Archaeology
Troyville Culture
Dating to the Late Woodland Period, from 400 to 700 CE, the Troyville Culture is named for an archaeological site in Catahoula Parish.
Archaeology
Archaeology Index
Archaeology
LSU Campus Mounds
The LSU Campus Mounds are two Native American earthworks from the Middle Archaic Period located on the grounds of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Archaeology
Evans Culture
This entry covers the prehistoric Evans culture during the Middle Archaic Period, 6000–2000 BCE.
Archaeology
Poverty Point Culture
This entry covers prehistoric Poverty Point culture during the Late Archaic period, 2000–800 BCE.
Architecture
Architecture IndexArchitecture
Centenary State Historic Site
The Centenary State Historic Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Architecture
Henry Hobson Richardson
Louisiana-born architect H. H. Richardson is one of the most notables American architect of the late nineteenth century.
Architecture
Charles and James Dakin
Louisiana architects Charles Dakin and James Dakin designed the Old State Capitol building in Baton Rouge, as well as the St. Charles Hotel in New Orleans, among other projects.
Architecture
Ursuline Convent
The old Ursuline Convent remains as the only French colonial structure in the French Quarter known to have survived the fires of 1788 and 1794 and one of the oldest buildings in the Mississippi Valley.
Art
Art IndexArt
Ambrose Duval
French artist Ambrose Duval achieved success as a miniature portrait painter in New Orleans in the early nineteenth century.
Art
Sadie Irvine
Artist and educator Sarah Agnes Estelle "Sadie" Irvine is considered by many scholars to be the leading figure in the influential Newcomb Pottery movement.
Art
Owen F. Murphy Jr.
Owen F. Murphy, Jr. established his standing as one of New Orleans' most respected documentary photographer with his portrayal of Louisiana Creole culture.
Art
Gaither Troutman Pope
Painter Gaither Troutman Pope is best known for his landscapes of Louisiana's prairies and dark swamps influenced by nineteenth-century Luminist painters.
Business & Industry
Business & Industry IndexBusiness & Industry
Julien de Lalande Poydras
Julien de Lalande Poydras was a Point Coupée Parish plantation owner, banker, political leader, and philanthropist who was a pivotal figure in the early history of Louisiana.
Business & Industry
Flint-Goodridge Hospital
Flint-Goodridge Hospital opened in 1896 to serve New Orleans’s Black community and provide medical training for Black nurses and physicians at a time when other hospitals denied services to Black people.
Business & Industry
Salt Mining
Louisiana is home to 128 identified salt domes, including the coastal dome now known as Avery Island.
Business & Industry
First Louisiana Oil Well
Exploitable petroleum deposits were found in Louisiana in 1901, changing the state's economy and landscape forever.
Disasters
Disasters IndexDisasters
Cheniere Caminada Hurricane
A late-season hurricane struck Cheniere Caminada in early October 1893, becoming one of Louisiana’s deadliest hurricanes.
Disasters
Hurricanes in Louisiana
Louisiana hurricanes have played an essential role in the state’s history from colonization through the present and are as memorable as the places and people they impact.
Disasters
Pan Am Flight 759 Crash
On July 9, 1982, wind shear caused Pan Am Flight 759 to crash into the New Orleans suburb of Kenner, killing 153 people.
Disasters
Great Flood of 1927
The Flood of 1927 inundated nearly 26,000 square miles in 170 counties and parishes in seven states, driving an estimated 931,159 people from their homes.
Folklife
Folklife IndexFolklife
1873 Comus Parade
Mardi Gras of 1873 provided the occasion for a bold display of political commentary and costume artistrly by the Mystick Krewe of Comus.
Folklife
New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
Founded in 1970, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, known as Jazz Fest, draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to experience the music, cuisine, and cultural heritage of Louisiana.
Folklife
St. Joseph Altars
Catholic Louisianans of Sicilian descent erect altars laden with fresh produce, baked goods, and other foods to honor Saint Joseph.
Folklife
Brown Pelican
Declared locally extinct in 1963, the brown pelican population rebounded in the state due to efforts by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
Foodways
Foodways IndexFoodways
Snoballs
Once peddled by street vendors who hand shaved large blocks of ice, snoballs remain a favorite frozen summertime treat.
Foodways
Muffuletta Sandwich
The muffuletta–a mammoth sandwich of round sesame bread layered with Genoa salami, ham, mortadella, cheese, and olive salad–is a signature dish of New Orleans.
Foodways
Jambalaya
A rice-based mixture of meats and/or seafood along with vegetables, herbs, and spices, jambalaya is a representative dish of South Louisiana.
Foodways
Stuffed Shrimp
Popularized in the late 1950s, stuffed shrimp is a signature dish of Shreveport.
Geography
Geography IndexGeography
Fontainebleau State Park
The Fontainebleau State Park bears the name of Bernard de Marigny's sugar plantation, which formerly occupied this site and was itself named after the estate of the French king Francois I.
Geography
Freeman and Custis Red River Expedition
An American effort to explore the Louisiana Purchase territory was hindered by a log jam on the Red River and two hundred Spanish troops.
