The truth is New Orleans appears to me to be at the extreme of everything - Changes take place here with almost the rapidity of thought. Today rich, tomorrow poor, today well, tomorrow dead, today hot, tomorrow cold, today dry, tomorrow wet ...

Bishop Henry B. Whipple, Southern Diary, 1843-44

A Legacy of Observations Through Time

In any study of the history of American cemeteries, the above ground cemeteries of New Orleans deserve special, and usually separate discussion. The early Creole cemeteries of New Orleans allow examination of a different development and transformation of the early burial ground as cultural landscape beyond religious use and local genealogical and patriotic commemoration. The city's unusual and complex history involving a rich mix of Native American, French, Spanish, and black African inhabitants and customs, the harsh environment and the frequent episodes of yellow fever, made New Orleans an obvious exotic 'other' to the largely English-speaking northern European-based populations of the greater United States. With the influx of foreigners to the city after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, visitors experienced first-hand these cultural differences, leaving a legacy of observations in word and image.