Episode 142

History of New Orleans

🎙️

Join Scott and Jenn as they delve into the captivating history of New Orleans in this engaging episode of Talk With History.

From the origins of the city in 1718 by Jean Baptist Limon to the cultural melting pot that it is today, the episode covers critical historical events like Napoleon's sale of the Louisiana Territory, the Battle of New Orleans, and the evolution of Mardi Gras. Follow along as they visit landmarks like Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, Cafe Du Monde, and the Cabildo, while exploring the unique architectural styles and vibrant music scene that make New Orleans one-of-a-kind.

This episode is a must-watch for history buffs and anyone intrigued by the fascinating blend of cultures that define New Orleans.

00:00 Introduction

01:28 Early History of New Orleans

03:04 Exploring New Orleans' Unique Culture

04:57 French and Spanish Influences

10:45 Jackson Square and Café du Monde

13:46 The Birthplace of Jazz

28:03 Mardi Gras Traditions

32:53 Conclusion

🎥 Visit New Orleans


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Transcript
Jenn:

Napoleon needs money.

Jenn:

And so he sells the Louisiana territory to our third president, Thomas Jefferson,

Jenn:

one of the best deals ever made.

Jenn:

So think of Storyville, a very historic place of New Orleans where

Jenn:

prostitution was legal and people would come to New Orleans for a good time.

Jenn:

You have these cats, I call them cats, Louis Armstrong.

Jenn:

It's born in this.

Jenn:

Area this, this sound is born in this area.

Jenn:

So anytime they tried to bury people in the ground, as soon as the river

Jenn:

would rise, people would float up and they would be like seeing like

Jenn:

grandma float down the streets.

Scott:

Welcome to Talk With History.

Scott:

I'm your host, Scott Griff, my wife and historian Jen.

Jenn:

Hello.

Scott:

On this podcast we give you insights to our history inspired

Scott:

while travel's YouTube channel journey, and examine history.

Scott:

Now, before we get into our main topic, I do want to ask for some

Scott:

reviews on Apple podcasts and Spotify.

Scott:

We've been getting some more five star reviews on Spotify, which is always nice.

Scott:

Our Apple podcast listeners, you guys gotta, you guys gotta keep it up.

Scott:

You guys got to keep it up.

Scott:

So you got to stay in the lead to our Apple podcast listeners.

Scott:

Uh, those reviews really do help kind of give us some street cred and, uh,

Scott:

we really do appreciate the feedback.

Scott:

Imagine 1699 Pierre Lemon navigated the murky water.

Scott:

waters of the Mississippi Delta in his wooden vessels cutting

Scott:

through cypress draped bayous.

Scott:

The humid air clung to his skin as a native guide pointed out

Scott:

passages through the swampland.

Scott:

This place breathes both life and danger, he wrote in his journal, where water and

Scott:

land Seemed locked in eternal negotiation.

Scott:

By 1718, his younger brother, Jean Baptist Limon, established the

Scott:

settlement that would become New Orleans.

Scott:

The early colonists faced a landscape both bountiful and brutal rich soil,

Scott:

deposited by the mighty Mississippi, but threatened by its floods.

Scott:

They learned to build on slightly elevated ground, creating a crescent

Scott:

shaped settlement that worked the river's natural patterns.

Scott:

They learn from the indigenous peoples about local plants and wildlife,

Scott:

essential knowledge for survival, the deadly summer, fever seasons,

Scott:

now known to be yellow fever.

Scott:

Decimated the population, with newcomers particularly vulnerable.

Scott:

Despite these hardships, a unique culture blossomed.

Scott:

Enslaved Africans brought agriculture, expertise in cultivating rice and indigo.

Scott:

The port's strategic position made it a crossroads of trade and culture where

Scott:

French Spanish, African, and indigenous influences merged into something entirely

Scott:

new, creating the foundations for the vibrant, resilient city that would emerge

Scott:

from those humble, struggling beginnings.

Scott:

All right, gents, so we got to go down to New Orleans because we have

Scott:

some friends that are Kind of from the area and are deeply involved in

Scott:

things like Mardi Gras, but we made a video kind of about the history of new

Scott:

Orleans, and this is a classic talk with history topic, the history of a place.

Scott:

So let's, let's talk a little bit about new Orleans, its origins and, and where.

Scott:

It's evolved from the 1600s really to today.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

So it's, it's a very basic history video of New Orleans.

Jenn:

We don't go real deep because we're just giving you like a little taste

Jenn:

of it because there's a lot there.

Jenn:

And like, Yeah.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

The opening tells you this is one of the places that is so influenced by

Jenn:

so many different cultures and They all come together in this mixing pot

Jenn:

to create like the Creole Culture and it is very interesting to see

Jenn:

how unique that is to the area.

