Archaeology
Tchefuncte Culture
Tchefuncte culture flourished in Louisiana during the Early Woodland Period from 800 BCE to 1 CE.
Archaeology
Archaeology Index
Archaeology
Coles Creek Culture
Once covering most of Louisiana, the Coles Creek culture is known for its distinctive ceremonial mound sites.
Archaeology
Caddo Culture
This entry covers prehistoric Caddo culture during the Late Woodland and Mississippi Periods, 900–1700 CE.
Archaeology
Native American Mounds
Louisiana boasts some of the most significant Native American earthen monuments in North America and ranks second only to Mississippi in the number of mound sites.
Architecture
Architecture IndexArchitecture
Moise H. Goldstein
A native of New Orleans, Moise Goldstein practiced architecture in the city for nearly half a century and helped create the School of Architecture at Tulane University.
Architecture
Emile Weil
Known for the vast range of buildings he designed, Emile Weil played an important role in Louisiana';s architecture in the first third of the twentieth century.
Architecture
Presbytere
Along with the Cabildo and St. Louis Cathedral, the Presbytere figures as a major component in New Orleans' Jackson Square.
Architecture
Houmas House Plantation
Houmas House Plantation in Darrow is an excellent example of the peripteral type of Greek Revival architecture in which the main structure is surrounded by grand columns, each with an uninterrupted span from ground level to the roofline.
Art
Art IndexArt
Jacques Amans
French artist Jacques Amans was the leading portraitist in New Orleans during the 1840s and 1850s.
Art
Philip Gould
Lafayette-based photographer Philip Gould is a prolific and award-winning documentarian of Louisiana's landscapes and culture.
Art
Coushatta Baskets
The skills of the Coushatta Tribe’s contemporary basket weavers have elevated this centuries-old utilitarian craft to a highly valued art form showcased in private and museum collections nationwide.
Art
Kendall Shaw
For six decades, Kendall Shaw's art literally and metaphorically has incorporated complex layers of history, reflecting extended passages of time, his process, life experiences, and the changing styles and directions of the American art world.
Business & Industry
Business & Industry IndexBusiness & Industry
Shreve Town Company
The Shreve Town Company was a for-profit business venture that led to the establishment of what is today known as Shreveport, the largest city in northwest Louisiana.
Business & Industry
Port of Lake Charles
The Port of Lake Charles opened in 1926 and remains one of the country’s most active oil, gas, and petrochemical transportation hubs.
Business & Industry
Freeman & Harris Café
Freeman & Harris Café was a Black-owned restaurant that served as a pillar of Black social, cultural, and political life in Shreveport.
Business & Industry
D. H. Holmes
For one hundred forty years, D. H. Holmes served as a shopping destination for generations of New Orleanians, growing from a small dry goods shop to an enormous consumer emporium.
Disasters
Disasters IndexDisasters
Mechanics’ Institute Massacre of 1866
Following the Civil War, an attempt to amend the state’s constitution to grant Black men the vote provoked a deadly reaction from white supremacists, sparking national outrage and significant reforms.
Disasters
Lake Peigneur Drilling Accident
An oil drilling operation at Lake Peigneur accidentally punctured a salt dome, creating a sinkhole that swallowed barges and caused the Delcambre Canal to flow backwards.
Disasters
Cancer Alley
Located along the Mississippi River in southeast Louisiana, Cancer Alley is home to the highest concentration of heavy industry in the United States, with residents reporting high rates of cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and autoimmune disease.
Disasters
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.
Folklife
Folklife IndexFolklife
Cajun Dance Halls
Cajun dance halls–salles de danse– are live music venues where dancing, courtship, and community building transpire.
Folklife
Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog
Louisiana's state dog has a distinctive look and personality
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.
Folklife
Baby Dolls
The Baby Dolls were one of the first women's street masking groups in the United States. The practice continues today as a living legacy.
Foodways
Foodways IndexFoodways
Freeman & Harris Café
Freeman & Harris Café was a Black-owned restaurant that served as a pillar of Black social, cultural, and political life in Shreveport.
Foodways
Réveillon
Rooted in nineteenth-century Creole traditions, the réveillon has experienced a modern-day remaking in New Orleans restaurants.
Foodways
Crawfish Étouffée
One of Louisiana’s renowned dishes, crawfish étouffée is typically comprised of crawfish cooked in its own juices with other seasonings and served over rice.
Foodways
Elmer Candy Company
Elmer Candy Company, the oldest family-owned chocolate company in the United States, is known for its trio of egg-shaped chocolate confections as well as originating the line of CheeWees savory snacks.
