| Important unincorporated areas in the parish include Metairie and Harvey.
Metairie, located on the east bank between Kenner and New Orleans is a large unincorporated area of Jefferson Parish with a population of over 165,000. It was incorporated as a city in 1927 but the city government existed less than a year. Starting as a small community of truck farms, Metairie was also known for its racetracks in the early 1900s. Its most famous race track is now the site of Metairie Cemetery, one of the areaËs most famous Cities of the dead. Harvey is a heavily industrialized unincorporated area on the Westbank of Jefferson Parish. |
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Unincorporated areas of interest in the parish include Avondale, Barataria, Crown Point, Gouldsboro, Hanson City Station, Harvey, Lafitte, Marrero, Shrewsbury, Signore, McDonoughville, Metairie, Waggaman and West Bridge Junction. |
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Barataria Bay Gulf of Mexico Lake Catacuatche Lake Pontchartrain Lake Salvador Mississippi River |
LaFreniere Plantation L’Anse Aux Outardes La Providence Little Red Church St. Charles Borromeo Magnolia Lane Tchoupitoulas Plantation |
History | |
| 1805 |
When the Territory of Orleans is divided into counties the present-day Jefferson Parish is part of Orleans County |
| 1808 |
Tchoupitoulas Plantation acquired by Joseph Soniat du Fossat.
Visited by Governor William
C. C. Claiborne and, legend says, privateer Jean Lafitte. Chapitoulas
Indians, whose name means river people lived in this area of Destrehan
in Jefferson Parish. |
| 1825 February 11th |
Governor Henry
S. Johnson signs legislation creating the Parish of Jefferson out
of the Third Senatorial District. It is named for President Thomas Jefferson,
who died the following year on July 4th. When it was created Jefferson Parish included all of its present area in addition to most of what is now uptown New Orleans. During the next 50 years many of the small communities that appeared just upriver were annexed by the city. |
| 1833 |
Town of Carrollton and Faubourg Bouligny are laid out by Charles F. Zimpel in 1833 on site of the Macarty Plantation, formerly the uppermost part of Bienville’s 1719 land grant. It becomes a town in 1845, and Jefferson Parish seat 1852-1874. Annexed 1874 by New Orleans. 1854 courthouse designed by Henry Howard. |
| 1833 |
The City of Lafayette (Felicity Street to Plaisance St.) is incorporated. It will be the seat of Jefferson Parish until annexed by New Orleans in 1852.
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| 1844 |
Built this year, the Harvey Castle was the Gothic Revival home of Marie Louise Destrehan and her husband Joseph Hale Harvey. It served as the third courthouse of Jefferson Parish, 1874-84. Located east side of Destrehan Avenue 450 feet north of railroad. Demolished in 1924 to enlarge the Harvey Canal and Locks. |
| 1845 |
The Harvey Canal, originally Destrehan Canal, dug before 1845, connects the Mississippi River to Bayou Barataria. A Submarine Railway lifted boats over the levee until successful completion of locks in 1907. Became part of Gulf Intracoastal Waterway in 1924. The West Bank of Jefferson Parish grows at a much slower pace, leaving room for industrial development. The southern half of the parish with its winding bayous, hidden islands, Indian middens and the passage to the Gulf of Mexico made an excellent hiding place for Jean Lafitte, the privateer, and other smugglers during its early history. Legend has it that pirate's booty is still hidden in this area but in this century another buried treasure has been discovered, oil. |
| 1852 February 11th |
The City of Lafayette, the seat of Jefferson Parish, is annexed by New Orleans.
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| 1887 |
An act of legislature in 1887 makes it official, making uptown New Orleans a part of Orleans Parish. Most of this land along the east bank had been plantation country until the 1830s when they were subdivided by speculators to accommodate the area's exploding population. |
| Jefferson Parish's 87 public elementary, middle and high schools as well as 58 private and parochial schools provide a variety of educational choices in terms of core curriculum and teaching styles. Academically, Jefferson students consistently score at or above the means of national normed tests. Parish and state funded programs for the gifted, speech and hearing impaired, learning disabled and physically handicapped are also available. All public and private schools are accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary schools and the Louisiana Independent School Association. ACT average scores are 19 for the public schools. This compares most favorably with the regional and national average of 17. Annual cost in public funds to provide schooling is $3,500 per student, with a pupil-to teacher ratios of 26:1 (K-3) and 33:1 (4-12). SCHOOLS ENROLLMENT Public School 85 58,612 Private School 50 24,874 Vocational/Technical 2 3,880 |
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The five state-supported and numerous parish and proprietary vocational/technical schools in the metropolitan area provide in-depth training in skills ranging from computer programming to welding. The state schools alone admit over 3,500 students each year in 31 different training programs. To assure that new and expanding businesses have a continuing pool of workers with the level of education and expertise necessary for their operations, the area’s colleges and universities, vocational/technical schools and high schools graduate trained and entry-level persons year round. Schools at all levels are augmenting their general education missions with programs explicitly connected with employment possibilities for their students. This is seen in secondary schools in career education curricula and programs such as adopt-a-school through which business contributes resources, curriculum guidance and, in some cases, instruction, counseling and the promise of jobs for graduates. Community colleges are increasing their industry-specific training and colleges and universities are developing partnerships with industry that involve human as well as technological development. |
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Education |
Within an hour and a half drive of the east bank of Jefferson Parish are eleven major colleges or universities, eight of these are within a thirty minute drive. Five of these offer doctoral degrees in the arts, sciences, engineering, medical and legal fields. These universities are nationally and internationally recognized as sponsoring extensive research activities. Universities in New Orleans include: Tulane University, Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO), University of New Orleans (UNO), LSU Medical Center, Tulane University Medical Center, Loyola University, Xavier University of Louisiana, Our Lady of Holy Cross College and Dillard University. A little more than an hour away in Baton Rouge are Louisiana State University (LSU) and Southern University and only 50 miles away in Hammond is Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU). Delgado Community College in New Orleans and Phillips Junior College in Jefferson Parish offer a convenient and excellent alternative to four year university degrees and each have several campuses in the area. UNO and SLU both offer courses at sites in Jefferson Parish. Nicholls State University 40 miles Louisiana State University (LSU) 70 miles Tulane University 5 miles Southern University 70 miles Southern Univ. @ New Orleans (SUNO) 10 miles University of New Orleans (UNO)10x miles LSU Medical Center 10 miles Tulane University Medical Center 10 miles Loyola University 5 miles Xavier University 5 miles Dillard University 10 miles |
Director - Joan S. Adams 4747 W. Napoleon Ave. Metairie, LA 70001-2310 Email - 15 Branches - East Bank Regional, Grande Isle, Gretna, Harahan, Lafitte, Lakeshore, Live Oak, North Kenner, Old Metairie, Rosedale, Terrytown, Wagner, West Bank Regional, Westwego, 2 Bookmobiles Jefferson Parish enjoys an excellent state-supported public library system. The library headquarters is located in Metairie, with 205 full-time employees. Volumes in the library total in excess of 650,000, with approximately 2750 new additions per month. The facilities offer reading and reference materials for all ages as well as many additional services and activities. Branch offices located in Grand Isle, Gretna, Harahan, Harvey, Jefferson, Kenner, Lafitte, Marrero, North Kenner, Old Metairie, Terrytown, Waggaman and Westwego. American Library Directory 1999-2000, R. R. Bowker |