Jenn:

There's no place else like New Orleans in America.

Jenn:

So like you said, it's founded by the French, John Baptiste.

Jenn:

And that name, you'll remember Sacagawea is going to name her son that like,

Jenn:

it's just so influential in those French trappers at the time, these people who

Jenn:

came over first and Explored the area, but it's founded in 1718, and it's named

Jenn:

for Philip II, the Duke of Orleans.

Jenn:

So it's named for him.

Jenn:

And you hear people say it so many different ways.

Jenn:

No, I've heard Nolans.

Jenn:

I've heard New Orleans.

Jenn:

I've heard New Orleans.

Jenn:

So.

Jenn:

I'm sure locals will have a certain way it's supposed to be said, uh, and I'm

Jenn:

sure there's a French way it's supposed to be said, but that'll show you how

Jenn:

much all these different cultures are mixing here in one location.

Jenn:

Uh, it's under French rule until 1763, whereas Spain will take over

Jenn:

the governing of the territory.

Jenn:

And from 1763 to 1802, it's very much Spanish influenced.

Jenn:

And both of these cultures really have a lot of Catholic influence.

Jenn:

So you're going to see that in New Orleans as well.

Jenn:

Mardi Gras, we'll talk more about that.

Jenn:

goes back to the French, back to Napoleon, the French first

Jenn:

republic from 1802 to 1803.

Jenn:

But if you, if you're a historian, you know, the Haitian revolution

Jenn:

is going on at that time.

Jenn:

And the French, uh, are the governing body of Haiti.

Jenn:

And with the Haitian revolution, they need money to fight that.

Jenn:

And so.

Jenn:

Napoleon needs money.

Jenn:

And so he sells the Louisiana territory to our third president, Thomas Jefferson, and

Jenn:

probably one of the best deals ever made.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

And

Scott:

it really was, we kind of did a little segment on how you can see

Scott:

the influences still today of both the French and the Spanish, you know,

Scott:

it's, it really, I mean, you want to talk about a melting pot of culture.

Scott:

This is a melting pot of generational cultures that are still overseas, right?

Scott:

French and Spanish and you know, kind of the native, it

Scott:

turned into this Cajun thing.

Scott:

And it's super interesting.

Scott:

We talk about, um, we kind of show you the street signs that

Scott:

are on the building walls.

Scott:

They have these tiles, right?

Scott:

And obviously those are a bit more modern, but there.

Scott:

They're done in that style.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

Like if you go to Paris and you walk around, the street signs are put on the

Jenn:

side of the building so you can walk.

Jenn:

They're not like on poles, on signs.

Jenn:

They're on the side of the building and they also put them on tiles in

Jenn:

the sidewalk and it's just something that's unique to this, that Spanish

Jenn:

French culture that's different and.

Jenn:

Influence still today, the architecture is going to have that same kind of influence,

Jenn:

the food, the music and the religion.

Jenn:

So it's just so much culture there.

Jenn:

That's so different.

Jenn:

We'll touch on all of those.

Jenn:

And that's why this video is just like a touch on those things.

Jenn:

But, uh, I've been to New Orleans before you've been to New Orleans before.

Jenn:

This was the first time we did it together.

Jenn:

And we brought the kids with us.

Jenn:

So it really was a great experience.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

We got to stay relatively close down to kind of like the touristy area.

Scott:

So, I mean, we were less than a mile, maybe half a mile

Scott:

from kind of the whole, um,

Jenn:

French quarter,

Scott:

French quarter and Jackson square and cafe DuMont.

Scott:

And it was, it was just super fun to be able to take the kids there because we did

Scott:

dinner one night and that it was a very.

Scott:

culturally inspired menu, which was difficult with kids sometimes, but

Scott:

it was, it was good to try it, try something a little bit different.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

And I recommend if you're going to stay in New Orleans for your first time and

Jenn:

really get a taste of it, stay close to the French Quarter cause you want to walk.

Scott:

Yeah.

Jenn:

It is a walking town.

Jenn:

It is not a driving town.

Jenn:

I don't even know where you would park close to the French Quarter.

Jenn:

It's better to have a hotel that has parking and then you

Jenn:

just leave your car and walk.

Jenn:

It's.

Jenn:

Very easily walkable.

Jenn:

I know sometimes you look at the map and go, Oh, that's a couple

Jenn:

blocks, but those blocks go by so fast and everybody's walking.

Jenn:

There's so much to see.

Jenn:

It really is.

Jenn:

The culture is set up for a walking town, a walking city.

Jenn:

So don't be intimidated by that.

Jenn:

That's what it's meant to do.

Jenn:

And my friends who are more locals to the area, Because the food is so rich

Jenn:

and because there's so much of it, the walking culture helps negate that.

Scott:

It totally does.

Scott:

It totally does.

