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CHistory
History · Harvey

Harvey dates to 1816

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns · #81 of 161 in Louisiana. What drives it

Most of Harvey was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1891 on, and the census since 1970.

1816founded
0on the National Register
3%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
3famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How Harvey began

When was Harvey founded?

1816

Harvey dates its founding to 1816 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1970.

First census: 6,347 in 19702020 census: 22,236210 years

How historic is Harvey?

C

More historic than 33% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1890.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Harvey’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Harvey is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #81 of 161 in Louisiana. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Harvey’s overall grade.
Founding era1816, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19402.5% of homes (±1.1) · typical LA town 3.4% · U.S. 8.4%C−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical LA town 3.8 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 33%
NewerOlder
Louisiana towns of 2,500+ (161)Ahead of 50%

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 Harvey’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (21% of Louisiana towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikipedia alone; no second source gives 1816.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±1.1 points) is firm at this size.

Founding year: Wikipedia (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 Harvey’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 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 Harvey change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1816: 210 years of Harvey.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Harvey’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Harvey on the map, 1891 to 1992

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

Harvey on the 1891 USGS mapHarvey on the 1932 USGS mapHarvey on the 1951 USGS mapHarvey on the 1966 USGS mapHarvey on the 1972 USGS mapHarvey on the 1989 USGS mapHarvey 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 Harvey.

Timeline

Harvey, 1816 to 2000

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1816
    FoundingHarvey is established
  3. 1890Post officeThe Harvey post office opens
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 20th century
  6. 1935In the archiveNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1935 Map
  7. 1938Born hereJoe Clay is born here
  8. 1966In the archiveNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1966 Map
  9. 1976Born hereLarry Foster is born here
  10. 1979In the archiveNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1979 Map
  11. 1998In the archiveNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1998 Map
  12. 21st century
  13. 2000Born hereJa'Marr Chase is born here
The story

How Harvey came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Harvey.

Read it all →

During the French colonial era, the first owner of this land was Jean-Baptiste d'Estrehan de Beaupre, royal treasurer and comptroller for the French Louisiana colony. He established a plantation here. He used his slaves to dig the ditch that would become the Harvey Canal, cutting south from the banks of the Mississippi River to the back of Bayou Barataria, to provide better access.

Years later, d'Estrehan paid German settlers in the area to work on widening the ditch; they used wooden shovels. He paid them with small parcels of land located downriver in Mechanicsham, now the city of Gretna. D'Estrehan built his home where the ditch met the river banks, naming the settlement "Cosmopolite City".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Harvey, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1930s to the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1930s–1990s4 items
New Orleans Section and West Bank 1935 Map1935New Orleans Section and West Bank 1935 MapMapNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1966 Map1966New Orleans Section and West Bank 1966 MapMapNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1979 Map1979New Orleans Section and West Bank 1979 MapMapNew Orleans Section and West Bank 1998 Map1998New Orleans Section and West Bank 1998 MapMap
Today16 recent
Walmart Harvey Market2024Walmart Harvey MarketHarvey, LA, USA2013Harvey, LA, USAHurricane-Tropical Storm - Harvey, La. , April 19, 2011 -- The Jefferson Parish Public School System Administration-Med…2011Hurricane-Tropical Storm - Harvey, La. , April 19, 20…Harvey Louisiana Levee and Floodwall Pic 12011Harvey Louisiana Levee and Floodwall Pic 1Harvey LA Levee Pic 22011Harvey LA Levee Pic 2Harvey LA Levee 42011Harvey LA Levee 4HarveyCanalNoTresspassing2010HarveyCanalNoTresspassingHarvey LA Texas Stripmall signs Jan 20102010Harvey LA Texas Stripmall signs Jan 2010HarveyCanalSideSept082008HarveyCanalSideSept08HarveyCanalLock4thStSept082008HarveyCanalLock4thStSept08HarveyCanalBack4thStLockB2008HarveyCanalBack4thStLockBHarveyCanalBack4thStB2008HarveyCanalBack4thStBHarveyCanalBack4thSt2008HarveyCanalBack4thStHarveyCanal4thStBridgeBack2008HarveyCanal4thStBridgeBackHarvey9Sept2008FrancisHardware2008Harvey9Sept2008FrancisHardwareLAMap-doton-Harvey2004LAMap-doton-Harvey
People over time

Harvey, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,00025,000198020002020Peak: 22,709

Between 6,347 and 22,709 people in every census since 1970.

6 censuses, 1970–2020.

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

Famous people

3 famous people were born in Harvey

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

See all →
Ja'Marr ChaseAmerican football player · b. 2000
J
Joe ClayAmerican musician · b. 1938
L
Larry FosterAmerican football player · b. 1976
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Harvey’s post office has been open since 1890.

Gone or out of use
Elm Grove SchoolschoolLouisiana Avenue Ferrycrossing
1cemetery inside Harvey
Evening Star

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.

Gretna6 historic placesAMarreroIts storyDNew Orleans192 historic placesA+Woodmere1 historic placeC−

Questions about Harvey’s history

What year was Harvey founded?

In 1816, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Harvey’s post office opened in 1890, and the census of 1970 counted 6,347 people here.

How does Harvey rank for history?

Harvey is more historic than 33% of U.S. towns, #81 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.

How old are the homes in Harvey?

3% of Harvey’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.1 points), against a typical 3.4% for a Louisiana town; the median home was built in 1975.

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 (20), 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.