Les Villes des Morts

Where can you find an ex-mayor, a voodoo queen, a business tycoon, jazz musicians, a civil rights proponent, as well as the sister of a general and the wife & child of a governor?
Well of course at our next stop in New Orleans!
Come along on the Canal St. line as we head off to our next stop. A city inside of the city. A microcosim of what New Orleans is and was; the culture, the personalities, the politics and the religions of this unique city. Walking in we could feel both the history and the people who made history. Walking the narrow passageways leads one back in time at one moment and then brings you right back to the present as you move down the crooked paths.  There are ancient ruins to look at, crumbling and showing the extremes of nature and time that have affected this part of the world. And next to those ruins are pristine structures with their beautiful wrought iron fences giving you notice of the boundaries of the owners. Then again there are the large imposing structures well maintained but with statuary that has suffered damage, headless or with perhaps a hand or arm damaged but the body still intact.
Allow me now to introduce you to former Mayor Ernest "Dutch" Morial, New Orleans first black mayor. And trust me ask anyone in New Orleans about the Morial family. They are well quite known. Next to Mayor "Dutch" is Marie LeVeau, reigning queen of Voodoo in New Orleans. She arguably receives the most visitors. Many of those who come are seeking a favor from her so they bring gifts of food, flowers, or candy as well as "rose water" or candles. Her visitors perform elaborate moves that resemble a royal ceremony in seeking from her the favor they wish. But then Marie is a queen, so I guess that is fitting. Another introduction you should have is that of Bernard de Marigny, a New Orleans born Creole. He introduced the game of "craps" to the country and thence the world as well as becoming the first modern style developer of New Orleans selling off his inherited plantation in small lots for over a decade. Another introduction you should have to one of our notables is Mr. Homer Plessy. Mr. Plessy broke the law of Louisiana by boarding a white only railroad car and his case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Plessy vs. Ferguson cemented segregation in the south for decades.
So exactly what place am I writing about? Les Villes des Morts or in english the Cities of the Dead. There are many, many cemeteries or Villes des Morts, and visiting them all was just impossible due to time constraints. So we chose to enjoy the living and visit only two of Les Villes des Morts.
The first was the Saint Louis #1 Cemetery which is located 1 block outside of the French Quarter on Basin Street at St. Louis.  Walking in, we could begin to understand how it must have felt to be one of the first cemetery workers back in 1789. When the cemetery was founded the city was in desperate need of burial space as beginning the year prior New Orleans had suffered a devastating fire which destroyed 80% of the city. It also suffered a flood and an epidemic of yellow fever. In order to perform their duties workers had to come to work inebrieated and they stayed that way throughout their time on duty in order to be able to tolerate the stench.
Our 2nd of the New Orleans Villes des Morts was a visit again by streetcar. This time we took the St. Charles Ave. line to what is now known as the "Garden District." Located on Washington St. is Lafayette Cemetery, the only cemetery in the city to be dedicated to a person, was established for Les Americaines or the Americans. Lafayette was established in 1833 and is the final resting place for many who died of the yellow fever epidemics that regularly occurred in the city. At one point, the victims were so numerous that when the workers arrived in the morning to open the gates, there would be bodies piled up at the gates having been left in the night for burial the next morning. One of the more interesting areas of Lafayette that we found is called "the secret garden." The area is a small square made up of four tombs constructed by friends, "the Quarto," who wished to be buried together. According to Save Our Cemeteries, the Quarto held secret meetings, but the last member destroyed their book of notes. The only evidence of their existence are two keys from their minutes, which have been made into broaches and belong to their descendants.
We chose to tour the two cemeteries alone as we felt like we could read up on the cemeteries and be fine wandering on our own. We noted that before we arrived at the first tomb location in St. Louis # 1 cemetery there was a carriage driver and his guests as well as a tour group of about 15 already there. Two other tour groups of about the same size arrived after us. The same occurred at Lafayette cemetery. As a matter of fact we actually separated in St. Louis # 1 without any problems.
However, I would caution those who are not as intrigued with the macabre or who are uncomfortable wandering alone in a cemetery that a tour group is a good investment. Cost for tours starts at $10 per person and goes up from there depending on what else is included in your tour. Also most of the visitors guides recommend a group for safety as potentially if you were alone in the cemetery (especially possible in less visited sites) you could become an easy crime victim.

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The plaque on Marie Leaveau's vault which shows "gris-gris" or what is considered desecration by the authorities.

Marie Leveau's vault, with the hundreds of "gris-gris" (desecration), gifts. Note the plants growing on top of the vault.

One of the oldest graves, which is also inground. Dated 1815.

This is the vault for the soldiers who fought in the Battle of New Orleans all of whom died in 1815. It has been restored and is maintained.

This is in the protestant part of the cemetery, at the back. The first wife and son of C. C. Clairborne, first American governor of Louisiana dated 1804.

See the stones in pieces in front of the vault. This damage may be from age or nature or both. A platform style tomb.

I didn't find this family vault marked, but if you look closely you will see the half circles in the brick indicating more than one occupant. This is an example of a pediment tomb.



Perpetual care, which I assumed means that some family pays or paid for constant upkeep. This is known as a platform tomb.



There was no other tomb that looked at all like this one in St. Louis #1.

Italian Society Block Vaults, erected so that any person of Italian descent could have a burial place.

The remains or ruins of a tomb in St. Louis #1.

This is the family tomb of the Barbarin family, a prominent jazz family of New Orleans. They have graciously opened the use of their family tomb up to any jazz musician in New Orleans.

An inside section of the wall that surrounds the catholic part of the St. Louis #1 showing the graffiti that mars it.

This was the only table that we found in St. Louis # 1. And as far as I could tell had no grave under it.

One section of the outer vault wall at St. Louis #1

A large family tomb in Lafayette.

Grave markers or Headstones set in a slab at St. Louis #1.

A step tomb from Lafayette.

Another tomb which appeared to be a family one, that has suffered much damage.

A sarcophagus style tomb in St. Louis #1 with it's intricate wrought iron fence still in good shape.

An intersection of the narrow passageways at St. Louis #1.

One section of the wall surrounding Lafayette which shows crumbling.

This is a view of the plants which have taken root on the walls at Lafayette.

The biggest difference between Lafayette and St. Louis #1 is that Lafayette was a planned cemetery, so the passageways are much wider and there are more trees and some grass.

This is to the left of the entrance at Lafayette.