New Orleans: St. Louis Cemetery, No. 1
by amy • May 26, 2011 • Cemeteries, Travel • 4 Comments
[All Saints' Day in New Orleans - Harper's, 1885. Source.]
It wouldn’t be a vacation without a visit to a historic cemetery — especially in New Orleans, where Gothic romance, crumbly old-world atmosphere, the floral aura of dime-store mystery and secrets half-shadowed by gas lamps are all part of the draw.
We took a tour of St. Louis No. 1, the oldest cemetery in New Orleans, just a block outside the French Quarter. We learned that the distinctive above-ground tombs, which create a crowded little marble and toppled-brick town, have as much to do with cultural traditions of French, Spanish and Caribbean settlers as they do with the swampy flood-prone ground.
We learned that in New Orleans, generations of families share the same tombs; when it’s time to bury someone new, the previous occupant is removed, the coffin disposed of in a respectable manner, and the bones replaced to a pit at the bottom of the vault.
And we met some new friends.
Like Marie Laveau.
Etienne de Bore.
Bernard de Marigny.
Homer Plessy.
And we took a lot of pictures. Here are a few good ones, on some fancy new photo gallery plug-in I’m taking for a spin today.
Please enjoy.
That is a cemetery that I’ve always wanted to visit.
Homer Plessy is, of course, the plaintiff in the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) that declared segregation legal with the famous phrase “separate but equal.” It took 58 years, Brown v. Topeka Brd of Ed (1654) and congressional action (civil rights act of 1964) to overturn the decision and right the wrong done to Mr. Plessy.
Tim, I was remiss to leave that information out of the post! Thanks for the details. Wandering through the Bywater one morning, we happened upon the site of his arrest – pretty moving.
(Here:
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This was a fascinating post. I’ve wanted to visit NO for years, if only to see the cemeteries. Thanks for sharing.