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AHistory
History · Gretna

Gretna dates to 1836, and 17% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns · #4 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

6 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 1,168 buildings between them. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1850.

1836founded
6on the National Register
17%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
15famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Gretna’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Gretna began

When was Gretna founded?

1836

Gretna dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 717 in 18502020 census: 17,814190 years

How historic is Gretna?

A

More historic than 92% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1869.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Gretna’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Gretna is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #4 of 161 in Louisiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Gretna’s overall grade.
Founding era1836, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194016.5% of homes (±4.3) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register6 listings, 1,173 historic buildings, 675 per 10,000 residents · typical LA town 3.8 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 92%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 98%

Louisiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Louisiana town has 3.8 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Gretna’s 675 sits above most of its state (99% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 1,173 historic buildings outnumber those of 99% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±4.3 points). Two sources give 1836.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Gretna’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe McDonoghville Historic District takes in 620 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18917 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1992. Watch Gretna change.Boom and bustPeaked at 24,875 in 1970; 17,814 people lived here in 2020.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

6 listings protect 1,173 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
6
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1,173
each building in a district counts
first listed
1983
Old Jefferson Parish Courthouse
Old Jefferson Parish Courthouse, built 1907Crockett, David, Fire Hall and PumperSt. Joseph Church-Convent of the Most Holy Sacrament ComplexGretna Historic DistrictKerner HouseMcDonoghville Historic District
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Renaissance2
Baroque2
Greek Revival2
Italianate2
Spanish Colonial Revival1
Creole Cottage1
Old Jefferson Parish CourthouseRenaissance · Built 1907
Crockett, David, Fire Hall and PumperBuilding
St. Joseph Church-Convent of the Most Holy Sacrament ComplexSpanish Colonial Revival
Gretna Historic DistrictCreole Cottage
Kerner HouseGreek Revival
All 6 listings
McDonoghville Historic DistrictDistrict · listed 2022

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Gretna’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Gretna’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewAmerican Aloe at Gretna Louisiana A R W…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Gretna on the map, 1891 to 1992

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Gretna. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Gretna on the 1891 USGS mapGretna on the 1932 USGS mapGretna on the 1951 USGS mapGretna on the 1966 USGS mapGretna on the 1972 USGS mapGretna on the 1989 USGS mapGretna on the 1992 USGS map1891New Orleans sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Gretna.

The story

How Gretna came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Gretna.

Read it all →

According to the history published by the city, Gretna's history can be traced to a plantation established by Jean-Charles de Pradel by 1750 (when the plantation house, Monplaisir, was built). By 1813, the plantation had passed into the hands of one François Bernoudy. John McDonogh (also spelled John McDonough), then a resident of New Orleans, bought the establishment, moved into the house and founded a settlement in 1815, that would be named McDonoghville. He subdivided the rest of the former plantation into regular city lots and 30-arpent farming strips. McDonoghville thus became the first subdivision in Jefferson Parish. McDonough either leased or sold these properties to white laborers or free people of color.

ChaptersHurricane Katrina controversy

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Gretna, 1836 to 1994

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingGretna is established
  3. 1869Post officeThe Gretna post office opens
  4. 1871In the archiveAmerican Aloe at Gretna Louisiana A R Waud
  5. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1893Post officeThe Mc Donoghville post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1907BuiltOld Jefferson Parish Courthouse is built
  9. 1909Born hereMel Ott is born here
  10. 1917Born hereLash LaRue is born here
  11. 1922In the archiveLouisiana - New Orleans
  12. 1926Post officeThe Mc Donoghville post office closes
  13. 1970CensusPopulation peaks at 24,875
  14. 1985In the archiveGretna Louisiana Historic District form
  15. 1990Born hereEddie Lacy is born here
  16. 1994Born hereElfrid Payton is born here
By decade

Gretna, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
American Aloe at Gretna Louisiana A R Waud1871American Aloe at Gretna Louisiana A R Waud
1920s1 item
Louisiana - New Orleans1922Louisiana - New Orleans
1930s–1970snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
1980s1 item
Gretna Louisiana Historic District form1985Gretna Louisiana Historic District formBook
1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today14 recent
The Anthony J. "Tony" Fabruzza Memorial Fire Station, part of the David Crockett Steam Fire Company No. 1 operation, fo…2021The Anthony J. "Tony" Fabruzza Memorial Fire Station,…The German-American Cultural Center and Museum2021The German-American Cultural Center and MuseumFlower- and bee-themed decorations usually mounted on parade floats for the annual Mardi Gras celebration instead are l…2021Flower- and bee-themed decorations usually mounted on…Bronze statue of professional baseball star Mel Ott in front of the Mel Ott Recreation Center in his native Gretna, a s…2021Bronze statue of professional baseball star Mel Ott i…Opened in 1858 and originally a firefighters' burial ground, the Hook and Ladder Cemetery is one of south Louisiana's n…2021Opened in 1858 and originally a firefighters' burial …Entrance to Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, founded in 18572021Entrance to Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, founded i…Opened in 1858 and originally a firefighters' burial ground, the Hook and Ladder Cemetery is one of south Louisiana's n…2021Opened in 1858 and originally a firefighters' burial …The "Love That" mural by Keith Eccles2021The "Love That" mural by Keith EcclesGretna Holiday Inn LA July 20142014Gretna Holiday Inn LA July 2014US-90 BUS ^ Westbank Expy ^ U.S. 90 Access Rd, Gretna, LA 70053, USA2011US-90 BUS ^ Westbank Expy ^ U.S. 90 Access Rd, Gretna…GretnaStoneJeffDavisHwyMarker2008GretnaStoneJeffDavisHwyMarkerCrescentCityConnectionFromGretnaLevee23Nov052006CrescentCityConnectionFromGretnaLevee23Nov05GretnaToJacksonSuperdome23Nov052005GretnaToJacksonSuperdome23Nov05GretnaCCCPortStation2005GretnaCCCPortStation
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

American Aloe at Gretna Louisiana A R Waud
Retake this viewAmerican Aloe at Gretna Louisiana A R Waud, 1871

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Gretna’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Gretna, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,0001850190019502000Peak: 24,875

Peaked at 24,875 in 1970; 17,814 people lived here in 2020.

14 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Gretna’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

15 famous people were born in Gretna

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Elfrid PaytonAmerican basketball player · b. 1994
Mel OttAmerican baseball player · b. 1909
Lash LaRueAmerican actor · b. 1917
Eddie LacyAmerican football player · b. 1990
Frankie FordAmerican musician · b. 1939
Ike TaylorPlayer of American football · b. 1980
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Gretna’s post office has been open since 1869. Another post office, Mc Donoghville, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gretna
1869–today
Mc Donoghville
1893–1926
18601940today
Hamlets and corners on the map
McDonoghville
Gone or out of use
Archbishop Blenk High SchoolschoolParish Trade Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Gretna
McDonoghville

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

HarveyIts storyCNew Orleans192 historic placesA+TerrytownIts storyDTimberlaneIts storyD−

Questions about Gretna’s history

What year was Gretna founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Gretna’s post office opened in 1869, and the census of 1850 counted 717 people here.

How does Gretna rank for history?

Gretna is more historic than 92% of U.S. towns, #4 of 161 in Louisiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Gretna?

6 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Old Jefferson Parish Courthouse (listed 1983, the first), and 2 historic districts, the Gretna Historic District and the McDonoghville Historic District, with 1,168 contributing buildings. 1,173 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Gretna?

17% of Gretna’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.3 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1966.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (9), the Library of Congress (8), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (6), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.