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.

Saturday, September 19, 2026
​10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

The Wartime History of the USS New Orleans
Presenter: Cory GRAFF

Cory GRAFF will speak about The National WWII Museum’s new and original special exhibit, Come Back Fighting: USS New Orleans at War, which follows the prolific history and remarkable resilience of the decorated heavy cruiser USS New Orleans (CA-32) and her veteran crew, that mirrors the indomitable spirit of her namesake city.

Exploring this U.S. Navy warship's short, but accomplished career, GRAFF will examine the vessel’s triumphs and tragedies, from her prewar commissioning to her participation in nearly every major campaign in the Pacific Theater of Operations, during World War II.

Her history includes the crew’s creativity, improvisation and determination to save their ship after a devastating enemy attack that cost the USS New Orleans her bow and claimed more than 180 lives.

As the war ended, the USS New Orleans, came home to participate in Mardi Gras in 1946.

Come Back Fighting special exhibit, at the WWII Museum, features artifacts from the Museum’s collection, including uniforms, photographs and souvenirs, as well as, archival newsreels, oral histories from former crew members and music recorded by the Victory Belles. This interactive installation, at the WWII Museum, traces the ship’s evolution over the course of World War II, and a six-foot-long scale model offers a look at the cruiser’s structural details.

Cory GRAFF is the Curator and Restoration Manager at The National WWII Museum.

Cory earned his Bachelor of Science in Fine Arts from the University of Oregon and his Master’s of Arts in World War II Studies from Arizona State University. In the past, he has worked for The Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington, and as the Verville Fellow at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.


He is the author of eleven books on various aviation and history subjects and has written for Air & Space Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Flight Journal, Air Classics, and World War II Magazine. 

Saturday, October 17, 2026
​10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Tracing the War Service of Anthony MICKLES
Presenter: Jay WILKINSON

A stirring tale from World War II — the true story of Gretna resident and Army veteran, Anthony J. MICKLES, who is buried in the Hook and Ladder Cemetery, in Gretna.

Providing the facts will be guest speaker Jay WILKINSON, who will also portray MICKLES at the Gretna Historical Society’s fall Cemetery Tour at the Hook and Ladder Cemetery.

MICKLES earned a Bronze Star Medal for his heroic service in the Battle of the Bulge, which began on December 16, 1944 in the snowy Ardennes Forest in Belgium. It was Germany's last major offensive in World War II.

Before Jay retired, was a member of the federal judiciary. Judge Joseph C. WILKINSON, Jr. served as Chief Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He lives in Gretna.

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.