Entry 1: Algiers History

Algiers was founded in 1719 making it the second oldest settlement in New Orleans. It was originally granted as part of the “Kings Plantation.” For the next 150 years the area was used to imprison Africans being sold into slavery. In 1769 when the Spanish took control of Louisiana they sold Algiers to individual people who set-up a few large farms and plantations there.
Around 1819, shipbuilders set up stations along the riverfront and by the mid-nineteenth century most Algiers residents made their livings off of the shipbuilding and ship repairing industry that had flourished there. When railroads were established in the 1850s, Algiers really started to prosper and as many as 4,000 Algiers men were employed by the railroad companies.
During the Civil War Algiers became a place for Union troops to set up camp and many warehouses in the area were burned down. Freed slaves set up homes in Algiers but in 1895 “The Great Fire of Algiers” destroyed approximately 200 of these homes (among others).
Around the turn of the 20th century business and art centers began to thrive again and Algiers became a jazz hub. It was the home to many musicians and is today the home of jazz artist Wolly B. Algiers continued to thrive until the 1970s when the Algiers railroad shut down. Since then Algiers has continued to remain an average American town with slight ups and downs including a slight increase in crime rate since Katrina, and the excitement of the movie “Ray” being filmed here.