page_title: Jackson Square (New Orleans)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Jackson Square (New Orleans) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Jackson Square, New Orleans, a wood engraving drawn by W. P. Snyder and published in Harper's Weekly, January 1885.
context_page_description: Jackson Square is a historic park in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960, for its central role in the city's history, and as the site where in 1803 Louisiana was made United States territory pursuant to the Louisiana Purchase. In 2012 the American Planning Association designated Jackson Square as one of the Great Public Spaces in the United States.
context_section_description: Early French colonial New Orleans was centered on what was then called the Place d'Armes (lit. 'weapons’ square'). Under Spanish colonial administration in the second half of the 18th century, the name was Plaza de Armas, which also means a place d'armes. Following the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788, the Spanish officials rebuilt the St. Louis Church (elevated to cathedral in 1793) in 1789 and the town hall (known as the Cabildo) in 1795.
  Following the 1815 Battle of New Orleans, during the first half of the 19th century, the former military plaza was renamed Jackson Square, for the battle's victorious General Jackson. In the center of the park stands an equestrian statue of Andrew Jackson erected in 1856, one of four identical statues in the U.S. by the sculptor Clark Mills.  The statue was dedicated in a grand ceremony on Saturday, February 9, 1856. The square also has 4 slightly older statues, neoclassical representations of personifications of the 4 Seasons, one near each corner of the square.
  The square originally overlooked the Mississippi River across Decatur Street, but the view was blocked in the 19th century by the construction of higher levees. The riverfront was long devoted to shipping docks.  The 20th-century administration of Mayor Moon Landrieu installed a scenic boardwalk on top of the levee to reconnect the city to the river; it is known as the "Moon Walk" in his honor, and has since been expanded and paved. The space between Decatur Street and the "Moon Walk" is designated as "Washington Artillery Park".
  On the north side of the square are three 18th-century historic buildings, which were the city's heart in the colonial era. The center of the three is St. Louis Cathedral. The cathedral was designated as a minor Basilica by Pope Paul VI. To its left is the Cabildo, the old city hall, now a museum, where the final version of the Louisiana Purchase was signed. To the cathedral's right is the Presbytère, built to match the Cabildo. The Presbytère was initially planned for housing the city's Roman Catholic priests and other church officials. At the start of the 19th century, it was adapted as a courthouse, and in the 20th century it became a museum.
  The Place d'Armes was the site for public execution of criminals and rebellious slaves during the 18th and early 19th centuries.  After the 1811 German Coast Uprising, three slaves were hanged here.  The heads of some of the executed rebels were put on the city's gates.(The same thing happened in St. Charles Parish, and a third slave-trial tribunal was held in St. John the Baptist Parish.)
  In the Reconstruction Era, Jackson Square served as an arsenal. During the insurrection following the disputed 1872 gubernatorial election, in March 1873, it was the site of the Battle of Jackson Square.  A several-thousand-man militia under John McEnery, the Democratic claimant to the office of the Governor, defeated the New Orleans militia, seizing control of the state's buildings and armory for a few days.  They retreated before the arrival of Federal forces, which temporarily re-established order.
caption: Jackson Square, 1885
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