Scott:

I mean, we had dinner downtown, down in the French Quarter a couple times.

Scott:

And, uh, in walking back to the hotel, again, maybe about a

Scott:

mile, a little less than that.

Scott:

Um, really did kind of help just your stomach process all of that, like

Scott:

rich food that you're eating with this rich sauce or whatever it was, right?

Scott:

You know, some things are a little bit sweeter than, than

Scott:

you're typically used to.

Scott:

And where we were staying, um, I don't remember what the hotel was, but there

Scott:

was a public parking garage that wasn't too bad, you know, that you could stay.

Scott:

And what's that main drag that we were on just outside the French Quarter?

Scott:

Um, Canal Street.

Jenn:

Canal Street.

Jenn:

So, and know that the names change once you cross Canal.

Jenn:

We were essentially on Bourbon, but that's not the name of the

Jenn:

street after you cross Canal.

Jenn:

It's a different name.

Jenn:

So make sure you're looking at a map while you're there because the names change.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

So, so you can stay kind of outside the French Quarter.

Scott:

Like I'd say we were like two or three blocks from Canal Street and

Scott:

that's totally reasonable to do.

Scott:

I mean, our youngest is nine.

Scott:

She's going to turn 10 soon.

Scott:

And, and walking, you know, over to the French Quarter with the

Scott:

kids was very, very reasonable.

Scott:

So highly recommend doing something like that with, if you're trying to do it

Scott:

with a family, even if you're just doing it by yourself, parking's not too bad.

Scott:

I mean, we're, you can get all day parking, overnight parking

Scott:

in a local public parking garage.

Jenn:

And it was safe for the kids to walk.

Jenn:

And I will say if you pass Canal Street a little way from the

Jenn:

French Quarter, it's quieter.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

Because New Orleans is a city that really doesn't sleep.

Jenn:

either.

Jenn:

And so if you're going to be down on Bourbon, I mean, Cafe

Jenn:

Du Monde is open 24 hours.

Jenn:

So there are a lot of places down there open 24 hours.

Jenn:

So they just expect that lifestyle.

Jenn:

People have come there to have a good time.

Jenn:

And so if you're looking for quiet and family, I would

Jenn:

recommend staying off the quarter.

Scott:

Yeah, so those are the places to stay.

Scott:

Those are the places that we recommend to park.

Scott:

So let's talk a little bit more about some of like the more popular history spots.

Jenn:

So we started at the Jackson Square.

Jenn:

So Jackson Square is that big open area, like a park area, right in

Jenn:

the center of the French Quarter.

Jenn:

And it's named for Andrew Jackson, our seventh president, because he was the

Jenn:

leader of the Battle of New Orleans.

Jenn:

And it's this historic landmark.

Jenn:

It's been a historic landmark since 1960.

Jenn:

So you have that equestrian statue of Jackson in the middle, and it's about the

Jenn:

size of one city block and it has iron.

Jenn:

uh, fencing all around it.

Jenn:

That statue dates back from 1856.

Jenn:

So this has been here for a long time and you get all these

Jenn:

artists and street performers of New Orleans and it's really fun.

Jenn:

They stay outside of that gate.

Jenn:

But they're all registered there.

Jenn:

So when you walk by, you can see their art, you can buy their art

Jenn:

and you can get caricatures drawn.

Jenn:

You can have your, your palm read.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

They've got street performers, jugglers, you know, all the, all the kind of

Scott:

classic fun stuff, but the squares is kind of bookended on each side by the

Scott:

cathedral, which we'll talk a little bit more about and then the river.

Scott:

So you can actually do a little bit of like the river walk there.

Scott:

Um, and then Café du Monde is, is kind of catty corner to it.

Scott:

And we'll, we'll talk a little bit more about that as well.

Jenn:

Sure.

Jenn:

So just know that the Battle of New Orleans is, that's where

Jenn:

Andrew Jackson makes his name.

Jenn:

That's why he's there in the middle of the square.

Jenn:

And that was a battle from the War of 1812 that essentially happens

Jenn:

after the war is over, but the news hasn't gotten to America yet.

Jenn:

And It's a tremendous success for America.

Jenn:

I mean, the Americans are outnumbered, but in the end they, the Jackson

Jenn:

is overwhelmingly successful.

Jenn:

Only 70 Americans die as opposed to 2000 British.

Jenn:

And he really makes his name for himself.

Jenn:

I would say he becomes president because of this battle.

Jenn:

So that's why it's named for him.

Jenn:

That's why his statue's in the middle.

Jenn:

But yes, we walked over to Cafe Du Monde.

Jenn:

I built it up for the kids.

Jenn:

It's very.

Jenn:

Fun place to go.

Jenn:

It's a landmark of New Orleans.

