Ninth Ward of New Orleans - History

History

The area along the river front was developed first, at the start of the 19th century, followed by the natural high land along Gentilly Ridge.

The designation of this area as the "9th Ward" dates from 1852, when the boundaries of the Wards of New Orleans were redrawn as part of the reorganization of the city from three municipalities into one centralized city government.

Along the lakefront were various fishing camps built on piers, the most famous collection being Little Woods. Such camps were common along the lakefront in the 19th and early 20th century, but the collection at Little Woods was the longest lasting concentration, many surviving until Hurricane Georges in 1998.

The area of the 9th Ward on the back side of St. Claude Avenue experienced the city's most significant and longest standing flooding from the New Orleans Hurricane of 1915 due to a break in the protection levee at Florida Avenue.

The Industrial Canal was dredged through the neighborhood at the start of the 1920s.

Most of the area between Gentilly Ridge and Lake Pontchartrain was swamp, not drained and developed until the mid and late 20th century.

Lincoln Beach was an amusement park along the lakefront for African-Americans during the era of racial segregation. The nearby "Pontchartrain Beach" was the corresponding amusement area for whites.

Parts of the 9th Ward flooded during Hurricane Flossy in 1956, and the Lower 9th Ward experienced catastrophic flooding in Hurricane Betsy in 1965.