City history
From the indigenous trading crossroads of Bulbancha to French colonization and North America's oldest continuously operating streetcar line, New Orleans transitioned from local solar time to Central Standard Time in 1883.
Chapter one
Indigenous name
"Place of foreign languages"
Long before European settlement, dozens of indigenous groups used this area near Bayou St. John and the Mississippi River as an expansive trading post and meeting ground, calling it Bulbancha.
Place of foreign languages
Choctaw name used across regional Native trade networks, including Choctaw, Chitimacha, Houma, and Tunica peoples.
New Orleans
Founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, and named in honor of Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of France.
New Orleans (Spanish)
Governed by Spain following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, retaining Spanish administration until briefly returned to France in 1803.
New Orleans (English)
Acquired by the United States through the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and officially incorporated as an American city in 1805.
Chapter two
On November 18, 1883, known as 'The Day of Two Noons,' New Orleans adopted Central Standard Time (UTC-6) alongside North American railroads, replacing local solar time.
The U.S. Congress passed the Standard Time Act of 1918, legally formalizing Central Standard Time and instituting national Daylight Saving Time during World War I.
New Orleans observed year-round Daylight Saving Time, known as War Time (UTC-5), from February 1942 to September 1945 to conserve energy during World War II.
The U.S. Uniform Time Act of 1966 standardized the start and end dates of Daylight Saving Time across participating states, including Louisiana.
Under the U.S. Energy Policy Act of 2005, Daylight Saving Time was extended in 2007 to run from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
Chapter three
Following the rebuilding of St. Louis Cathedral, clockmaker Jean Delachaux brought a tower clock and bell cast in Paris to mark public time from the cathedral façade.
The New Orleans and Carrollton Rail Road began operating passenger service along St. Charles Avenue, establishing the world's oldest continuously operating streetcar line.
Construction began on the monumental U.S. Custom House in New Orleans, creating a key central hub for maritime commerce and federal administration.
New Orleans established its signature New Year's Eve midnight countdown atop Jax Brewery, lowering an illuminated fleur-de-lis above the Mississippi River front.