There are a few things everyone associates with New Orleans. Bourbon Street, jazz, and New Orleans carry the city’s reputation on their back for many who have never visited to the Big Easy. However, while New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi Gras, it wasn’t the first American city to celebrate the holiday.
Where Was The First Mardi Gras?
To uncover the truth about Mardi Gras, we have to drive two hours east to another portside city with a long history: Mobile, Alabama. What’s now one of the largest cities in Alabama was also the capital of French Louisiana from 1702-1720. In those days, French Louisiana occupied a huge swath of North America, up the Midwest to Quebec.
Mobile’s deep-water harbor and strategic position offered an optimal outpost for French colonial power. They had room for a naval base against the Spanish and British as well as trade opportunities with the Chickasaw and Choctaw. When the capital was eventually moved due to flooding, Biloxi was chosen before New Orleans.
Now that we have set the stage for America’s first Mardi Gras, let’s get into it…