Benjamin House
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marker Inscription
Benjamin House. This house in the suburb of Hurstville was purchased in 1853 by Judah P. and Joseph Benjamin and occupied by their widowed sister Rebecca Benjamin Levy until confiscated on August 20, 1889, by the U.S. Treasury Department as property of an enemy of the United States. Judah P. Benjamin, U.S. Senator from Louisiana and later Secretary of War and State for the Confederacy, was a frequent visitor here. The house originally faced St. Charles Avenue and was moved to this site in 1892.
Erected by Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission
The Story
Purchased in 1853 by Judah P. and Joseph Benjamin, this Hurstville-suburb house sheltered their widowed sister Rebecca Benjamin Levy until the U.S. Treasury confiscated it in 1889 as enemy property. Its frequent visitor, Judah P. Benjamin, rose from U.S. Senator for Louisiana to Secretary of War and then State for the Confederacy. The house once faced St. Charles Avenue and was relocated to this spot in 1892.
Why it matters
It ties a quiet New Orleans residence to one of the most prominent — and unusual — figures of the Confederate cabinet, and to the federal reckoning that followed the Civil War.
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Related people
- · Judah P. Benjamin
- · Joseph Benjamin
- · Rebecca Benjamin Levy
Themes & tags
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