Jenn:

It is the oldest coffee shop in New Orleans and they sell, um, beignets,

Jenn:

which beignets are French donuts.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

Essentially like it's like a donut square, right?

Scott:

So it doesn't actually, it's not a circle, right?

Scott:

It's just a square of the same kind of stuff with powdered sugar.

Jenn:

Tons of powdered sugar.

Jenn:

It's really good.

Jenn:

and coffee.

Jenn:

And so if they take cash, so make sure you have cash,

Scott:

cash only,

Jenn:

cash only, but it's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Jenn:

And I know there will usually be a line, but it moves quickly.

Jenn:

And if you go into the back area where there's like a little alleyway, you

Jenn:

can look through the window where they actually make the beignets and

Jenn:

it's neat to watch them do that.

Jenn:

And we have a video of our daughter doing that.

Jenn:

So we.

Jenn:

ate there.

Jenn:

It's just a staple of New Orleans.

Jenn:

It's a great place to go.

Jenn:

And from there, we walked around and looked at like the architecture and

Jenn:

some of the influence of New Orleans.

Jenn:

So no, you know, New Orleans claims to be the birthplace of jazz.

Jenn:

And because I had talked about all this different culture

Jenn:

coming together in New Orleans.

Jenn:

it makes sense for why it's the birthplace of jazz.

Jenn:

They say in 1835, the enslaved would congregate around Jackson

Jenn:

square and play music on Sundays.

Jenn:

And then in the mid 1910s, um, this ragtime brass instruments start to kind of

Jenn:

take shape and it's influenced by, again, the enslaved songs, the Spanish culture,

Jenn:

the French culture, and this musical.

Jenn:

influence that comes from the area was kind of like a good time area.

Jenn:

So think of Storyville is a very historic place of New Orleans where

Jenn:

prostitution was legal and people would come to New Orleans for a good time.

Jenn:

And so this is the type of music they would play.

Jenn:

with that good time kind of idea.

Jenn:

And so jazz, you have these cats, I call them cats, Louis Armstrong.

Jenn:

It's born in this area.

Jenn:

This this sound is born in this area.

Jenn:

And so they claim to be the birthplace of jazz.

Jenn:

So you can hear jazz coming out of different places that you walk by.

Jenn:

It's very cool.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

And there's always like kind of street bands and stuff like that performing

Scott:

all throughout that whole area.

Scott:

So.

Scott:

You, there's no, no escaping, you know, the, the, the jazz in that area.

Scott:

Cause you're always going to have somebody performing, you know,

Scott:

something or, I think the very first time that I ever visited was I was

Scott:

doing a Navy school, not too far away, visited city for the weekend.

Scott:

And I ended up like in jazz festival, I think it was April ish and, um,

Scott:

and jazz festival was even more so.

Scott:

There was.

Scott:

Uh, literally a jazz band on every other street corner.

Scott:

And so you're just walking around eating crawfish, getting sunburned,

Scott:

all that, all the fun stuff.

Jenn:

That's super cool.

Jenn:

So as we walked around that area, the first, one of the first things you're

Jenn:

going to see is, um, a statue of Joan of Arc and she's a big golden statue.

Jenn:

She, that statue was put up in 1999, but she is the maid of Orleans.

Jenn:

And that's why it's on there because in 1425, you know, she's 13 years old.

Jenn:

She hears those voices.

Jenn:

That are telling her to, uh, provide aid to Charles II in the hundred

Jenn:

Years War, and she's a successful leader of that battle, uh, and

Jenn:

drove the English out of Orleans.

Jenn:

So that's why she is the maid of Orleans now.

Jenn:

She's captured in 1430.

Jenn:

She's killed in 1431, uh, and for, for heresy, and she's burned at the stake.

Jenn:

So a lot of that again.

Jenn:

religion, witchcraft kind of thing that's kind of around New Orleans.

Jenn:

Uh, but she's becomes a patron saint and New Orleans really embraces

Jenn:

her as the maid of New Orleans.

Jenn:

So there's a really cool statue to her right there off of Jackson Square.

Jenn:

And as we walked down one of the streets, so much of the architecture is just so

Jenn:

different and unique that I wanted to talk about it because a lot of it has to

Jenn:

do with Mardi Gras and people standing on the second stories of these buildings.

Jenn:

And what are they standing on?

Jenn:

There's different names for if it's at a balcony or if it's a gallery, a balcony

Jenn:

will not have any kind of braces that come down to the second, to the first floor.

Jenn:

Gallery has those long stanchions or braces that come all the way down to the

Jenn:

first floor and provide more structure.

Jenn:

Sometimes they're a little longer, they can stick out a little longer

Jenn:

because they're more sturdy.

Jenn:

And you'll see people throwing beads from there, especially

Jenn:

during Mardi Gras, or you'll see people up there having a good time.

