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The Charles J. Colton School was named for a New Orleans Renaissance man and education leader affectionately known as 'Uncle Charlie.'
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Photo by Eileen Loh Harrist
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Hey Blake,
On St. Claude Avenue is a school bearing the name Charles
J. Colton. Who was he?
--Jimmy
Dear Jimmy,
Charles
Joseph Colton was a versatile man -- essayist, poet, journalist, lawyer, and
court reporter -- who was born in New Orleans on Sept. 14, 1868, and died on
Jan. 17, 1916. During his lifetime, Colton served for 12 years as court reporter
of the Civil District Court of New Orleans. He was also connected with the old
New Orleans newspaper The Times-Democrat and worked for many years editing
the "All Sorts" column. He also edited Colton's Magazine.
Very fond of children, he was a member of
the Board of Education from 1904 until he died and was a leader in every progressive
movement when it involved the schools and the children of New Orleans.
Two years after he died, a school was named
after him. Located on St. Philip Street between Royal and Bourbon streets, the
evening school held Americanization classes for the foreign-born who represented
at least 10 nationalities.
Colton School at 2300 St. Claude Ave. opened
on March 8, 1929. It was the work of the prolific architect Edgar Angelo Christy,
who held the position of supervising architect of the Orleans Parish School
Board from the creation of the post in 1911 until his retirement in 1940.
Charles Colton was described by friends as
"big hearted," causing him to earn the title "Uncle Charlie."
Hey Blake,
How many different
peoples came to New Orleans from 1803 to 1850, bringing their architecture,
cooking, language, music and religious faith here and intermarrying to make
a big "pot of gumbo"? I heard 12 newspapers in 10 languages were here, also.
--Mike Marino
Dear Mike,
When
France regained the Louisiana territory from Spain and Napoleon sold it to the
United States in 1803, New Orleans was already a big "gumbo pot" consisting
of immigrants from France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands,
as well as slaves, free Negroes and Native Americans. But after the Louisiana
Purchase, more and more folks were attracted to New Orleans.
Americans, who had come to New Orleans when
it prospered under Spanish rule, now began to swarm into the city. And increasing
numbers of English came as well. Also, there were more immigrants from Santo
Domingo who came to Louisiana when war broke out between France and Spain in
1809. They joined others who had left the Caribbean island after the slave revolts
in 1791.
After the War of 1812, there was a period
of rapid growth for the city. Louisiana had achieved statehood in 1812, and
thousands came down the Mississippi River on flatboats bringing products and
cultural influences from the West. And the city attracted speculators, gamblers,
and entrepreneurs from the East looking to make a fortune. Progress slowed down
only briefly by the Panic of 1837. Then in the 1840s, waves of German and Irish
flooded into the city. Many of them provided the cheap labor necessary for the
business boom that came in the 1850s.
By 1850, the population of New Orleans was
116,375, the fifth-largest city in the United States. While the largest immigrant
groups were Irish, German and French, our city was also enriched by those who
came from England, Spain, Italy, West Indies, Switzerland, Mexico, Denmark,
Belgium, Holland, Sweden, Poland, Portugal, Asia, Russia, Norway, Atlantic Islands,
Central America, South America, Greece, China and Africa.
And all of these influences were felt before
the start of the Civil War!
As for the newspapers, New Orleans has had
over two dozen newspapers, published in English, French, German and Italian.
The oldest was the Moniteur de la Louisiane, published in 1794, followed
by eight other French-language papers including L'Abeille, the Bee,
established in 1827. The New Orleanser Deutsche Zeitung, the German Gazette,
was founded in 1848. And between 1896 and 1901, the Italian-language paper the
Italo-Americano had a devoted following.
Some of the papers lasted longer than others,
and there was a great deal of merging. But rather like the children's song that
ends "The cheese stands alone," The Times-Picayune is the only daily
left standing.