Geography
Slidell
Surveyed and platted in 1883 for the New Orleans and Northeastern Railroad, Slidell was named for John Slidell, Confederate ambassador to France and U.S. congressman.
Geography
Neutral Strip
The Neutral Strip existed outside the governance of either the United States or Spain until 1821.
Government, Politics & Law
Government, Politics & Law IndexGovernment, Politics & Law
Populism
In the late nineteenth century, Populist Party advocates railed against the prevailing system and urged cooperation among oppressed peoples to secure reform.
Government, Politics & Law
Francisco Luis Hector, baron de Carondelet
Francisco Luis Hector, baron de Carondelet served as governor of the Spanish colonies of Louisiana and West Florida between 1791 and 1797.
Government, Politics & Law
Bernette Joshua Johnson
The first African American chief of the state’s judiciary
Government, Politics & Law
Frank Summers
Frank Summers served as the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1979 to 1980.
History
History IndexHistory
Louisa Lamotte
A Creole of color who became a pioneering scholar of education in France
History
Taensa Tribe
One of Louisiana's pre-contact indigenous groups
History
William “Bill” Russell
Bill Russell was one of the most prominent figures in the study and documentation of traditional New Orleans jazz.
History
Mary Ann Patout
Mary Ann Patout was an important figure in the Louisiana banking and sugar industries.
Literature
Literature IndexLiterature
A Streetcar Named Desire
In 1947 playwright Tennessee Williams premiered A Streetcar Named Desire, a critically acclaimed theatrical work that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948.
Literature
Arna Wendell Bontemps
Arna Wendell Bontemps, a distinguished contributor to the writings of the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Alexandria, Louisiana.
Literature
Ruth McEnery Stuart
Ruth McEnery Stuart was one of the most prominent Louisiana writers of short stories and poetry in the late nineteenth century.
Literature
Marcus Christian
Marcus Christian was a Louisiana writer, folklorist, and historian, known as the author of poems which satirize Jim Crow laws.
Music
Music IndexMusic
Goldband Records
Goldband Records was a nationally recognized music label with a unique catalog of music spanning several genres, including western swing, “hillbilly” string band, Cajun, zydeco, rhythm and blues, and rockabilly.
Music
Louisiana Record Labels
With its diverse musical heritage, Louisiana has been home to many important record labels.
Music
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
The Dirty Dozen Brass Band began in 1977 as the Dirty Dozen Social and Pleasure Club by blending the music and culture of traditional New Orleans brass bands with social and pleasure club second lines.
Music
Andrew Jefferson
Andrew Jefferson was a New Orleans traditional jazz and brass band drummer and vocalist.
Peoples of Louisiana
Peoples of Louisiana IndexPeoples of Louisiana
Italians
Between 1880 and 1914, New Orleans was a principal port of entry for Italians migrating to the United States.
Peoples of Louisiana
Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb
The Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb is Louisiana’s second-largest tribe, with more than seven thousand enrolled citizens.
Peoples of Louisiana
Quapaw Tribe
The Quapaw Indians, whose four villages were located along the Arkansas River, were military allies and trade partners of colonial Louisianans.
Peoples of Louisiana
Les Petites Nations
Approximately forty ethnically and politically distinct North American Indigenous polities located in the Gulf Coast region and lower Mississippi River valley made up les petites nations.
Religion & Spirituality
Religion & Spirituality IndexReligion & Spirituality
White Gospel Music
White gospel music, also known as Southern gospel, represents a widespread aspect of US culture.
Religion & Spirituality
St. Mark's Community Center
St. Mark's Community Center, a settlement house run by Methodist deaconesses, opened its doors in New Orleans in 1909 and continues to operate today.
Religion & Spirituality
St. Peter Street Cemetery
Thousands of New Orleans’s eighteenth-century residents are interred at the site of the St. Peter Street Cemetery in the French Quarter.
Religion & Spirituality
Spiritualism
Spiritualism, a practice centered on communicating with the spirits of the dead, influenced several religious groups in Louisiana.
Science & Technology
Science & Technology IndexScience & Technology
Coastal Restoration
For a state experiencing land loss at an alarming rate, coastal restoration has become an urgent need.
Science & Technology
Coastal Land Loss
The gradual loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands is a slow-moving disaster largely set in motion by a series of human interventions in natural processes.
Science & Technology
World War II Industrialization in Louisiana
The United States’ entry into World War II spurred Louisiana’s recovery from the economic doldrums of the Great Depression.
Science & Technology
Freeman and Custis Red River Expedition
An American effort to explore the Louisiana Purchase territory was hindered by a log jam on the Red River and two hundred Spanish troops.
Sports & Recreation
Sports & Recreation IndexSports & Recreation
Linda Tuero
New Orleans's Linda Tuero was a collegiate and professional tennis champion in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Sports & Recreation
Robert Parish
Shreveport native Robert Parish was the calm, collected, confident center on the Boston Celtics NBA championship teams in the 1980s.
Sports & Recreation
Joe Brown
Boxer Joe Brown made his professional debut at age seventeen at the Victory Arena in New Orleans.
Sports & Recreation
J. D. Mooney
Jockey J. D. Mooney was the son of a riverboat captain and horse breeder from New Orleans.