Jenn:

And so that's just a lot of that architecture of New Orleans, a

Jenn:

balcony or gallery depends on if it's coming, if the structure comes

Jenn:

all the way down to the first floor.

Jenn:

But we also talk about shotgun houses,

Scott:

which

Jenn:

is also very unique to New Orleans.

Jenn:

Now you'll see them in other areas of the South.

Jenn:

They really are unique to a lot of the houses in New Orleans, which basically

Jenn:

is rooms just flooding into other rooms.

Jenn:

All the way to the back door.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

So, so for our listeners, if you picture it in your mind, if you walked in the

Scott:

front door, let's say you'd walk into the living room and there's no rooms

Scott:

veering off to the right or the left.

Scott:

If you walk straight ahead, you do not turn at all.

Scott:

You're going to walk through, say the living room, then the kitchen,

Scott:

then a bedroom, then another bedroom or something like that.

Scott:

So you're just walking in a straight line.

Scott:

Through the house and you're passing through each room along the way.

Scott:

So that's what they mean when they say shotgun house.

Scott:

And I had actually heard this term before, but until I made the video

Scott:

and kind of found a good picture example online for those watching, um,

Scott:

I'll kind of put that up, but, uh, I hadn't really realized what it was.

Scott:

It was really interesting because that's just not in America.

Scott:

Like that's not the typical home style.

Jenn:

Well, it's interesting because there's no privacy.

Jenn:

Right.

Jenn:

You have to walk through a bedroom to go to another bedroom.

Jenn:

Usually you have to walk through all of the bedrooms to go to the bathroom.

Jenn:

And there's one bathroom.

Jenn:

So it's just one of those homes that's built for necessity and easy.

Jenn:

I say the ease, the easiness of the construction.

Jenn:

but it's not a, there's no privacy there.

Jenn:

So, you know, you're, this family is close and, uh, but now they've just so

Jenn:

become such a cultural icon that people have really built them up and they, they,

Jenn:

they just, they uphold that authentic.

Jenn:

So you can still see how neat it is to kind of go from room to room

Jenn:

to room, but just make sure you're really close with the people.

Jenn:

If you're going to Airbnb or Shotgun, because you're going to be

Jenn:

walking through everyone's bedroom.

Scott:

It's definitely something you're going to do with the family.

Scott:

Maybe the parents are staying in the back room.

Scott:

The kids are staying in the, in the, in the front room,

Jenn:

but we went, I really thought it was important.

Jenn:

This, this two other, this, this.

Jenn:

more other structures on Jackson Square.

Jenn:

One of them is St. Louis Cathedral.

Jenn:

And this cathedral has been around since, since 1718.

Jenn:

It was when it was first built, but there was a big fire in New Orleans in 1788.

Jenn:

And so it was rebuilt in the 1850s.

Jenn:

So what you see today is the rebuilt 1850 cathedral, but it's named

Jenn:

for, of course, the King of France.

Jenn:

And it's just another one of those landmarks of Jackson Square.

Jenn:

So when you see the equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson, usually it's a It's

Jenn:

silhouetted behind by St. Louis Cathedral.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

And it

Scott:

looks like something straight out of a Disney movie, right?

Scott:

If you're looking at the front of it, it is a classic cathedral look to it.

Scott:

Very kind of Catholic style and we got to go in, they have like a whole museum

Scott:

in there and everything like that.

Scott:

It was pretty neat.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

So.

Jenn:

Bear in mind how much the Catholic influences are in

Jenn:

Louisiana in general, right?

Jenn:

Louisiana is named for the King of France and their counties are called parishes.

Jenn:

So when you hear different parishes, you're like, what is that?

Jenn:

It's not churches.

Jenn:

They're talking about the counties of Louisiana.

Jenn:

I think it's the only state that names its counties parishes.

Jenn:

So just.

Jenn:

Bear that in mind, right beside the St. Louis Cathedral is the

Jenn:

Cabildo and the Cabildo was the original city hall of Louisiana.

Jenn:

I recommend going in there.

Jenn:

It is a cost, but it's, it's.

Jenn:

It's not that much.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

It was

Scott:

like 10 bucks a person, maybe a little less.

Jenn:

But there's the things to, you want to be, if you want to walk in

Jenn:

history, that's the building you want to go into because that's where the papers

Jenn:

for the Louisiana purchase came to.

Jenn:

That's where they were ratified.

Jenn:

That's where they actually like stamped them and like.

Jenn:

This, this is the validation that we own this territory.

Jenn:

Now, uh, they have Napoleon's death mask in there.

Jenn:

They have a huge painting of Napoleon in there.

Jenn:

What I thought was really neat is they have, uh, the original tombstone

Jenn:

for Homer Plessy and Plessy.

