The birth of the twentieth century marked the start of an era of prosperity and municipal development for New Orleans. The Federal census of 1900 disclosed a population of 287,104; one hundred years of growth had seen the number of the city's inhabitants increase by more than 2800 per cent. Total commerce in 1900 was valued at $430,724,621. Many changes were in evidence: the river passes, had been brought under control; the steamboat had yielded first place to the railroad, the bulk of all freight now arriving in New Orleans by rail; export shipments were carried mainly in foreign ships; and a large proportion of freight was delivered directly to the steamship side and reshipped without the necessity of the old style of rehandling on the levee.
Along with commercial and industrial expansion came labor disputes and serious strikes. In 1902 there occurred a violent dispute between the various street-car companies operating in the city and their employees. The trouble was brought about through the introduction of a larger type of car and a change in schedule which enabled the companies to dispose of a large number of men. The street-car men, interpreting the action as a direct violation of a previous agreement, walked out on strike on September 27, demanding that the discharged men be returned to their jobs, the working day be reduced to eight hours, and an hourly wage of twenty-five cents be paid. In the fifteen-day strike that ensued, public sympathy was, for the most part, on the side of the strikers. Using buggies, wagons, automobiles, and improvised vehicles, the citizens boycotted the street-cars. No violence occurred until October 8, when the companies attempted to run four cars under police guard with strike-breakers imported from the Middle West. Strikers attacked the cars at Galvez and Canal Streets and quickly put them out of commission, several men being injured in the disturbance. Street-car service was finally resumed with the work day fixed at ten hours, the hourly wage at twenty cents, and only such men as were necessary to operate the larger cars taken back into the company.
Another serious strike occurred in 1907, when 8000 dockworkers walked out on a strike which began when 'screwmen' demanded that the stowage of 160 bales of cotton should constitute a day's work for which they should be paid six dollars instead of the old pay of five dollars for the stowage of 250 bales. Numbers of strike-breakers were imported from outside cities. However, a few concessions were won by the strikers.
The year 1907 saw the completion of the magnificent publicly owned water purification and pumping plant which still serves the city. In 1908 another important step in municipal ownership was taken when the New Orleans Public Belt Railroad was constructed. Efficient and economical operation soon effected material reductions in former excessive switching and handling charges. Two large girls' schools, the Sophie B. Wright and John McDonogh High Schools, were built in 1911, costing $195,777 and $188,037 respectively. Crowded conditions which had prevailed for some time were greatly relieved. Warren Easton High School for boys was completed in 1913, at a cost of $311,000.
Radical changes were made in' the form of the city government in 1912. The aldermanic system was done away with and the commission form instituted.
A tropical hurricane of great intensity struck the city and vicinity on September 29, 1915. The wind attained a speed of from 80 to 110 miles per hour, while 8.36 inches of rain fell within 21 hours. The waters of Lake Pontchartrain overflowed into the city. During the succeeding fifteen days more than twenty-two inches of rain fell, seriously handicapping the drainage and sewerage systems. Property damage ran into the millions and scores were injured, but only one person was killed.
Shortly after the United States entered the World War several important military camps were established in New Orleans. The largest of these was located on the site of the old City Park racetrack,' where thousands of soldiers were quartered and trained. Various civic organizations led the citizenry in a patriotic and full-hearted response to the Government's appeal for money and military supplies. The influenza epidemic of 1918 and 1919 was at its height when the Armistice was signed. Thousands were stricken -- at times the death toll reached one hundred daily.
In 1921 the New Orleans Inner-Harbor Navigation Canal, connecting Lake Pontchartrain with the Mississippi River, was completed at a cost approximating $20,000,000. This waterway is now an important link in the intracoastal canal system.
Showing posts with label Lake Pontchartrain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lake Pontchartrain. Show all posts
New Orleans Topography
The average elevation of the city, which is below the highwater levels of both the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, is but one foot above mean Gulf level. The highest natural formations in the city, about fifteen feet above mean Gulf level, are the strips of land adjacent to the river, the natural levees which confine the water to the channel during ordinary and all but the highest stages of the river.
The greater portion of the city would suffer from floods every year were it not for the surrounding artificial levee system. Levees constructed along the river and the Pontchartrain lake-front, across the swamps and along the waterways are all interconnected, thus enclosing completely the builtup section of the city, which is drained by means of canals and pumping stations. The levees along the river average about 23 feet and those along the lake-front and across the swamps and marshes about nine feet above mean Gulf level. Approximately thirty-nine per cent of the total land area of New Orleans is enclosed within levees. The unprotected sixty-one per cent is the peninsula and lands which lie along Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne and extend northeastward from Micheaud to the Rigolets Pass. This area, for the most part subject to overflow by high tides from the Gulf, consists of delta fingers, coastal islands and ridges of low elevation, and intervening coastal marshes.
