Our materials cover the extent of the German experience in the New Orleans area, being as early as German language descriptions of the new colony of Louisiana and advertisements for John Law’s Company of the Indies, and as late as recent newsletters of the Deutsches Haus organization, the contemporary offspring of numerous, amalgamated 19th Century German benevolent and social groups. The people, organizations, activities and thoughts presented in this pathfinder provide researchers with important access to a German community which has understood itself as such for nearly as long as there has been a place called Louisiana. In addition to being of interest to researches concerned with the settlement and growth of the New Orleans region and the influence of ethnicity on urban demographics and world views, further areas of interest within New Orleans history covered significantly by these German-related materials include the city’s music and entertainment history, the history of philanthropy and charitable organizations in the city, and its economic history. The pathfinder is accessible by going to the website of The Historic New Orleans Collection, www.hnoc.org, and clicking on “Research Tools” under the header “Collections and Research.”

The Historic New Orleans Collection is a museum, research center, and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region. General and Mrs. L. Kemper Williams, collectors of Louisiana materials, established the institution in 1966 to keep their collection intact and available for research and exhibition to the public. Over the 40 years since its founding, The Historic New Orleans Collection has added to its holdings and augmented the physical structures that house them, established ambitious publishing and exhibition schedules, and developed innovative educational programs. The Williams Research Center at 410 Chartres Street, which opened in 1996, makes available to researchers The Collection’s holdings which comprise some 35,000 library items, more than two miles of documents and manuscripts, and approximately 350,000 photographs, prints, drawings, paintings, and other artifacts.