched.^[45]
  • Hurricane Isaac's storm surge creates heavy flooding and widespread power outages.
• 2014 - Former mayor Nagin sentenced to prison.^[46]
• 2015 - 200th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of New Orleans.

See also

• History of New Orleans
• List of mayors of New Orleans
• List of National Historic Landmarks in Louisiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Orleans Parish, Louisiana
• Timeline of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• Timeline of Louisiana^[47]

References

1. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
2. Jewell 1874.
3. Norman 1845.
4. Illustrated visitors' guide to New Orleans, New Orleans: J. C. Waldo, 1879
5. Kendall 1922.
6. Britannica 1910.
7. Picayune 1904.
8. Charles Lyell (1849), A second visit to the United States of North America, London: J. Murray
9. 1840 U.S. Census list of the 100 most populous cities, accessed 07 Oct 2015.
10. New Orleans Public Library 2005.
11. "First German Lutheran Congregation of New Orleans records, 1838-1902". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
12. "Boston Club of New Orleans records, 1870-1966". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
13. Michel S. Laguerre (2005). "Hatians in the United States". In Melvin Ember; et al. Encyclopedia of Diasporas. Springer. p. 828+. ISBN 978-0-306-48321-9.
14. Lyceum 1858.
15. John E. Salvaggio (1992), New Orleans' Charity Hospital, Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, ISBN 0807116130, OCLC 25092784, 0807116130
16. "Swiss Society of New Orleans records, 1855-2010". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
17. "Act of Incorporation", Publications of the Louisiana Historical Society, New Orleans, Louisiana, 1902, OCLC 44160056
18. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
19. Federal Writers' Project 1938.
20. Huber 1997.
21. "New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club records, 1876-1985". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
22. "American and Western Photographic Societies", International Annual of Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, New York: E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, 1890
23. "New Orleans Street Railway Union records, 1902-1948". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
24. "Art Association of New Orleans records, 1913-1985". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
25. U.S. Census Bureau, "Mini-Historical Statistics: Population of the Largest 75 Cities: 1900 to 2000" (PDF), Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003
26. "New Orleans Library Club records, 1907-1980". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
27. "New Orleans YWCA records, 1911-1981". Tulane University. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
28. "50 U.S. Cities and Their Stories: New Orleans", American Influenza Epidemic of 1918-1919: a Digital Encyclopedia (University of Michigan), retrieved February 2016 (includes timeline)
29. "Broadmoor Improvement Association". Retrieved September 16, 2012.
30. "History". New Orleans: Bureau of Governmental Research. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
31. "Links to GRA Organizations". Rochester, NY: Governmental Research Association. Retrieved November 21, 2013.
32. "Louisiana Division". New Orleans Public Library. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
33. "VCPORA". Retrieved September 16, 2012.
34. Howard 1959.
35. "New Orleans Pharmacy Museum". Retrieved September 16, 2012.
36. "History of the Amistad Research Center". Retrieved September 16, 2012.
37. "Longue Vue Center for the Decorative arts in New Orleans opens House to Visitors". New York Times. April 27, 1980.
38. "Official City of New Orleans Website". Archived from the original on January 1999 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
39. "Iron Rail". Retrieved September 16, 2012.
40. "United States Profile: Timeline". BBC News. Retrieved October 2014.
41. "On This Day", New York Times, retrieved November 2014
42. "World Cultural Economic Forum". Retrieved September 16, 2012.
43. "Meet the Mayors". Washington, DC: United States Conference of Mayors. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
44. Michael Barone; Chuck McCutcheon (2011). Almanac of American Politics 2012. Washington, D.C.: National Journal Group. ISBN 978-0-226-03807-0.
45. "CivicInsight". Apps & APIs. Code for America. Retrieved June 2015.
46. Ex-New Orleans Mayor gets 10 years in prison, Reuters, July 9, 2014
47. Federal Writers' Project (1941). "Chronology". Louisiana: a Guide to the State. American Guide Series. NY: Hastings House. pp. 693–703.

