Drunk History—NOLA Edition

Common New Orleans history myths, debunked by a disillusioned former tour guide

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For nearly four years, I gave tours of several varieties in the French Quarter. Until mid-March, tourism was the major driving force of New Orleans’ economy—meaning I was far from the only tour guide making a living telling historic tales to guests from across the globe. One thing I learned is that if you stand on a French Quarter street corner long enough, you’ll hear quite a broad variety of “history,” ranging from accurate and respectful to downright dramatic fiction; almost all of it fairly entertaining. Here are some of the most common—and most absurd—New Orleans history myths that tour guides like myself report encountering—or repeating—commonly. 

“Oh ‘The St. Louis Cathedral is the inspiration of Cinderella's Castle’ is a favorite.”—Charlotte Jones

While we understand that upon first glance, and under the influence of a few drinks in plastic novelty cups, there might be some similarities, it does not appear that the architects of Cinderella’s Castle in the Disney theme parks drew any inspiration from St. Louis Cathedral. French military engineer Adrien de Pauger drew the plans for a modest church dedicated to St. Louis in 1724, which in 1788 was destroyed in a fire along with much of the French Quarter. Rebuilding began in 1789, this time of a grander structure dedicated as a cathedral. After completion, it narrowly escaped devastation in the second major fire of New Orleans history in 1794, and the first service was held inside that Christmas Eve. At the end of the 1840s it was made even larger and more ornate under the direction of French Architect N B. DePouilly, with several further structural and decorative restorations taking place in the years that followed. Pope Paul VI named the cathedral a minor basilica in 1964, with the official title Basilica of St. Louis King of France. Cinderella’s Castle does not share any of these influences, but is instead inspired by several French castles: seventeenth century Château d’Ussé, the Palace of Fountainbleu some thirty miles southeast of Paris, and the Palace of Versailles, among others.

“Contrary to popular belief, Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop is not the oldest bar in the U.S.”  —Frank Perez

Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, while being impressively historic and serving surprisingly good hurricanes for Bourbon Street, is not in fact the oldest bar in America. That distinction is claimed by White Horse Tavern in Newport, Rhode Island, which has operated as a tavern since the late 1600s. But do they serve a frozen beverage affectionately called “Purple Drank” by the locals that likely contains as much everclear as it does red and blue dyes number whatever, and claim to host a pirate ghost (or several)? Didn’t think so. 

“New Orleans homes used armoires instead of closets because closets were considered rooms and taxes were based on the number of rooms in the house.” —Mick Mcllwain 

Quite a few common New Orleans architectural features are chocked up to antiquated tax codes. It sounds logical, doesn’t it? That our deep South obsession with armoires comes from closets counting as rooms and therefore hiking up property taxes in the 1800s, or that shotgun houses are so narrow because frontage to the street was taken into account. But according to Tulane University researcher and historian Richard Campanella, property taxes were calculated much like they are today: based on value, rather than extraneous details like whether or not a home had a closet. The fact is that in the 1700s and 1800s, long before “fast fashion” existed, most New Orleanians owned far less clothing than we do today, meaning that incorporating an entire room into a floorpan for it was unnecessary. Likewise, shotgun houses are narrow because the style is inexpensive to build and yields excellent airflow in hot climates (and, of course, there’s the necessary feature of being able to shoot a shotgun from the front door to the back without hitting walls; a timeless New Orleans pasttime.) 

“How about this one: New Orleans was founded in 1718. Bulbancha has been a place for thousands of years!”—Paul Doolans

I’m embarrassed to say that this glaringly incorrect tidbit—that New Orleans was founded in 1718—is one I often repeated myself as a tour guide. The fact is that long before LaSalle, or the brothers Iberville and Bienville, or any European colonists arrived near the Mississippi’s mouth, Bulbancha was a thriving area populated by peoples from the Choctaw, Ishak, Chitimacha, Natchez, and Tunica nations, among others. The French colony of Nouvelle Orleans was established just over three hundred years ago, but the crescent it sits on—and its life, its culture—existed for thousands of years prior. 

“That when Country Roads magazine was founded back in 1938, the ‘c’ in Saint Francisville was pronounced like the hard ‘c’ in ‘Cajun’ and ‘Creole’ and ‘Country.’” —Re Tree

While Country Roads was founded fifty years after 1938, and as far as we know, St. Francisville’s pronunciation has remained the same since its founding in 1809, we certainly appreciate Re Tree’s imagination. And when it comes to myths and legends, isn’t that largely what it’s about?