Third Thursdays at the Jefferson Parish Library!
In This Issue
- A Little History… – Our feature story
- Notes from the Lakefront – Updates
- Ad of the Week – advertising blasts from the past!
- How you can help NOLA History Guy – Things you can do right now!
- NOLA Six Word Writing Challenge – Exercise your imagination!
A Little History… The Butcher’s Market, 1864
The Butcher’s Market, 1864. Marshall Dunham Collection, courtesy LSU Libraries Special Collections.
View of the Butcher’s Market section of the French Market, 1864. This photo is part of the Marshall Dunham Collection, courtesy LSU Library, Special Collections. This is one of the earliest photographs of the French Market. The photographer stands directly across from Jackson Square, looking downriver. For reference, this is the current location of Oscar Dunn Park.
The Market
The French Market originated with the indigenous tribes of the area. The French and Spanish constructed permanent buildings, and the structures in this photo date from 1813.
Butchers
The front set of buildings were the Halles de Boucheries, the Butchers’ Market. Farmers raised cattle and hogs away from the city, on open land along Bayou St. John, as well as down in St. Bernard Parish. The butchers bought whole sides of beef from the farmers, then cut them to order in stalls here in the market. The Butcher’s market opened before dawn. Shoppers came out early to get the best cuts of the day. By 11am or so, the heat of the day reached the point where the butchers closed their stalls. After buying meat, shoppers continued down the market to the produce vendors, then across the street to the bakers and dry grocery stores.
Construction
The lumber in the foreground is likely for one of the railroad buildings that went up here as the riverfront returned to its pre-war levels. Railroads operated in New Orleans since 1831 (the Pontchartrain Railroad). Tracks did not connect train stations and rail yards between Uptown and the Marigny until after the Civil War. We’re seeing the beginning of that process here.
Coffee
A Twentieth century photo of this building would show us the world-famous Cafe du Monde coffee shop. Coffee stands operated in the market in the 1860s, but they were not classic sit-down cafes. Workers in the market and along the riverfront walked up to windows (“stands”) to buy their coffee. Women pushed carts up and down Decatur Street, also selling coffee.
After the war, the city desired to “gentrify” the area around Jackson Square. They pushed the butcher’s stalls back from St. Ann Street. Cafe du Monde leased the front of the Butcher’s Market. This added to the appeal of living near the square.
Marshall Dunham
This photo is part of the personal collection of Marshall Dunham, a Union soldier from New York. He came down to New Orleans during the war, eventually being promoted to the rank of Sergeant-Major. He then received a commission as a First Lieutenant in the 77th Regiment, USCT. He collected many photos of the city, particularly from the photographer S. T. Blessing.
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Notes from the Lakefront
Upcoming Events!
Third Thursday Lecture Next Week
Next week, Thursday 17-September-2026, Derby and I will present The Forgotten Front – How New Orleans and the Gulf South Shaped the American Revolution. This is part of our Third Thursday Lecture Series at the Jefferson Parish Library, East Bank Regional Branch, 4747 W. Napoleon Avenue, Metairie. We’ll start at 7pm, and it’s free and open to the public.
We have so much fun with our tag-team talks!
Talk at the Deutsches Haus on 20-September!
Vintage Ad of the Week
“Pompano Pontchartrain Amandine” at Brennan’s French Restaurant, 417 Royal Street. Ad in the Times-Picayune, 10-September-1957. Note the branding the restaurant used at the time, “French Restaurant.” Brennan’s is, of course, Still There More!
How You Can Help NOLA History Guy
Things you can do RIGHT NOW to help us out!
- Buy my books! Edward Branley is the author of six books on New Orleans history. They’re available from local booksellers and all the usual online suspects.
- Book NOLA History Guy to speak at your event – Edward speaks to groups ranging in size to local groups like Kiwanis and Rotary to major conventions and trade shows.
- Buy me a Coffee on Ko-fi dot com. I just love this concept as a way to say thank you/tip creators you enjoy. Our idea of monetization is buying books and having us come to speak. If you see me at a coffee shop, stop and say hi. Otherwise, I’ll raise coffee cup to you if you treat me.
- Become a patron. Yes, we’re on Patreon. A lot of creators use the platform for direct monetization, and that’s great for them. We don’t have “exclusive content” for patrons. Still, if you think our history stuff is worth a dollar a month, go join!
NOLA Six Word Writing Challenge
In six words or less, write a story about this image.
Post your story to NOLAHistoryGuy.com on BlueSky, or to New Orleans Uncovered on Facebook. You can also email yours to nolasixwords@nolahistoryguy.com.
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