Mandeville, Louisiana is a historic city, a beautiful town located precisely as the entrance way to the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain and St Tammany Parish. Bounded on the North by Interstate 12, the city is situated along the shores of the lake, connected by the Causeway Bridge to its South shore neighbor, the city of New Orleans. Statistics state Mandeville has an average elevation of 7 feet, and according to the US Census Bureau, the total area of the city is 6.8 square miles with a population of just over 11000 people.

To begin with the history of Mandeville, one has to start with the rich Native American heritage, still used commonly today. When we use words like Chinchuba, Tchefuncte, Bogue Falaya, and Catahoula, just to name a few. We are going back hundreds of years to when the Northshore was originally inhabited by Choctaw Indians. As time progressed though, the area of Mandeville became an agricultural region and this was the catalyst for its creation in the year 1834, by the renowned Bernard de Marigny de Mandeville (1785-1868). The Marigny was, historically, an affluent Louisiana family which, at one time, used to own approximately 1/3 of New Orleans. After the death of his father, Pierre Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville; Bernard inherited a large fortune. He owned a rich plantation is the area where today’s Fontainebleau State Park is currently located. (Today Fontainebleau is a place for campers and day visitors who enjoy the serenity of the piney woods and oak trees.) Being the entrepreneur he was, Bernard de Marigny purchased over 5,000 acres of additional land where the City of Mandeville was finally developed. Under Bernard’s supervision, Louis Bringer, the surveyor general of Louisiana, drew Mandeville’s plans; literally and figuratively. Several Mandeville families were obliged to place their properties up for sale during the depression of the late 1830s. Even the founder of the city, Bernard Xavier de Marigny de Mandeville was forced to sell the Fontainebleau Plantation in hard years surrounding 1852. During the period of the US Civil War, the city was inhabited by very few people, as Major F.H. Peck’s unionist soldiers invaded and occupied the city for an extended time. However, during the 19th century, Mandeville became again a very popular vacation resort for the more affluent sections of the New Orleans’ population, which we will touch more on in just a little bit.

One easily recognizable and significant feature of Mandeville, is its historic architecture in the oldest parts of the city. These houses consist of a series of unique custom homes, originally built as summer vacation retreats, along the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain. Eight of these homes and properties are currently considered historic by the National Register of Historic Places:

• The Morel–Nott home, also known as the Hanisee house located at 2627 Lakeshore Drive
• The Moore house, also commonly known as "Hightide" at 1717 Lakeshore Drive
• The Bertus-Ducatel Home at 1721 Lakeshore Drive, also more commonly known as the “Little Flower Villa”
• “Flagstaff” located at 1815 Lakeshore Drive
• Griffins Bakery at 301 Lafitte St
• The Johnson House at 402 Lafitte St
• The Rankin House
• The Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall, an early, 1930’s African American, recreational hall graced by the likes of Jazz icon Louis Armstrong

The wonderful sound of Jazz! Unique to New Orleans, began to be played in Mandeville during the early to mid 1900s. Steamboats began to port weekend vacationers back and forth from the South shore, and notable musicians were hired to entertain the guests during the voyages. Soon these music groups were playing the local Mandeville venues and for one of the first times, Jazz music was played outside the city of New Orleans. Mandeville soon began to become very popular and several early Jazz pioneers frequently played on the Northshore. Musicians the likes of Bunk Johnson, Buddy Petit, Papa Celestin, George Lewis, Kid Ory, Edmond Hall, and Chester Zardis.

The afore mentioned Dew Drop Social Hall was one of the local playhouses, which though closed as a music hall for many years, was reopened, in 2000, as a live jazz venue, and is an excellent place to catch local live music. Another amazing venue is Ruby's Roadhouse, which, unbelievably, has been operating since the 1920s and if you enjoy the night life is absolutely a place you want to visit when you come to Mandeville! 🙂

Attractions in Mandeville

Well I would not call the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge, (24 miles of concrete and steel, and also one of the longest bridges in the world), a major attraction of Mandeville, however it does have significant economical importance to the area, so I mention it to cover all the bases. The Causeway provides Mandeville with fairly quick access (a 20 minute drive) to Metairie, and hence to the CBD (Central Business District) of New Orleans, and many Mandeville residents commute back and forth daily for work.

The Mandeville trailhead is a neat attraction, located directly on the Tammany Trace. The Trailhead provides an amphitheater for live music and events and a water park for kids to beat the long hot summers.

Also, Mandeville is a member of the Tree City USA program, and the city is home to the Seven Sisters Oak, the largest certified Southern live oak tree, located just 2 blocks off the lake in Lewisburg. The Seven Sisters Oak is just a hair under 39 feet in circumference and is estimated to be over 1500 years old. Wow!

In conclusion, Mandeville is a city rich in history and culture and simply enjoys a more slower paced lifestyle than New Orleans. On weekends, many recreational boaters take to the lake for a relaxed and fun sail or to fish for speckled trout.

Well that is all I have for now. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, or post a response and I will get back with as soon as possible. Mandeville truly is a great place to live and a wonderful place to grow up.

Thank You
Marc Pellettiere

marc@mmsre.com