Jenn:

is going to bring that landmark Supreme Court case against, um, Ferguson

Jenn:

and it goes to the Supreme Court.

Jenn:

And this is where that separate but equal decision is made by the Supreme Court.

Jenn:

This is an 18 96.

Jenn:

And Plessy is a free man of color who buys a ticket for a white only railroad car in

Jenn:

Louisiana, and he's not allowed to ride.

Jenn:

And so he takes the state to court.

Jenn:

It goes all the way to the Supreme Court and Supreme Court upholds it.

Jenn:

And that's where that separate but equal comes from.

Jenn:

And that's the law until it's overturned by Brown versus the

Jenn:

Board of Education in 1954.

Jenn:

But this man and his influence in New Orleans and Louisiana is felt in American

Jenn:

history and his tombstone is in there.

Scott:

So it says it right on there.

Scott:

Plessy versus Ferguson.

Scott:

Right.

Scott:

And, and again, here in the United States, that's, that's a case

Scott:

that we all classically learn in our U. S. history classes.

Jenn:

And I recommend if you've never been to New Orleans before, do a cemetery tour.

Jenn:

They are so neat.

Jenn:

And the culture is so unique to Louisiana.

Jenn:

So in Louisiana, you can't, and in New Orleans and specifically,

Jenn:

you can't be buried in the ground.

Jenn:

They're too close to sea level.

Jenn:

I'd say within 10, within like 10 feet.

Jenn:

So anytime they tried to bury people in the ground, as soon as the river

Jenn:

would rise, people would float up and they would be like seeing their

Jenn:

grandma float down the street.

Jenn:

So people got, Oh my gosh, what can we do?

Jenn:

And so they started to bury people above ground in these tombs.

Jenn:

And What happens in New Orleans, because it's so hot, if you've ever been to

Jenn:

the South, is they bury people in these tombs, or I would say bury, they entomb

Jenn:

them in these tombs for a year and a day in just plain clothes, wrapped in

Jenn:

like a burlap sack, and in a year and a day, they open the tomb and you're

Jenn:

like, Oh my gosh, what will they find?

Jenn:

I'll tell you.

Jenn:

They just find bones.

Jenn:

After a year and a day, no matter when you are entombed, after that

Jenn:

full year cycle and the heat of New Orleans, it's basically like an oven.

Jenn:

And after a year and a day, when they open it up and that's part of their funeral

Jenn:

culture is Nothing is left but your bones.

Jenn:

So they celebrate that and you'll see those kind of funeral lines where

Jenn:

they have the umbrella and they're dancing, they're celebrating their dead.

Jenn:

And so they open it up, they bring the bones out, they celebrate that.

Jenn:

And then they put the bones back in the tomb and they go back into a

Jenn:

shoot in the very back of the tomb.

Jenn:

And that tomb is, Reused by family.

Jenn:

And so if you look on a tomb and it has like 15, 16 names and you're like,

Jenn:

how can they all be in that one box?

Jenn:

All their bones are in that box.

Jenn:

And so the question is what happens if two people from the

Jenn:

same family die in the same year?

Jenn:

A lot of people rent out the tombs right next to them or below them

Jenn:

because their family member hasn't died.

Jenn:

And so you can rent out those.

Jenn:

And after a year and a day when your bones are pulled out,

Jenn:

you're just put in your families.

Scott:

Oh, I didn't know that.

Jenn:

Tomb.

Jenn:

So there.

Jenn:

Their funeral culture is so unique and different and it

Jenn:

has so much history around it.

Jenn:

I definitely recommend doing that tour and that's what they have in the Cabildo.

Jenn:

They have Homer Plessy's face plate of his tomb, his first one,

Jenn:

because they've had to replace it.

Jenn:

And so that first one is in the Cabildo.

Jenn:

And William McKinley, the very first sitting president to visit

Jenn:

New Orleans in 1901, will speak from that second floor of the Cabildo.

Jenn:

So it's kind of neat to to be there and stand there and know

Jenn:

that he made that speech there.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

So he's kind of speaking out towards Jackson square from the, from the

Scott:

Cabildo, which is really neat.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

It's, it's the old city hall from 1795 to 1799.

Jenn:

So there's just a lot of history about prisoners in there and, and different

Jenn:

court cases that were in there.

Jenn:

So it's just a neat place.

Jenn:

Again, if you're with your family, if you want to see something

Jenn:

historic like that, do that.

Jenn:

But if.

Jenn:

This is your first visit to New Orleans.

Jenn:

I definitely recommend doing a cemetery tour.

Jenn:

They're right there off of the French Quarter.

Jenn:

You'll hear the St. Louis number one, St. Louis number two.

Jenn:

That's kind of what they're named.

Jenn:

And, uh, and it's really neat to go and do those.

