Archaeology
San Patrice Culture
This entry covers the San Patrice culture during the Late Paleoindian and Early Archaic Periods, 8800–6000 BCE.
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
Tchefuncte Culture
Tchefuncte culture flourished in Louisiana during the Early Woodland Period from 800 BCE to 1 CE.
Archaeology
Los Adaes
The history of the fort, mission, and settlement of Los Adaes reflects both intercolonial rivalry and cooperation among the Spanish, French, and Native Americans who lived along the border of New Spain and French Louisiana.
Architecture
Architecture IndexArchitecture
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception serves as the seat of the Diocese of Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Architecture
Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern Louisiana University, founded in 1925 as Hammond Junior College, was brought into the state system of higher education in 1928.
Architecture
St. Francis Cabrini Church
Badly damaged by the levee failure following Hurricane Katrina, St. Francis Cabrini Church was demolished despite the efforts of preservation advocates.
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.
Art
Art IndexArt
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.
Art
Syndey Byrd
South Louisiana's musical traditions and Carnival celebrations fueled photographer Syndey Byrd's work for more than thirty years.
Art
Louis Oscar Griffith
Artist Louis O. Griffith was not a native of Louisiana, but he discovered its charms on a visit to New Orleans and proceeded to depict the city in his artwork.
Art
Federal Art and Writers Projects
The Federal Art Project and Federal Writers Project helped employ out-of-work artists and writers during the Great Depression.
Business & Industry
Business & Industry IndexBusiness & Industry
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.
Business & Industry
Liberty Theatre
The historic theater in Eunice entertained generations as a movie theater, vaudeville house, and home of Rendez-vous des Cajuns.
Business & Industry
L’Union
The South’s first Black newspaper, L’Union was an abolitionist journal that promoted full citizenship rights for men of African descent.
Business & Industry
Louisiana Film Industry
An early participant in the industrialization of film exhibition, distribution, and production, Louisiana adopted the moniker “Hollywood South” in the early twenty-first century.
Disasters
Disasters IndexDisasters
Hurricane Camille
Hurricane Camille struck coastal Mississippi in mid-August of 1969, marking the first designated Category 5 storm and one of Louisiana’s most storied tropical weather events.
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
Grand 16 Theater Shooting
The Grand 16 Theater Shooting was a 2015 mass shooting in Lafayette that left three dead and injured nine, catapulting the city into a national discussion about gun control.
Disasters
Hurricane Rita
Making landfall in Cameron Parish on September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most-intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
Folklife
Folklife IndexFolklife
Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog
Louisiana's state dog has a distinctive look and personality
Folklife
John Lomax
John Avery Lomax was a folklorist and musicologist who, with his son Alan Lomax, made the first recording of the Louisiana blues guitarist Huddie Ledbetter (Lead Belly) at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.
Folklife
Louisiana Folktales
Louisiana’s folktales have been influenced by Indigenous peoples and the many cultural and ethnic groups that have immigrated to the state.
Folklife
All Saints Day
All Saints Day or All Hallows Day is a Catholic tradition honoring the saints and also deceased family members each November 1.
Foodways
Foodways IndexFoodways
Creole Cream Cheese
Creole cream cheese is a silky, slightly tart cheese used in sweet and savory dishes throughout Louisiana.
Foodways
Crawfish Boils
Crawfish boils are a springtime ritual in Louisiana.
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
Stuffed Shrimp
Popularized in the late 1950s, stuffed shrimp is a signature dish of Shreveport.
Geography
Geography IndexGeography
Natchitoches Settlement
The Natchitoches settlement, founded in 1714, is the oldest in the Louisiana Territory.
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
Bayou Teche
Before railroads and highways, Bayou Teche served as an important transportation route deep into the fertile interior of south-central Louisiana.
Geography
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.
Government, Politics & Law
Government, Politics & Law IndexGovernment, Politics & Law
Edwin T. Merrick
Edwin T. Merrick served as the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1855 to 1865.
Government, Politics & Law
Louisiana's Secession from the Union
Louisiana seceded from the Union on January 26, 1861, although many in the state opposed the decision.
Government, Politics & Law
Charles Phillipe Aubry
Charles Aubry was the last French governor of Louisiana before it reverted to Spanish control.
Government, Politics & Law
Charles A. O'Niell
Charles A. O'Niell served as the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1922 to 1949.
History
History IndexHistory
Vietnamese
Vietnamese Americans are one of the newest major ethnic groups in Louisiana
History
Colfax Massacre
In 1873 white Louisianans responded to Reconstruction policies with violence, resulting in the Colfax Massacre.
History
Comité des Citoyens
The Comité des Citoyens was an equal rights organization formed in 1891 that played a key role in the events leading up to Plessy v. Ferguson.
History
Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlerec
French naval officer Louis Billouart, Chevalier de Kerlerec served as governor of Louisiana between 1753 and 1763.
Literature
Literature IndexLiterature
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.
Literature
Nature Writing
From the time of colonial exploration to the present, Louisiana’s landscape has inspired a rich variety of nature writing.
Literature
Henry Clay Lewis
Henry Clay Lewis trained as a doctor in Louisiana and also contributed to the nineteenth-century literary genre of southwestern humor.
Literature
Drama/Playwriting
Louisiana drama, like all Louisiana literature, is a rich and diverse subject.
Music
Music IndexMusic
Joe Robichaux
Traditional jazz and early rhythm and blues pianist Joe Robichaux may be best remembered as bandleader of the New Orleans Rhythm Boys.
Music
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.
Music
Kid Howard
Avery “Kid” Howard began his musical career in New Orleans, performing with the Eureka Brass Band and the Tuxedo Brass Band before going on to lead his own group, the Kid Howard Brass Band.
Music
Jim Robinson
New Orleans jazz musician Jim Robinson's consistency and appealing sound made him one of the most prominent trombonists of his time.
Peoples of Louisiana
Peoples of Louisiana IndexPeoples of Louisiana
Isleños
Louisiana's Isleños descend from Canary Islanders who immigrated to the southeastern part of the state in the late 1700s, when Spain ruled the colony.
Peoples of Louisiana
Natchez Indians
The Natchez are an American Indian group that lived along the Lower Mississippi River during the rise of European colonialism.
Peoples of Louisiana
Cajuns
Cajuns are the descendants of Acadian exiles from what are now the maritime provinces of Canada–Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island–who migrated to southern Louisiana.
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.
Religion & Spirituality
Religion & Spirituality IndexReligion & Spirituality
Cypress Grove Cemetery
The Cypress Grove Cemetery in New Orleans has a monumental entrance gate suggesting a triumphal passage from one world to the next.
Religion & Spirituality
Jimmy Swaggart
Called the "King of Honky Tonk Heaven" by Newsweek in 1982, Ferriday's Jimmy Swaggart was America's most popular televangelist in the 1980s.
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
Archbishop Joseph Rummel
Archbishop Joseph Rummel was among the first religious leaders in Louisiana to proclaim the immorality of racism and ordered the desegregation of Catholic schools 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
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
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
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
Ralph Dupas
Ralph Dupas emerged from humble beginnings in New Orleans to become a world champion boxer
Sports & Recreation
Bill Dickey
Baseball great William Malcolm "Bill" Dickey, a native of Bastrop, was a Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees.
Sports & Recreation
Johnny Wright
New Orleans native Johnny Wright was one of the first African American baseball players to sign with the Brooklyn Dodgers, but he never reached the major leagues.
Sports & Recreation
Leon Barmore
Before his retirement in 2002, basketball coach Leon Barmore led the Lady Techsters from Louisiana Tech University to nine Final Four appearances.
