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1891 Map of New Orleans

Name: 1891 Topographic Map of New Orleans
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1931
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1931

About this map

The Mississippi River defines the landscape of this late 19th-century survey, sweeping in deep bends past a densely gridded New Orleans and its surrounding riverfront communities. Settlement at this time is concentrated heavily along the natural levees, with the burgeoning city radiating from the French Quarter toward Audubon Park. Across the water, the industrial and residential character of the West Bank is evident in the developed footprints of Gretna, Algiers, and Macdonoughville.

Beyond the immediate river corridor, the map reveals an intricate network of wetlands and waterways, including the expansive Lake Salvador and Lake Cataouatche. Numerous watercourses such as Bayou Barataria and Bayou des Familles weave through the marshlands of Jefferson and Plaquemines parishes. The era's transportation infrastructure is prominently featured, showing the convergence of major rail lines like the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Texas and Pacific Railroad as they serviced the ports and plantations of the delta.