Timeline of New Orleans

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

18th 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. 1724 - Code Noir implemented in Congo Square gave enslaved Africans Sundays off "to dance". 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 under Alejandro O'Reilly. 1768 - Population: 3.200. (approx). 1769 - New Orleans City Archives established. 1770s – 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 – Cabildo (seat of Spanish colonial city hall ) rebuilding completed.

19th century 1800s–1840s 1801 – 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. Population: 10,000. (approx). 1804 Orleans Gazette newspaper begins publication. The Territory of Orleans (future state of Louisiana) is established, with the seat of government in New Orleans. 1805 – New Orleans incorporated as a city 1806 – New Orleans Mechanics Society instituted. 1810 – Population: 17,242. 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. Théâtre d'Orléans opens. 1816 – First licensed pharmacist in the United States, Louis J. Dufilho Jr.New Orleans Pharmacy Museum, accessed 16 April 2017. 1817 – First Congregational Church built. 1818 – Fort Pike built. 1822 – Fort Macomb built. 1824 American Theatre built. Pontchartrain Hotel built at Spanish Fort. Camp Street Theatre becomes the first English language theater constructed in New Orleans. 1827 L’Abeille de la Nouvelle-Orléans newspaper begins publication. Algiers ferry in operation, which has run continuously to the present day. Students dance through the streets in masks in the first recognized New Orleans Mardi Gras. 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 and First Presbyterian Church built. St. Charles Theatre in operation. Convent of the Holy Family founded. 1836 City is divided into three municipalities, which system existed for about twenty years. St. Louis Hotel in business. Female Orphan Asylum in operation. 1837 The Picayune newspaper begins publication. U.S. economic recession begins with the Panic of 1837. Christ Church built. 1838 St. Charles Hotel in business. 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.) 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 and First German Lutheran Congregation established. 1841 The Boston Club formed. St. Augustine Church founded. 1842 St. Augustine Church dedicated. Holy Family Sisters founded. 1844 - 824 Canal Street built by James Gallier for Dr William Newton Mercer, a planter from Mississippi who served as a surgeon in the War of 1812. 1845 – City Hall built. 1846 Public School Library, 1st District, established. Jackson monument erected. 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. Flood.

1850s–1890s 1850's - St. Louis Cathedral rebuilding completed. 1852 Lafayette becomes part of city. Union Race Course opens. Touro Infirmary founded.

1853 City Park established. Major yellow fever epidemic. 1855 – Swiss Benevolent Society founded. 1856 Mistick Krewe of Comus founded. Last Island hurricane dumps 13 inches of rainfall on the city. Texas and New Orleans Railroad founded. 1857 Saint Alphonsus Church built. The Pickwick Club formed. 1859 French Opera House opens. Locust Grove Cemetery established. 1860 Louisiana Historical Society incorporated. St. Mary's Assumption Church built. Population: 168,675. 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. 1863 – New-Orleans Times newspaper begins publication. 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. 1870 Algiers and Jefferson City annexed. Leland College established. Population: 191,418. 1871 New Orleans Cotton Exchange established. Audubon Park established. 1874 Carrollton annexed. Battle of Liberty Place, white insurrection against the Reconstruction government. 1876 St. Roch Cemetery chapel dedicated. New Orleans Lawn Tennis Club and Athénée Louisianais founded. 1879 – Unsightly beggar ordinance effected. 1880 – Population: 216,090. 1881 – Southern University opens. 1882 - Flood. 1883 – Theatre built at Spanish Fort. 1884 – World Cotton Centennial held. 1886 Christ Church Cathedral founded. New Orleans Camera Club organized. 1887 – Howard Memorial Library built. 1889 – Louisiana Historical Association founded. 1890 Confederate Memorial Hall built. Commander's Palace restaurant opens. Jefferson City Buzzards Mardi Gras Marching Club formed and will live to become the oldest marching club. Population: 242,039. 1891 Jackson Brewery building constructed. Liberty Monument erected. Italian troubles of 1891. 1892 New Orleans Union Station opens. Street Railway Union established. June – Homer Plessy arrested. 1892 New Orleans general strike.

1893 Electric streetcars begin operating. The Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel opens as Hotel Grunewald. 1894 – U.S. Naval Station built. 1895 1895 New Orleans dockworkers riot Hennen Building completed. 1896 – Fisk Free and Public Library opens. 1897 – Storyville district established. 1898 - City Board of Health created. 1900 Robert Charles Riots Art Association of New Orleans founded. Development of Garden District concluded. Population: 287,104.

20th century 1900s–1940s 1901 – Louisiana hurricane causes much flooding in the city, due partly to the overflowing Carondelet Canal. 1904 – Loyola College established. 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. 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. 1910 – Population: 339,075. 1911 – Delgado Museum of Art and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of New Orleans established. 1914 – Audubon Zoo established. 1915 Xavier College established. 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. (includes timeline) Arnaud's restaurant in business. 1919 – The French Opera House is destroyed by fire 1920 Broussard's restaurant in business. Population: 387,219. 1921 Delgado Central Trades School opens. Orpheum Theater in operation. Hibernia Bank Building constructed. 1922 - WWL radio begins broadcasting. 1923 WDSU radio begins broadcasting. Notre Dame Seminary founded. Roosevelt Hotel in business. Industrial Canal Lock built. Isidor "Izzy" Einstein investigates the city's adherence to Prohibition. 1924 New Orleans Item-Tribune newspaper begins publication. Women's "Petit Salon" organized. 1925 WSMB radio begins broadcasting. Lakeview Presbyterian Church built. 1926 WBNO and WJBW radio begin broadcasting. State Palace Theatre built. Tulane Stadium opens. 1927 Saenger Theatre opens. First National Bank of Commerce Building constructed. Pontchartrain Hotel in business. Rainiest Mardi Gras ever Good Friday Flood St. Bernard Parish and east bank of Plaquemines Parish flooded by demolition of the Caernarvon levee. 1928 – Pontchartrain Beach amusement park opens. 1929 National American Bank Building constructed. New Orleans streetcar strike. 1930 Dillard University chartered. Municipal Auditorium opens. Broadmoor Improvement Association formed. Population: 458,762. 1932 – Bureau of Governmental Research established. 1933 O'Brien's in business. Krewe Rex cancels parade due to weather - only time. 1935 – Sugar Bowl begins. 1936 – New Orleans Botanical Garden opens. 1937 – New Orleans Roosevelt Review begins publication. 1938 Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament begins. Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents, and Associates preservation group incorporated. 1939 Charity Hospital built. Lincoln Beach amusement park in business. 1943 - New Orleans Opera Association formed. 1946 Moisant International Airport opens. Foreign trade zone established in the Port of New Orleans. 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. 1948 - WDSU-TV (television) begins broadcasting. 1949 – Middle South Utilities in business.

1950s–1990s 1950 – New Orleans Pharmacy Museum opens. 1951 - St. Augustine High School opens to educate African-American young men preparing for college. 1953 - WJMR-TV (television) begins broadcasting. 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.