Introduction
After Hurricane Katrina severely damaged the Albert Wicker Elementary School on Bienville Avenue, the Orleans Parish School Board chose to clear the block and build a new school. Archaeologists uncovered that many of the neighborhood's first residents were German and Irish immigrants who moved here right before the Civil War. They were carpenters, shoemakers, pharmacists, merchants, and grocers. Families often had many children and lived in homes with multiple generations. How did archaeologists find artifacts from the 1800s? During excavation of Wicker Elementary School, archaeologists uncovered the homes and artifacts from the immigrant families, the Haabs, Cunninghams, Kodlins, and Boyles.
FEMA provided funding for its refurbishment and, in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, FEMA funded an archaeological investigation and this web content.