Scott:

And there's lots of little things that you can do just walking

Scott:

around the French Quarter, right?

Scott:

We went into an old bookshop.

Scott:

They've got tons of art galleries, tons of art galleries, and, and.

Scott:

These are like the artists, we, we talked to the artist in this one art gallery and

Scott:

he's, he's like, Hey, do you like my art?

Scott:

We're like, Oh my gosh, I didn't, we didn't realize it was his.

Scott:

And I was talking to Jen and said, Hey, I didn't realize like his

Scott:

art, just such a thing down here.

Scott:

And part of it's the culture.

Scott:

And part of it is this is just a, this is actually a worldwide destination, right?

Scott:

There's people from all over the world that are visiting

Scott:

this part of the United States.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

And like you said, there's so much.

Jenn:

Like you had opened with the initial, the person who first visited

Jenn:

there and how it was such a unique combination of water and land and how

Jenn:

they're kind of fighting for that.

Jenn:

That's what's always happened in Louisiana, in that area.

Jenn:

So, so much of that vegetation and that.

Jenn:

Life is captured on canvas.

Jenn:

And so it is really beautiful to see that.

Jenn:

And so, yeah, you can purchase the art right there and buy it.

Jenn:

And some of those artists have gone on to become very famous.

Jenn:

So you could be on the ground floor getting some of that influential art.

Scott:

Yeah, it was.

Scott:

It was really, really neat and like there's even fun things that you can

Scott:

kind of talk to talk to the kids about because I think one of the alleys

Scott:

next to the cathedral they call it Pirate's Alley because, you know,

Scott:

kind of legend goes that back in the day that's where pirates would be or

Scott:

they would, you know, somebody stayed there and there's specific names to it.

Scott:

I didn't look too deeply into it for the video because this again, this

Scott:

was kind of just a taste of kind of classic historic New Orleans went for

Scott:

a run down there and it was awesome because you could run along the river.

Scott:

They have like a steamboat type thing.

Scott:

Um, that you can jump on if you want to.

Scott:

So just lots of really fun, classic tourist, uh, kind of cultural experiences

Scott:

that you can go out and find there.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

And we were there for Mardi Gras.

Jenn:

So Mardi Gras is New Orleans.

Jenn:

People always know it for Mardi Gras, right?

Jenn:

And it, it means fat Tuesday.

Jenn:

Like that's what Mardi Gras means.

Jenn:

And so this is the lead up to Lent again, all this.

Jenn:

Catholic influence there.

Jenn:

And it began, it usually, it coincides with carnival and

Jenn:

it usually begins in January.

Jenn:

It was brought to America in 1699 and the first parade takes

Jenn:

place in New Orleans in 1837.

Jenn:

But We have friends who are big into this culture.

Jenn:

It's just really big into tradition.

Jenn:

And there's certain families that have upheld this tradition

Jenn:

for years and generations, and they do these elaborate floats.

Jenn:

They have themes.

Jenn:

Sometimes they're gender specific, only men and only women.

Jenn:

They have to stay masked the entire time, but know that.

Jenn:

The whole attitude is abundance.

Jenn:

So when you go to these parades, you're getting the best beads, the

Jenn:

best light up things, the little, like they're not throwing out chintzy stuff.

Jenn:

They're throwing out the best things.

Jenn:

And so when you, it's, it's abundance and these.

Jenn:

parade people who do this for, you know, a part of their culture

Jenn:

and lifestyle, they make sure that you get the abundance of it.

Jenn:

So it was so neat to see these floats before they went out and we

Jenn:

sat in the throne for who is going to be like their grand Marshall.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

So essentially we have some friends that kind of help.

Scott:

Help run one of the main parades that go through.

Scott:

Um, and so they invited us out to kind of like a locals only

Scott:

and they call them a crew.

Scott:

K R E W E. So we got invited to kind of like the, the crew.

Scott:

I said this is like basically a week or two before the main Mardi Gras events.

Scott:

And so we got to go to this warehouse and see all the floats before

Scott:

they were getting ready to be.

Scott:

You know, toad through New Orleans and all this stuff.

Scott:

And I guess Shaq was supposed to be this year's, um, a kind of,

Scott:

I don't know what they call him.

Jenn:

Yeah.

Jenn:

It's not, I forget the name, but it's like a grand marshal.

Scott:

Yeah.

Scott:

He's kind of like grand marshal for this, for this was the Bacchus crew, right?

Scott:

That's what our friends do.

Scott:

And um, it was really, really neat.

Scott:

And talking to people about the different floats and, and.

Scott:

learning how they have kind of the different stages of how much

Scott:

they help out and all this stuff.

Scott:

It was really, really cool.

Scott:

And it's not just.

Scott:

What you've kind of heard, you know, it's not just drinking and all that stuff.