Geography
Geography IndexGeography
Red River Raft
The Great Raft was a thousand-year-old logjam in the Red River that prevented transportation downriver to New Orleans.
Geography
Bayou Teche
Before railroads and highways, Bayou Teche served as an important transportation route deep into the fertile interior of south-central Louisiana.
Geography
Sherwood “Woody” Gagliano
Woody Gagliano sounded the alarm on Louisiana’s coastal land loss crisis and worked with his colleagues for decades to remedy the problem.
Geography
Bourbon Street
The origins of the notorious adult playground
Government, Politics & Law
Government, Politics & Law IndexGovernment, Politics & Law
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal, the fifty-fifth governor of Louisiana, served from 2008 to 2016.
Government, Politics & Law
Louisiana Farmers’ Union
An interracial organization formed at the height of the Great Depression, the Louisiana Farmers’ Union sought to provide assistance to Louisiana farmers.
Government, Politics & Law
Japanese Internment in Louisiana
The US government forcibly interned around twelve hundred Japanese American citizens and Japanese residents at Camp Livingston during World War II.
Government, Politics & Law
Alexandre Mouton
Alexandre Mouton, the first Democratic governor of Louisiana, served from 1843 to 1846.
History
History IndexHistory
Calas
Fried rice cakes known as calas were once ubiquitous among New Orleans street vendors.
History
Reconstruction
The post-Civil War period in US history is known as the Reconstruction era, when the former Confederacy was brought back into the Union.
History
La Salle Expeditions
René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle, led two expeditions in search of the Mississippi Rivers outlet to the Gulf of Mexico for France under King Louis XIV.
History
Battle of Liberty Place
The Battle of Liberty Place, September 14, 1874, effectively brought an end of Reconstruction policies in Louisiana.
Literature
Literature IndexLiterature
Victor Séjour
Victor Séjour’s 1837 story “Le Mulâtre” is considered the first work of published fiction by an African American writer.
Literature
Eliza Ripley
Eliza Ripley recounts life in antebellum Louisiana, focusing on the habits and customs of typical upper-class New Orleans households.
Literature
James Lee Burke
James Lee Burke is the author of detective fiction set in Louisiana.
Literature
Tom Dent
Tom Dent was a New Orleans poet, playwright, journalist, and researcher known for his contributions to literature and the Black Arts and civil rights movements.
Music
Music IndexMusic
William Christopher “W. C.” O’Hare
Known as the “Father of Ragtime in Shreveport,” William Christopher “W. C.” O’Hare was a white composer, orchestra leader, and music teacher who served as an important link between Black and white musical cultures.
Music
Bunk Johnson
Bunk Johnson was a trumpeter and one of the leaders of the New Orleans jazz revival in the 1930s.
Music
Swamp Pop
Swamp pop music combines New Orleans-style rhythm and blues, country and western, and Cajun and black Creole music.
Music
Nellie Lutcher
Nellie Lutcher was a renowned singer and pianist from Lake Charles.
Peoples of Louisiana
Peoples of Louisiana IndexPeoples of Louisiana
Ishak Indigenous People
The Ishak are an Indigenous people who have lived in southwest Louisiana and southeastern Texas since precolonial times.
Peoples 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
Creoles
The term "Creole" has long generated confusion and controversy. The word invites debate because it possesses several meanings, some of which concern the innately sensitive subjects of race and ethnicity.
Peoples of Louisiana
Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana is the largest of four federally recognized tribal governments in Louisiana.
Religion & Spirituality
Religion & Spirituality IndexReligion & 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
St. Louis Cemeteries No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3
Established in 1789, St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest cemetery in the city of New Orleans.
Religion & Spirituality
Judaism in Louisiana
Jewish people have greatly contributed to Louisiana’s culture and economy as philanthropists, civic and educational leaders, business owners, and art patrons.
Religion & Spirituality
King Cake
A round, braided cake consumed during the Carnival season across Louisiana, especially in New Orleans.
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
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.
Science & Technology
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.
Science & Technology
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.
Sports & Recreation
Sports & Recreation IndexSports & Recreation
Will Clark
Will Clark hit a home run in his first major league at bat off a pitch from future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan.
Sports & Recreation
Joe Delaney
Louisianan Joe Delaney played with the Kansas City Chiefs after a record-setting turn at Northwestern State in Nachitoches.
Sports & Recreation
Rusty Staub
Major League Baseball player Rusty Staub was raised in New Orleans and attended Jesuit High School before being becoming one of the New York Mets; most popular players and a six-time All-Star.
Sports & Recreation
Risen Star
Sired by Secretariat and owned by Ronnie Lamarque and Louis Roussel III, Risen Star was one of the most successful racehorses ever to come out of Louisiana.
