Louisiana is a state unlike any other in the United States — a vibrant gumbo of French, Spanish, African, and Native American cultures simmering along the Gulf Coast. Home to New Orleans' legendary French Quarter, Cajun country's cypress swamps, and world-class cuisine ranging from crawfish étouffée to beignets, Louisiana captivates visitors with jazz-drenched streets, extravagant Mardi Gras celebrations, and antebellum plantation grandeur set against a backdrop of moss-draped live oaks.
Historical timeline
Key moments that shaped Louisiana.
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1
Natchez, Caddo, Tunica, and other Native nations dominate Louisiana's landscape; Poverty Point mound culture dates to 1700 BCE
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2
French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claims Louisiana territory for France; names it for King Louis XIV
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3
Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville founds New Orleans on a crescent of the Mississippi River
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4
France cedes Louisiana to Spain under the Treaty of Fontainebleau; Spanish period leaves lasting architectural legacy in New Orleans' French Quarter
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5
Napoleon retakes Louisiana from Spain; then sells it to the United States for $15 million in the Louisiana Purchase
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6
Battle of New Orleans — Andrew Jackson defeats British forces two weeks after War of 1812 peace treaty; the victory makes Jackson a national hero
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7
Antebellum sugar and cotton economy makes New Orleans the wealthiest city in America; built on the labor of 330,000+ enslaved people in Louisiana
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8
Louisiana secedes from the Union; New Orleans falls to Union forces in April 1862 — one of the first major Southern cities captured
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9
Louisiana readmitted to the Union; Reconstruction brings political participation for African Americans; Colfax Massacre (1873) ends Reconstruction advances
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10
Plessy v. Ferguson originates in Louisiana; Homer Plessy challenges railroad segregation; Supreme Court establishes 'separate but equal'
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11
Great Mississippi Flood — one of the most destructive river floods in US history; levees deliberately breached to protect New Orleans at expense of rural areas
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12
Federal marshals escort 6-year-old Ruby Bridges into William Frantz Elementary School in New Orleans amid violent white protests
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13
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans on August 29; levee failures flood 80% of the city; 1,833 people die; the disaster exposes racial and economic inequality
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14
New Orleans Saints win Super Bowl XLIV; city celebrates its first championship amid ongoing Katrina recovery
Historical sites
Places where Louisiana's past comes alive.
Whitney Plantation
Where: Edgard (45 miles west of New Orleans)
Admission: Adult: $25 (≈$25) | Child: $15 (ages 6-12)
The Cabildo (Louisiana State Museum)
Where: French Quarter, New Orleans
Admission: Adult: $9 (≈$9) | Child: $5 (≈$5, ages 6-17)
Poverty Point World Heritage Site
Where: Epps, West Carroll Parish
Admission: Adult: $4 (≈$4) | Child: $2 (ages 4-12)
Chalmette Battlefield (Battle of New Orleans)
Where: Chalmette (7 miles east of New Orleans)
Admission: Adult: Free (National Park Service site) | Child: Free
Cane River Creole National Historical Park
Where: Natchitoches (215 miles northwest of New Orleans)
Admission: Adult: Free | Child: Free