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• New Orleans annual and commercial register of 1846, New Orleans: E.A. Michel & Co., 1845, OCLC 17557024
• Benjamin Moore Norman (1845), Norman's New Orleans and environs, New Orleans: B.M. Norman, OCLC 27113724
• Catalogue of the Library of the Lyceum and Library Society, First District, City of New Orleans, New Orleans: Printed by R. C. Kerr, 1858, OCLC 2582485
• "Mississippi River: New Orleans". James' River Guide ... Mississippi Valley. Cincinnati: U.P. James. 1860. 1871 ed.
• Charles Gardner (1861), Gardner's New Orleans directory for 1861, New Orleans: Compiled and published by C. Gardner
• Charles Gardner (1866), Gardner's New Orleans directory for 1866, New Orleans: Compiled and published by C. Gardner
• "New Orleans". Commercial Directory of the Western States. St. Louis: Richard Edwards. 1867.
• Edwin L. Jewell (1874), Jewell's Crescent City Illustrated, New Orleans
• Joseph Sabin, ed. (1881). "New Orleans". Bibliotheca Americana 13. New York. OCLC 13972268.
• Street railway guide to the city of New Orleans and its suburbs, New Orleans: Fountain & Christian, 1884, OCLC 6152208
• Historical sketch book and guide to New Orleans and environs, New York: W.H. Coleman, 1885

Published in the 20th century

• Robert C. Brooks (1901), "New Orleans", Bibliography of Municipal Problems and City Conditions, Municipal Affairs 5 (2nd ed.), New York: Reform Club, OCLC 1855351
• The Picayune's guide to New Orleans (6th ed.), New Orleans, La: The Picayune, 1904, OCLC 17833074
• "New Orleans", Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, 1910, OCLC 14782424 – via Internet Archive
• New Orleans Association of Commerce (1911), New Orleans, what to see and how to see it, New Orleans: Louisiana Printing Co., Ltd.
• Edward Hungerford (1913), "Old French Lady of the Riverbank", The Personality of American Cities, New York: McBride, Nast & Company
• John Smith Kendall (1922), History of New Orleans, Chicago: The Lewis publishing company, OCLC 1836396
• Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration for the city of New Orleans (1938). "Chronology". New Orleans City Guide. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
• Federal Writers' Project (1941). "New Orleans". Louisiana: a Guide to the State. American Guide Series. NY: Hastings House. p. 316+.
• L. Vaughan Howard; Robert S. Friedman (1959). Government in metropolitan New Orleans. Tulane Univ.
• Martin Siegel (1975), Howard B. Furer, ed., New Orleans: a Chronological & Documentary History, 1539-1970, American Cities Chronology Series, Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications, ISBN 0379006014
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "New Orleans", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• Leonard V. Huber (1997), New Orleans Architecture Vol III: Cemeteries, Pelican Publishing Company, ISBN 9781565542709, OCLC 58427192, 1565542703

Published in the 21st century

• New Orleans (3rd ed.), Melbourne: Lonely Planet, 2003, OL 23010391M
• Oren M. Levin-Waldman (2004). The Political Economy of the Living Wage: A Study of Four Cities. M.E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-0-7656-3705-5. (Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans)
• David Marley (2005), "United States: New Orleans", Historic Cities of the Americas 2, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, p. 565+, ISBN 1576070271
• "Guide to Genealogical Materials in the New Orleans Public Library's Louisiana Division & City Archives" (4th ed.). New Orleans Public Library. 2005.
• Anna Hartnell (2009), "Katrina Tourism and a Tale of Two Cities: Visualizing Race and Class in New Orleans", American Quarterly 61
• Raj Chetty; Nathaniel Hendren (2015), City Rankings, Commuting Zones: Causal Effects of the 100 Largest Commuting Zones on Household Income in Adulthood, Equality of Opportunity Project, Harvard University, Rank #99: New Orleans

External links

• Louisiana Historical Society. Resources for Research in New Orleans
• Frontline (2010), "Timeline: NOPD's Long History of Scandal", Law & Disorder (Public Broadcasting Service) (about New Orleans Police Department)
• Louisiana Association of Museums. List of Louisiana Museums
• Digital Public Library of America. Works related to New Orleans, various dates
• Europeana. Items related to New Orleans, various dates.

Coordinates: 29°58′00″N 90°03′00″W / 29.966667°N 90.05°W