There are several navigable waterways within the municipal limits of the city, all connecting with Lake Pontchartrain. The New Orleans Navigation Canal begins at South Rampart Street at the edge of the business district and runs northward, entering the lake near the northwestern corner of the city. Farther east, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, commonly known as the 'Industrial Canal,' provides a channel five and one half miles long, with a depth of thirty feet and a width of three hundred feet, connecting the river and the lake. Bayou St. John, formerly a navigable stream, begins at Lafitte Avenue and Jefferson Davis Parkway and runs northward to the lake. Other navigable waters include Chef Menteur Pass, Lake St. Catherine, and a number of small passes and canals in the marsh area northeast of the built-up section of the city; the Mississippi River, Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne, Rigolets Pass, and Bayou Bienvenue, all navigable, form part of the boundaries.
Lake Pontchartrain on the north, one of the largest lakes in the United States, is approximately forty-one miles long and twenty-five miles wide and comprises an area of 635 square miles. Of this area 146 square miles are included within the boundary of New Orleans.
The greater portion of the city would suffer from floods every year were it not for the surrounding artificial levee system. Levees constructed along the river and the Pontchartrain lake-front, across the swamps and along the waterways are all interconnected, thus enclosing completely the builtup section of the city, which is drained by means of canals and pumping stations. The levees along the river average about 23 feet and those along the lake-front and across the swamps and marshes about nine feet above mean Gulf level. Approximately thirty-nine per cent of the total land area of New Orleans is enclosed within levees. The unprotected sixty-one per cent is the peninsula and lands which lie along Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne and extend northeastward from Micheaud to the Rigolets Pass. This area, for the most part subject to overflow by high tides from the Gulf, consists of delta fingers, coastal islands and ridges of low elevation, and intervening coastal marshes.
There are several navigable waterways within the municipal limits of the city, all connecting with Lake Pontchartrain. The New Orleans Navigation Canal begins at South Rampart Street at the edge of the business district and runs northward, entering the lake near the northwestern corner of the city. Farther east, the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal, commonly known as the 'Industrial Canal,' provides a channel five and one half miles long, with a depth of thirty feet and a width of three hundred feet, connecting the river and the lake. Bayou St. John, formerly a navigable stream, begins at Lafitte Avenue and Jefferson Davis Parkway and runs northward to the lake. Other navigable waters include Chef Menteur Pass, Lake St. Catherine, and a number of small passes and canals in the marsh area northeast of the built-up section of the city; the Mississippi River, Lakes Pontchartrain and Borgne, Rigolets Pass, and Bayou Bienvenue, all navigable, form part of the boundaries.
Lake Pontchartrain on the north, one of the largest lakes in the United States, is approximately forty-one miles long and twenty-five miles wide and comprises an area of 635 square miles. Of this area 146 square miles are included within the boundary of New Orleans.
New Orleans Natural Setting Geography
Surrounded by swamps and low-lying delta lands, New Orleans proper (29° 56′ North Latitude; 90° 84′ West Longitude) is an urban oasis lying in a dike-enclosed area between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 miles from the mouth of the river. The city and parish boundaries are coterminous, New Orleans being the fourth largest city in land area (365 square miles, of which 166 square miles are water) in the United States. The boundary is very irregular; its total length is 115 miles. On the north lie Lake Pontchartrain and Rigolets Pass; on the east, Lake Borgne and St. Bernard Parish; on the south, St. Bernard, Plaquemines, and Jefferson Parishes; and on the west, Jefferson Parish. The Mississippi forms part of the boundary on the east, south, and west. The greatest distance within the city limits is thirty-four and a half miles from northeast to southwest; the distance between the river and the lake varies between five and eight miles.
Although the built-up section occupies only a small proportion of this large area, the city has expanded to a considerable extent beyond its original limits (the present Vieux Carré). Extension has been made both upstream and downstream and northward to Lake Pontchartrain; a strip of territory (Algiers) on the west bank of the river has also been annexed.
The popular name, 'Crescent City,' is derived from the fact that the site of the original town was on a sharp bend of the river.
Although the built-up section occupies only a small proportion of this large area, the city has expanded to a considerable extent beyond its original limits (the present Vieux Carré). Extension has been made both upstream and downstream and northward to Lake Pontchartrain; a strip of territory (Algiers) on the west bank of the river has also been annexed.
The popular name, 'Crescent City,' is derived from the fact that the site of the original town was on a sharp bend of the river.
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