On December 20, 1803, The formal transfer of the Louisiana Purchase was held in the Cabildo building in New Orleans. The oldest city in the land purchased from France was Natchitoches, Louisiana, founded in 1714.
The tallest state capitol building in the U.S. is in Baton Rouge. It stands 450 feet.
The largest enclosed stadium in the world is the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.
The Port of New Orleans has historically imported and exported much of the world's food, coffee and oil.
The term "Uncle Sam" was coined along the New Orleans wharves before Louisiana was a U.S. territory as goods labeled U.S. were said to be from "Uncle Sam."
The dice game of Craps was created in the early 1800s (some say 1805, some say 1813) by New Orleanian Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville. A simplification of the European game of Hazard, which dated back to the Crusades. Craps caught on quickly and thrived along the New Orleans riverfront and spread worldwide.
Louisiana is the No. 1 producer of crawfish, shallots and alligators in the U.S.
Oldest rice mill in the U.S. is Konriko Co. in New Iberia.
24% of the nation's salt is produced in Louisiana.
Two American Revolution battles fought outside the original 13 colonies were fought in Louisiana in 1779. At Baton Rouge, Spanish Colonial Governor Bernardo de Galvez (Spain was allied with the Americans), captured the British fort and forced the British to surrender a second fort at modern Natchez, Mississippi. In a second battle, American and Spanish privateers captured British supply ships and two armed sloops. Galvez cleared the British from the Mississippi River and the sea lakes around New Orleans (Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Borgne and Lake Saint Catherine). Galvez later took Pensacola from the British in 1781.
Louisiana has over 6.5 million acres of wetlands, the most in the U.S.
The staircase in GONE WITH THE WIND was copied from the antebellum plantation house Chretien Point in Sunset, Louisiana, located 14 miles north of Lafayette.
Louisiana's Tabasco holds the second oldest food trademark in the U.S. Patent Office.
The largest sugar cane syrup mill is Steen's in Abbeville, Louisiana. (My grandfather Calixte De Noux worked in sugar mills up and down the Mississippi in the early 20th Century).
An early bottler of Coca-Cola (some say the first bottler) Joseph Biedenham of Monroe, Louisiana, was one of the founders of Delta Airlines, initially called Delta Air Service. Also involved in the creation of the Airline was Monroe's C. E. Woolman whose use of an airplane to crop dust for boll weevils became the first crop dusting service in the world.
The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest over-water bridge in the world at 23.87 miles.
While the International Joke Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana, the biggest joke in Louisiana has been its legislature since – forever.
After the U.S. military academies, Louisiana State University (LSU, aka: The Ole War Skule) contributed the most officers to the U.S. armed forces in World War II.
The Louisiana Hayride radio show helped Elvis Presley, Hank Williams and Johnny Cash rise to stardom. It was broadcast from KWKH Radio, Shreveport, Louisiana from 1948 into 1960. I was a kid in the 50s and a teenager in the 60s. Never listened to the Hayride. I was (still am) a rock and roller, although I do like Elvis, Hank and Mr. Cash.
The oldest pharmacy in America was claimed to have been located at 514 Chartres Street in the New Orleans French Quarter. Early medicinal mixtures were known as cocktails (good for what ails ya).
New Orleans is birthplace of Jazz, which gave way to the Blues and Rock and Roll. Some call Jazz the only true American Art form.
Information from a number of books and online source, especially The Real Cajun Deal who copied information from Cajun Works.
That's all for now, folks.
www.oneildenoux.com
Love the trivia.
ReplyDelete"While the International Joke Telling Contest is held annually in Opelousas, Louisiana, the biggest joke in Louisiana has been its legislature since – forever."
The late great Molly Ivins said, “As they say around the Texas Legislature, if you can't drink their whiskey, screw their women, take their money, and vote against 'em anyway, you don't belong in office.”
Louisiana had me at the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and beignets.
ReplyDeleteI always enjoyed their food, to include the Muffaletta sandwich invented in New Orleans.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, O'Neil! I already knew some of this . . . but not much.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. For those unfamiliar with a muffuletta sandwich here it is: 12- inch round thick Italian bread covered in sesame seeds sliced horizontally through the center, laid open and slathered in olive oil before layers of ham, salami and several different cheeses is topped with homemade olive salad. Then cut into quarters. There is an excellent variation, the roast beef muffuletta. Same bread but inside is stuffed with roast beef and gravy. Outstanding.
ReplyDeleteIn grade school, one of my first ‘real’ papers was on LaFayette, virtually unknown in France. It sounds like Galvez deserves every bit as much credit.
ReplyDeleteThe photo of Lake Pontchartrain Causeway dramatically demonstrates the length of that bridge. (I don’t think I’ve tried to spell that before.)
O’Neil, I’m afraid the Louisiana Legislature will have to settle for a distance second place (or more) well behind Arizona for evil jokes, and that’s a good thing.
Beignets! Oh no! You didn’t mention beignets!
I enjoyed the article, O’Neil.