New Orleans
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Marker Inscription
New Orleans. First sighted as Indian portage to Lake Pontchartrain and Gulf in 1699 by Bienville and Iberville. Founded by Bienville in 1718; named by him in honor of the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France. Called the Crescent City because of location in bend of the Mississippi. Erected by the Louisiana Tourist Development Commission 1968
Erected by Louisiana Tourist Development Commission
The Story
The site was first noted in 1699 by the brothers Bienville and Iberville as a Native American portage linking the Mississippi to Lake Pontchartrain and the Gulf. Bienville founded the city in 1718 and named it for the Duke of Orleans, then Regent of France. Its curve along the Mississippi earned it the nickname the Crescent City.
Why it matters
New Orleans began as a strategic French colonial gateway built atop a Native travel route, a founding that shaped the Gulf South's commerce and culture ever after.
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Related people
- · Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville
- · Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Themes & tags
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