Archaeology
Tchefuncte Site
An archaeological site on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain helps researchers understand Tchefuncte culture from 600 to 200 BCE
Encyclopedia
Entry IndexArchaeology
Archaeology Index
Archaeology
Archaeology of the New Orleans Area
In New Orleans archaeological explorations span 2,500 years of history
Archaeology
Caddo Culture
This entry covers prehistoric Caddo culture during the Late Woodland and Mississippi Periods, 900–1700 CE
Archaeology
LSU Campus Indian 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.
Architecture
Architecture IndexArchitecture
Thomas Kelah Wharton
Louisiana artist and architect Thomas Wharton is best known for the writings and sketches he kept in a daybook.
Architecture
Old State Capitol
Designed by architect James H. Dakin, Louisiana’s Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge is among the state's most distinctive architectural landmarks.
Architecture
Laura Plantation
Laura Lacoul Gore, the namesake of Laura Plantation, left a memoir that proved to be an important resource for the restoration of the house.
Architecture
Mile Branch Settlement
Structures typical of Washington Parish's early rural homesteads were added to the parish's fairgrounds in 1976.
Art
Art IndexArt
Philip Gould
Lafayette-based photographer Philip Gould is a prolific and award-winning documentarian of Louisiana's landscapes and culture.
Art
Christopher Harris
Based in New Orleans from 1969 to 1989, Christopher Harris worked as a freelance photojournalist, capturing dynamic, striking black-and-white images.
Art
George Febres
Artist, curator, and gallery owner George Febres helped lead the resurgence of New Orleans as a regional art center beginning in the 1970s.
Art
Donn Young
Like many photographers, Donn Young has built an assignment-driven professional career balanced with projects of personal interest done for no other client than himself and the general public.
Business and Industry
Business and Industry IndexBusiness and Industry
Oil and Gas Industry in Louisiana
The oil and gas industry has been a dominant economic engine in Louisiana for well over a century
Business and Industry
Standard Oil
In the early 1900s, the Standard Oil Company of Louisiana built one of the largest refineries in the world in Baton Rouge.
Business and Industry
Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
One of the worst environmental disasters in US history
Business and 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
Hurricane Betsy
In September 1965, Hurricane Betsy, one of the deadliest and costliest storms in US history, made landfall near New Orleans.
Disasters
Hurricane Rita
Making landfall in Cameron Parish in Louisiana on September 24, 2005, Hurricane Rita was the fourth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded.
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.
Folklife
Folklife IndexFolklife
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.
Folklife
Cajun Folklife
Cajun folklife is a field of study that describes, catalogs, and deciphers meaning within the vernacular culture of Acadian refugees who settled in Louisiana.
Folklife
Courir de Mardi Gras
The courir de Mardi Gras is the rural celebration of Mardi Gras in Louisiana, usually held in Cajun communities
Folklife
Mardi Gras Indians
Mardi Gras Indians have become recognizable symbols of New Orleans's unique local culture, yet remain closely tied to their specific communities and traditions.
Foodways
Foodways IndexFoodways
Po-Boy Sandwich
The so-called poor boy (po-boy) sandwich originated from the Martin Brothers' French Market Restaurant and Coffee Stand in New Orleans during the 1929 streetcar strike.
Foodways
Crawfish Boils
Crawfish boils are a springtime ritual in Louisiana.
Foodways
Tabasco Sauce
Tabasco is a popular brand of pepper sauce products and related items manufactured by McIlhenny Company, a privately held, family-owned business headquartered on Avery Island, Louisiana.
Foodways
Gumbo
Gumbo is a thick soup that can be considered the signature dish of south Louisiana.
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
Neutral Strip
The Neutral Strip existed outside the governance of either the United States or Spain until 1821.
Geography
Florida Parishes of Louisiana
A portion of Louisiana was once the western extremity of colonial Florida
Geography
Natchitoches Settlement
The Natchitoches settlement, founded in 1714, is the oldest in the Louisiana Territory.
Government & Politics
Government & Politics IndexGovernment & Politics
Francis T. Nicholls
Francis Nicholls served two nonconsecutive terms as governor of Louisiana from 1877 to 1880, and again from 1888 to 1892.
Government & Politics
Frank Summers
Frank Summers served as the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1979 to 1980.
Government & Politics
Pierre Sidrac Dugue de Boisbriand
Canadian explorer Pierre Sidrac Dugue de Boisbriand, one of the founding fathers of colonial Louisiana, served as acting governor of Louisiana between February 1725 and March 1727.
Government & Politics
Antoine de la Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac
Antoine de La Mothe, Sieur de Cadillac served as the governor of Louisiana from 1713 to 1716.
History
History IndexHistory
Luther Hall
Before becoming governor of Louisiana, a position he held from 1912 until 1916, Luther Hall served as a state senator, a district judge, and a state appellate court judge.
History
Buddy Roemer
Charles "Buddy" Roemer III served as the governor of Louisiana from 1988 to 1992.
History
Filles à la Cassette
The filles à la cassette (translated in English as “casket girls”) is the name given to French girls who migrated to Louisiana in 1728 to marry colonists already living in Louisiana.
History
Plessy v. Ferguson
One of Louisiana's most famous legal cases, Plessy v. Ferguson joins Dred Scott v. Sanford; (1857) and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) as key rulings on the US civil rights timeline.
Literature
Literature IndexLiterature
Elmore Leonard Jr.
Louisiana author Elmore Leonard, Jr. writes crime fiction and westerns.
Literature
Nature Writing
From the time of colonial exploration to the present, Louisiana’s landscape has inspired a rich variety of nature writing.
Literature
Truman Capote
New Orleans-born author Truman Capote wrote the first nonfiction novel, "In Cold Blood" in 1966.
Literature
Federal Writers Project
The Federal Writers Project in Louisiana produced oral histories, local guidebooks, and other writings between 1935 and 1939.
Music
Music IndexMusic
Black Gospel Music
African American Gospel music incorporates elements of both black vernacular and sacred music, including blues, hymnody, spirituals, the folk church, and even popular song.
Music
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is the only musician-owned and collaboratively managed full-time symphony orchestra in the United States.
Music
Dennis McGee
Dennis McGee was the most influential of all twentieth-century Cajun fiddle players, having directly taught or indirectly influenced three generations of fiddlers.
Music
Octave Crosby
Octave Crosby's Original Dixieland Jazz Band was, for a time, the house band at the legendary Paddock Lounge on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Religion & Spirituality
Religion & Spirituality IndexReligion & 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
Voudou
Voudou, a synthesis of African religious and magical beliefs with Roman Catholicism, emerged in New Orleans in the 1700s and survives in active congregations today.
Religion & Spirituality
Henriette Delille
Henriette Delille was a free Afro-Creole woman who founded sodalities, or religious sororities, for women of African descent that dedicated themselves to the care of the poor, the enslaved, and free people of color.
Religion & Spirituality
Black Gospel Music
African American Gospel music incorporates elements of both black vernacular and sacred music, including blues, hymnody, spirituals, the folk church, and even popular song.
Sports & Recreation
Sports & Recreation IndexSports & Recreation
John Dane III
Louisianan John Dane III is a competitive sailor who has won championships at the helm of numerous sailing vessels.
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.
Sports & Recreation
Negro Leagues of Louisiana
The Negro Leagues were the network of African-American baseball teams and players from the 1880s to the integration of baseball in 1946–47.
Sports & Recreation
Robert Parish
Shreveport native Robert Parish was the calm, collected, confident center on the Boston Celtics NBA championship teams in the 1980s.
