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Part of the area under this square was first surveyed by Carlos (Charles) Trudeau on June 24, 1792 for governor Carondelet. The baron granted lots of land just inside the old city fortifications to veterans, widows and other citizens of the province. The irregular lot lines in the center of the square reflect the inside line of these ramparts. When Louisiana was purchased by the United States, land under the old ramparts became property of the federal government. By 1803 the fortifications had mostly settled back into the earth. On March 3, 1807 an act of Congress handed the land over to the newly incorporated city. The ancient fortifications were leveled, the moat was filled in and James Tanesse was hired to survey the new squares before they were sold by the city. Esplanade Avenue did not exist until after the American administration began. The ramparts at that time were sinking back into the ground and only Fort St. Charles at the downriver corner of the ancient city was still worthy of being called a fortification. The lot lines in the middle of the squares between Esplanade and Barracks (and Canal and Iberville) show the diagonal lines of the old ramparts which guarded the city , but needed constant repairs from flooding and neglect. An act of Congress in 1807 freed the city to sell this property. Thinking it could keep a perpetual fund of money coming into the public till, the city sold all of the fortification land with an obligation of annual ground rent. It was more than a century before the legal tangles this created was resolved and the ground rents canceled to the satisfaction of all concerned. This Square is bounded by: 1200 Block of BOURBON St.; 700 Block of ESPLANADE Ave.; 1200 Block of ROYAL St.; 700 Block of BARRACKS St. |
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LAKESIDE UPTOWN DOWNTOWN RIVERSIDE |
Lots start on the street at the top of the graphic above and move clockwise around the block, but starting at the lowest address on each street. |
| 1800 | Bourbon Street addresses on this block not yet entered. |
| 1800 | Event. |
| 1807 | This block was recently laid out by the city which owns it since it was under the old fortifications and considered government property. See note above. |
| 1810 | Nicholas Rousseau. |
| 1821 | Nicholas Rousseau is leaving the country and must sell his property.. |
| 1823 | Pierre Edmond Foucher from James Ramsey. |
| 1841 | Henry R. Dennis from Armand Pitot. |
| 1856 | A structure is built by John Gauche, an Alsatian by way of St. Louis. Its cast iron balcony has a motif of cherubs dancing in a circle surrounded by richly fretted squares.
His merchantile business, Pechman and Gauche, sold crockery, china and imported looking glass (mirrors). In 1866 John Gauche and Sons buy the Moresque Building on Lafayette Square. It had been commissioned by J.C. Borelli in 1859 with a romantic Moorish edifice designed by William and James Freret and inspired by the Alhambra at Granada, Spain. The facade was made by the Holly Springs, Mississippi foundary of Jones, McElain and Company. The building was half roofed at the start of the Civil War. During the war all copper roof and fixtures were stolen and the roof of the structure rotted. It contained six commercial businesses and a concert hall/ballroom. Once completed it hosted bazaars, balls and concerts constantly until it burned in 1894. In the 1840s Gauche lived on Chartres near Toulouse near the Whitney Bank. He and his wife had 12 children. He died in 1877 but his famiily lived in the Esplanade house until 1882. |
| 1882 | Patrick Burke O'Brien from the widow Gauche. Obrien and his brother own the Columbus Cotton Press on Tchoupitoulas Street between Peters and Terpsichore. |
| 1891 | Patrick Burke O'Brien, A. Ringold Brousseau and Albert Cammack. |
| 1893 | Patrick Burke O'Brien act of partition with A. Ringold Brousseau. |
| 1897 | Richardson M. O'Brien from the estate of Patrick Burke O'Brien. |
| 1910 | Mrs. Grine Richardson Miltenberger from her uncle Richardson M. O'Brien. |
| 1937 | Miss Mathilda Geddings Gray. |
| 1846 | Judah Touro. |
| 1854 | Andre R. Brousseau from Judah Touro. |
| 1856 | Structure built for Andre Brousseau. |
| 1969 | Building used as La Petit Ecole. |
| 1821 | James Ramsey from Nicholas Rosseau. |
| 1823 | Pierre Edmond Foucher from James Ramsey. |
| 1823 | Henry R. Denis from Pierre Edmond Foucher. |
| 1890 | Aristide Hopkins to Andre R. Brousseau. |
| 1821 | James Ramsey from Nicholas Rosseau. |
| 1823 | Pierre Edmond Foucher from James Ramsey. |
| 1823 | Henry R. Denis from Pierre Edmond Foucher. |
| 1890 | Aristide Hopkins to Andre R. Brousseau. |
| 1812 | Guillaume Plantey from the city of New Orleans.. |
| 1824 | Magdeleine Mayes from Guillaume Plantey. |
| 1824 | Gabriel Henry Leaumont from Magdeleine Mayes alias CeCe (fwc). |
| 1835 | Felice Houssart from Gabriel Henry Leaumont. |
| 1836 | James Ramsey from Felice Houssart (fwc) . |
| 1837 | Ramsey and Parker from James Ramsey. |
| 1838 | Miguel de Lizardi from Ramsey and Parker. |
| 1839 | Manuel and Francisco de Lizardi from Miguel de Lizardi. |
| 1845 | Junius Beebo from Manuel and Francisco de Lizardi. |
| 1860 | Edward Fisk son of Eliza. Alvarez and Abijah Fisk arrived in Louisiana. As Yankee traders from Wrenthan, Maine they became successful merchants in New Orleans. The Fisk family was responsible for the Fisk Free Library which preceeded the New Orleans Public Library. |
| 1810 | Charles Laveaux (fmc) from the city of New Orleans. |
| 1811 April 16 |
An article in the Louisiana Gazette mentions a burial place for Spanish troops on this square. Burial of soldiers in or near earthwork fortifications was not unusual. |
| 1811 | Michel Lautrec Sterlin from Charles Laveaux (fmc). |
| 1812 | Zoe Anne Plantey and Madeleine Mayes (fwc) from Michel Lautrec Sterlin. |
| 1855 | Citye Rose Alverez from Zoe Anne Plantey. |
| 1889 | McDonough School fund. A fire map of this block shows McDonogh High School No. 3 at this site with a play shed toward the back of the lot. |
| 1922 | Societe Francaise do 14 Juillet from School Board. |
| 1808 | M. Valliere. |
| 1826 | Louis Moreau from Jacques LaRose. |
| 1839 | Aime Chategnier from Louis Moreau. |
| 1944 | Miss Matilda Geddings Gray. |
| 1807 | City from U. S. Government. |
| 1823 | Pierre Edmond Foucher from James Ramsey. |
| 1823 | Henry Raphael Denis from Pierre Edmond Foucher. |
| 1837 | Armand Pitot from Henry Raphael Denis. |
| 1841 | Henry Raphael Denis from Armand Pitot. |
| 1859 | Louis Hurst Desforges from Henry Raphael Denis. |
| 1860 | Mrs. Josephine Emma Bermudez Soniat Dufossat. |
| 1950 | Miss Matilda Geddings Gray from Richard Koch. |
| 1800 | Barracks Street addresses on this block not yet entered. |
| 1800 | Event. |