Conclusion and Further Resources

Archaeologists excavating at this site with the museum, Le Musee de f.p.c. Courtesy Coastal Environments, Inc. 

Archaeologists uncover parts of history that build on the written history and make it tangible. At this site, archaeologists have deepened our knowledge of early New Orleans. We know people built a well at this site around 1860. The well was dug through remains of other households that had been moved, at least once. People, most likely free people of color, used the well for decades, probably living in a house that was built aligned to the old road, Bayou Road. The house was then moved after the streets were laid out on the house. When it was no longer needed, this home was carefully deconstructed, to make more room for the adjoining mansion that housed a mayor.  That mansion was cleared to make space for a brand-new school that, after a hundred years of use, was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. During the repairs, archaeologists investigated the schoolyard. Ultimately, much of what was discovered around this well cannot be linked to a specific person. We will never know for sure who used these items, but we are now a little bit closer to New Orleans past.