In 1699 Bienville heeded the advice of the natives as he traveled from Lake Pontchartrain down Bayou St. John through
their oak-lined trail which led to what he would claim for France and name New Orleans. It was 100 miles from the mouth of
the river, located where the distance between the river and the lake was shortest. A Native American family is shown in this
1775 woodcut.
The images in this book appear courtesy of the New Orleans Public Library (NOPL), Louisiana Digital Library (LDL), the Library
of Congress (LOC), The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC), Pictometry International (PI), and D.C. "Infrogmation"
May (DCM). Unless otherwise noted, images are from the author's collection.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book is dedicated to
Friends of City Park.