LaSalle's Landing

A riverside marker in North Jefferson commemorates the spot where René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, is believed to have landed in 1682 during his expedition down the Mississippi. That journey led France to claim the entire Mississippi basin as Louisiana — the claim that gave New Orleans its founding jurisdiction when the French established the city in 1718.

The site also holds bronze statues of two boxers, memorializing the 1870 Mace vs. Allen heavyweight championship bout — considered the first World Heavyweight Championship.

The pairing seems unlikely: an explorer's landing and a prizefight. But both facts belong to a city that began as France's anchor on the Mississippi and grew into the largest port in the Southern United States, exporting most of the nation's cotton to Western Europe and New England. New Orleans was built where La Salle's claim met the river's commerce. That the site now holds both a colonial memorial and a sporting monument reflects a place that has always drawn significance from beyond its borders.