The Society's Mission

The Algiers Historical Society (AHS) was formed in October 1999 by Kevin Herridge, Judi Robertson and a handful of like-minded people to promote the history of Algiers - and occasionally McDonoghville, Freetown and Gretna.  The Society is also dedicated to informing Algiers’ natives and newcomers through "The Algerine," our quarterly newsletter, as well as, monthly speakers on the history of Algiers and metro New Orleans, its people and places.

Join the Society

If you are interested in your local lineage, history of your home and/or local truth and lore, then please consider joining the Algiers Historical Society.  In doing so, you will begin to amass the tools you will need to research your family home and ancestors. By joining, you will receive word of monthly* meetings along with the quarterly newsletter, "The Algerine".  

Membership

The Society's membership year runs from January 1st to December 31st. Subscriptions are due each year on January 1st.  If you should join towards the end of a year you will receive the back issues of "The Algerine" for that year unless you stipulate you wish to join for the forthcoming year.

History Relevance - The Value of History

The Algiers Historical Society (AHS) Board of Directors, in July 2020, unanimously voted to adopt and endorse the History Relevance initiative and its seven principle components. This will guide the AHS, an IRS 501(c)(3) organization, henceforth. For more details about History Relevance, click on the link below. 

The AHS now joins the ranks of over 400 other organizations, across America, that have already embraced this initiative that began informally, in early 2013, with a series of conversations about why history - both knowledge about the past and the practice of researching and interpreting the past - was marginalized in our country. 

The Algiers Historical Society Officers

President...........Donald Costello
Vice President.... Arthur Ruiz, Jr. .
Secretary/Treasurer...........Frank Wagner

Algiers Courthouse
​Built 1896 - Restored 2018

Algiers Courthouse $1.38 million restoration, at 225 Morgan St., in Historic Algiers Point is now completed. It began in early 2017 and the ribbon cutting ceremony was on Feb. 1, 2018. (Click on this paragraph, then scroll down to the middle of the web page to review FEMA documents, descriptions and photos taken throughout the year long project.)

Family & Home Histories Wanted

If you are an AHS member and would like to share your family and/or home history or your life in any part of Algiers, please contact us and we would be happy to add it as a future AHS meeting.

Speakers & Volunteers Needed

The Society is always seeking speakers, preferably on Algiers or New Orleans related topics. If you can speak for 20-30 minutes on your life, family, church, music or Algiers experiences, we want you!  The Society is also looking for volunteers. Duties will include typing documents, collecting information from headstones in churchyards, transcribing interviews, photography, etc.  Please contact us if you can help in either area.    algiershistoryhistoricalsociety@aol.com 

General Meetings

The Algiers Historical Society (AHS) meets from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the third (3rd) Saturday of each month, January thru November, unless otherwise noted. There is no meeting in December. 
 
All meetings are free and open to the public and media.
 
Location: Algiers Regional Library, 3014 Holiday Dr., New Orleans Westbank (Algiers), La. 70131, in the large, first floor meeting room. Library Phone: 504-596-2641.
 
AHS meetings, at the library, are not endorsed by or affiliated with the New Orleans Public Library.

We have some exciting presentations coming up, so please do join us. Be sure to share this information with your family members, friends and neighbors. 
 
Like us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlgiersHistoricalSociety/

Upcoming Meetings

​Location: Algiers Regional Library, 3014 Holiday Dr. in Algiers. Library phone: 504-596-2641. Large, first floor meeting room.

AHS meetings, at the library, are free and open to the public and media. Also, they are not affiliated with or endorsed by the New Orleans Public Library.

IMPORTANT NOTICE
AHS MEETINGS IMPACTED 

With the three (3) month closure of the Algiers Regional Library, 3014 Holiday Dr. in Algiers, on October 22, 2026 to late January 2027, the AHS will not have any monthly meetings in November & December 2026 and January 2027.

AHS meetings at the library, our usual meeting place, will resume in February 2027.

We normally don't have a meeting in December anyway, so this eases the inconvenience, somewhat.

The library closure is necessary in order to address long overdue repairs to the roof and replacement of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, according to a New Orleans Public Library 
press release last month.

The AHS will keep its members and friends posted via Facebook, our website www.algiershistoricalsociety.org and email on the status of this important matter, as we receive notifications from the library. You are welcomed to visit our Facebook Public Group Page for ongoing daily contact with the AHS. Link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/819506084437249

The member only AHS quarterly newsletter - The Algerine - December 2026 issue #102 will be sent to our member's email inboxes in late December.

Be sure to renew your AHS membership or join. Annual dues: Individual $15, Family  $20 and Business $25. Here the link to the online membership application: https://algiershistoricalsociety.org/.../ahs_membership...

Unsure of your AHS membership status or have questions, in general? Just email us: AHSmembership@aol.com

Sorry for the upset to our meeting schedule, but the library closure is beyond the AHS's control.


AHS meetings at the library are free and open to the public and media. Also, they are not endorsed by or affiliated with the New Orleans Public Library.
Thank you for your time and patience in the matter, as well as, your membership.


       Happy Thanksgiving 🦃  Merry Christmas 🎄                                                                                                                      
         Happy New Year ⏳ Happy Mardi Gras 🎭​

Saturday, November 21 2026
​10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Fort Adams:
Forgotten Linchpin of the Lower Mississippi Valley
Presenter: Lou RITTEN

A long forgotten fort in sleepy Wilkinson County, in the southwestern tip of the state of Mississippi, was for the dozen years of its existence one of the most important forts in the country. Fort Adams witnessed a parade of historical figures and events that shaped the transformation of the country from one located east of the Mississippi River into the transcontinental nation envisioned by President Thomas JEFFERSON.
Once its mission was complete, the fort was decommissioned and slipped into obscurity. This presentation will revive the memory of Fort Adams and explain its significance.

For example, before the 1803 Louisiana Purchase gave the United States control of New Orleans, Fort Adams served as the official U.S. port of entry and customs post managing traffic moving between Spanish Louisiana and the United States.

The 18th-century overland trails and river trade routes closely linked early outposts, like Fort Adams, (earlier known as Roche Davion or Loftus Heights) with downstream destinations like Natchez and New Orleans.

The 1801 Treaty of Fort Adams signed with the Choctaw Nation, is another event of note in this forgotten fort's storied past.

Lou RITTEN had a 30+ year career as a professional securities trader in Chicago, but his real passion is history. RITTEN is a member of several national and local history groups, and has been heavily involved with the national LEWIS and CLARK Trail Alliance, including a four-year stint as its president.

RITTEN has delivered talks on a wide range of historical topics including the development of historic roads in Chicago; the Potawatomi Trail of Death; the MARQUETTE - JOLIET Expedition of 1673; the BURR - HAMILTON Duel. He has developed and led three-day historical tours in Chicago, New Orleans and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn. He has served as the historian on multiple LEWIS and CLARK themed trips, including several by motor coach that traced the entire trail. He has researched and written two books, edited, written and compiled a third, and is at work on a fourth concerning the history of his residence in New Orleans.

RITTEN has been married to his wife Carolyn, for over 40 years, has a grown son and daughter, and twin grandchildren who live in New Orleans. He is retired and splits his time between the Chicago area and New Orleans.