Scott:

There's, you know, formal balls and there's all this stuff that they're

Scott:

doing and they've been doing this for generations which was really neat

Scott:

and then each crew kind of ends with a certain thing and they all kind

Scott:

of have their own way of Doing this that and the other because really

Scott:

need to be able to learn about that that piece of New Orleans history I

Jenn:

mean, they're very dedicated and it's It's wrought in

Jenn:

tradition, and they make sure it's carried out to a tee every year.

Jenn:

They want people to experience this, and it's part of their

Jenn:

celebration of their culture.

Jenn:

Um, the colors, you know, I think people know the colors of New

Jenn:

Orleans are kind of like This yellow, green, and purple, that's kind of

Jenn:

like the Mardi Gras colors as well.

Jenn:

And they have like the king cake and there's certain kind

Jenn:

of pastries and things that are associated with Mardi Gras.

Jenn:

So it was really neat to go there and to see it firsthand.

Jenn:

We ended up eating with the kids at this place called the court.

Jenn:

two sisters and it's been around.

Jenn:

It's also very traditional place 1726 there in New Orleans and they have a

Jenn:

gate there blessed by Queen Isabella who was the Queen of Spain and that

Jenn:

you'll get charm if you touch the gate you'll be charming and That

Jenn:

courtyard is famous for Marie Laveau.

Jenn:

She's the voodoo princess of New Orleans.

Jenn:

And they say she did some of her rituals at night by the wishing well there.

Jenn:

It's also known for pirates.

Jenn:

I think it's pirate Lafitte was out there doing duels

Jenn:

underneath the willow tree there.

Jenn:

So if you want to go to a place and eat and sit in the courtyard like we

Jenn:

did and eat some French cuisine and be surrounded by some French history.

Jenn:

It was right there on Royale Street.

Jenn:

It was a really great place to sit and eat.

Jenn:

It was recommended by our Mardi Gras friends.

Jenn:

And, uh, I definitely recommend if you're going to go there and you want

Jenn:

to be in a historic place to partake of that French, you know, French cuisine.

Jenn:

It's definitely the place to be

Scott:

as we wrap up our journey through the rich history of New Orleans.

Scott:

I hope you're inspired to experience this unique city for yourself.

Scott:

The spirit of those early settlers lives on in the vibrant music

Scott:

echoing through the French Quarter.

Scott:

The distinctive Creole and Cajun flavors that tantalize your taste buds, and

Scott:

the resilient community that has faced countless challenges, yet continues to

Scott:

celebrate life with unmatched exuberance.

Scott:

When you visit New Orleans, take time to wander beneath the Spanish moss

Scott:

draped oaks in City Park, explore the historic above ground cemeteries that

Scott:

tell stories of generations past, and lose yourself in the rhythm of a city.

Scott:

second line parade.

Scott:

Sample a steaming bowl of gumbo or indulge in powdery beignets at Café du Monde.

Scott:

Each experience connects you directly with the diverse cultural threads that have

Scott:

been woven together over three centuries.

Scott:

The city that began as a struggling outpost in a swamp has transformed

Scott:

into a cultural treasure unlike any other in America.

Scott:

Yet despite all its changes, New Orleans maintains that same cultural

Scott:

fusion that defined its earliest days.

Scott:

It remains a place where history isn't just preserved in museums,

Scott:

it's lived daily through traditions passed down through generations.

Scott:

So until next time, laissez bon temps rouler.

Scott:

Let the good times roll.

Jenn:

Thank you.

Scott:

It's like, uh, Talladega Nights, where he's like, first

Scott:

time he gets interviewed.

Scott:

This has been a Walk With History production.

Scott:

Talk With History is created and hosted by me, Scott Benny.

Scott:

Episode researched by Jennifer Benny.

Scott:

Check out the show notes for links and references.

Scott:

Mentioned in this episode, talk With History is supported by our

Scott:

fans at the history road trip.com.

Scott:

Our eternal thanks.

Scott:

Go out to those providing funding to help keep us going.

Scott:

Thank you to Doug Liberty.

Scott:

Larry Myers.

Scott:

Patrick Benny and Gail Cooper.

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About the Podcast

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Talk With History: Discover Your History Road Trip
A Historian and Navy Veteran talk about traveling to historic locations

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About your hosts

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Scott B

Host of the Talk With History podcast, Producer over at Walk with History on YouTube, and Editor of TheHistoryRoadTrip.com
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Jennifer B

Former Naval Aviator turned Historian and a loyal Penn Stater. (WE ARE!) I earned my Masters in American History and graduate certificate in Museum Studies, from the University of Memphis.

The Talk with History podcast gives Scott and me a chance to go deeper into the details of our Walk with History YouTube videos and gives you a behind-the-scenes look at our history-inspired adventures.

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