McDonoghville

John McDonogh founded this settlement in 1815, making it the oldest neighborhood in Jefferson Parish. It carried other names — Freetown and Gouldsboro — before the philanthropist's name stuck. McDonogh is the man who funded New Orleans public schools, a fact that outlasted whatever else he did with land and money. Gretna absorbed the neighborhood in 1913, but it remained distinct. In 2005, 727 buildings were surveyed for historic designation. That number is the point: not one church or one mansion, but 727 structures built, repaired, occupied, and kept standing across generations. The neighborhood became a locally designated historic district. A National Register nomination is in progress. The oldest neighborhood in the parish didn't become a parking lot. It became 727 reasons to walk streets where wood and brick have outlasted their builders.