A Bit of History

Some facts about Jefferson Parish from the Times Picayune; Jefferson,
Louisiana
Submitted by casey1@mindspring.com, July 2001.

1825 Jefferson Parish, named for Thomas Jefferson, is created by the
Legislature on Feb. 11 from the 3rd Senate District. The east bank (of the
Mississippi river) extends from Felicity Street, now in New Orleans, to the
St. Charles Parish line. The Parish seat is at Lafayette, the present day
Garden District.

1827 Grand Isle is annexed by Jefferson from Lafouche Parish.

1837 The first Mississippi River ferry service from New Orleans to
Westwego (LA) is started with a skiff and a flat boat. It cost 18 cents for
a pedestrian, 12 cents for a sheep.

1850 McDonoghville Cemetery is established in Gretna (Jefferson Parish LA
west bank) by John McDonogh for his slaves. When he died McDonogh was the
richest man and largest landowner in Louisiana and he was the first white
person buried in the cemetery.

1853 Worst Yellow Fever epidemic in history of the State claims 5,000
lives.

1866 Shrimp are first canned commercially on Grand Terre.

1868 During reconstruction, the authority of the Jefferson Parish Police
Jury is superseded by the Metropolitan Police, which places the Parish under
the power of five commissioners, three black and two white.

1870 New Orleans annexes several Jefferson neighborhoods, moving the
eastern boundry of the east bank (of the river) to Lowerline Street.

1871 Police Jury resolves to open a public road from present day
Claiborne Ave. to Williams Blvd. in Kenner. This would become Jefferson
Highway.

1874 New Orleans annexes the city of Carrollton. Jefferson has lost more
than half of its original east bank, with the boundry now at Monticello
Street.

1882 Mississippi River overflows its banks, causing more than $12
million in property damage in 16 Parishes, including Jefferson.

1883 First through- train service from New Orleans to California begins
on what later would become the Southern Pacific Railway.

1884 After moving twice from Lafayette, the seat of Parish government is
placed in Gretna.

1893 Hurricane kills 1,600 people along the Gulf Coast and devastates
Cheniere Caminada, causing an influx of survivors to move to Westwego and
Grand Isle.

1898 Anthrax epidemic threatens to destroy Kenner's livestock but is
thwarted after farmers promise special devotion to St. Rosalie, thus
beginning the annual feast of St. Rosalie in Kenner.

1901 Oil is discovered in Louisiana, shaping the economy of Jefferson
Parish to the present time.

1904 First Public School is built with Jefferson Parish money in
Westwego. It has one room and holds 100 students.

1907 Electric Street cars replace mule-drawn cars between Gretna and
Algiers (on the west bank in New Orleans.)

1912 A group of northern investors, organized as the Louisiana Meadows,
Co., buys land around the village of Barataria and re-names it Lafitte.