SHD 2003 Meeting Attendees Experience New Orleans

On October 23 through 26, 2003, a total of seventy-seven registrants and fifteen guests attended SHD’s 44th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana. The theme of the meeting was La Nouvelle Frontiere: Exploration and Discovery of the Louisiana Purchase. New Orleans was chosen as the site for our meeting because of its pivotal location in the Louisiana Purchase. The timing was perfect as 2003 marked the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase (1803-2003). Our meeting was held in the French Quarter in recognition of that area’s historic role. Highlights of the conference included a Thursday evening presentation by several representatives from France who inaugurated the new French website “Louisiane” at the Williams Research Center of The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC). The website “Louisiane” was developed by: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Chief of the Mission de la Recherche et de la Technologie of the Ministry of Culture; Camille Constans, Director of the multimedia project “Louisiane,” and Dr. Gilles-Antoine Langlois, author of the website. French Consul General Patrick Rolot, and Inspector General of the French Archives Elizabeth Rabut were also present to welcome SHD members. Our hosts, THNOC, also mounted an informative exhibit of historic maps at the Williams Research Center. Later that Thursday evening, THNOC hosted a reception in the beautiful courtyard at their museum in the French Quarter.

All of our presentations were held at the historic Prince Conti Hotel and its adjoining 1829 Townhouse in the French Quarter. Please refer to meeting program at this website for specifics. On Friday, a total of ten papers were presented on topics pertaining to the Louisiana Purchase as well as other geographic areas. The luncheon banquet that day was held at Arnaud’s Restaurant in the French Quarter. At the luncheon SHD honored Jenkins and Virginia Garrett of Fort Worth for their contributions in history and cartographic history respectively. Our luncheon speaker -- Captain Clarke Hawley -- provided a wonderful lecture and demonstration on “The Mapping Skills of a Mississippi River Pilot.”

On Saturday, October 25th, a total of five papers were presented. The SHD business meeting provided members an update on recent developments including the decision that our 2004 meeting will be held in Cody, Wyoming on September 9-12. In the afternoon, forty-six SHD members toured Laura Plantation, one of the South’s most informative historical sites. Later that evening, we met at the Wyndham Hotel in the French Quarter for a fine banquet dinner and the keynote speech by Dr. Gilles-Antoine Langlois. His topic was “The Travels of Général Collot in Louisiana (March-December, 1796).” 

Sunday morning, October 26th, found SHD members on a guided walking tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1 (1789) and the French Quarter (1803). The Sunday luncheon was held at Muriel’s overlooking Jackson Square. John Magill was the keynote speaker and his presentation dealt with evolution of the French Quarter with an emphasis on historical maps. On Sunday afternoon, a number of our members participated in the Mississippi River tours. 

SHD needs to thank many people for this meeting. John Hébert initially suggested New Orleans as our venue several years ago, and it proved perfect. Here at the University of Texas at Arlington, our secretary Ann Jennings provided assistance at every turn as the logistics were planned and things set in motion. Alfred Lemmon of THNOC served as our local arrangements coordinator and helped with the many details that such a meeting involves. THNOC’s Jason Wiese did a superb job of orchestrating the audio-visual equipment for this meeting. Given the rich variety of events at this meeting, Mr. Lemmon and THNOC deserve our ongoing thanks. 

23 OCTOBER (Thursday)	3:00-5:30 pm	Late Afternoon Registration
	5:30-6:30 pm	Early Evening Tours of THNOC Williams Research Center with an emphasis on cartographic holdings
		Inauguration of the Website “Louisiane,” a project of the French Ministry of Culture, by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Chief of the Mission de la Recherche et de la Technologie of the Ministry of Culture, Camille Constans, Director of the multimedia project “Louisiane,” and Dr. Gilles-Antoine Langlois, author of the site “Louisiane.”
	6:00-8:00 pm	Evening Reception in courtyard of The Historic New Orleans Collection with support of the French Consulate General of New Orleans.
24 OCTOBER (Friday)	8:00-9:00 am	Registration, coffee and pastries
	9:00- 9:15 am	Welcome by SHD President Eric Wolf and Alfred Lemmon (THNOC), and Richard Francaviglia, Program Chairman
	9:15-10:30 am	Session I - Early French Exploration and Colonization (Session Chair - Alfred Lemmon)
		Finding Louisiana: La Salle and the Mississippi River Delta - Christopher Morris
		The Search for La Caroline: A Progress Report on Investigations to Find the Archeological Evidence of the First French Colony in the United States - Rich J. Lundin and Charles A. Hoffman
	10:30-10:40 am	Break
	10-12:00 noon	Session II - The Legacy of Early Spanish Exploration (Session Chair - David Buisseret)
		The Second Island, Isla Grande o Isla Pequena? - William Dunwoody
		A Geographical Analysis of Monuments for Christopher Columbus - Peter van der Krogt
	12:15- 2:00 pm	Luncheon banquet and presentation of honors at Arnaud’s restaurant in French Quarter; speaker Captain Clarke Hawley - Lecture/Demonstration: Mapping Skills of a Mississippi River Pilot
	2:15-3:50 pm	Session III – Louisiana and the New Western Frontier (Session Chair - Dennis Reinhartz)
		Corridor to Mexico, Pathway to Liberty and Wealth: Anglo-American Perceptions of Texas in the Wake of the Louisiana Purchase, 1803-1813 - David Narrett
		“West of the Line Extended”: National Challenges to Imperial Authority on the Louisiana Borderlands - Michael Kimaid
		The First Published Cartographic Images of the Lewis and Clark Expedition -- 1809 - James V. Walker
	3:50- 4:00 pm	Break
	4:00- 5:45 pm	Session IV - Northern Exploration and Discovery (Session Chair - Carol Urness)
		The Inuit as Geographers: The Case of Eenoolooapik and the Rediscovery of Cumberland Sound After 250 Years - H. G. Jones
		The John Hunt Map and the Mystery of Popham Colony, Maine - Richard Pflederer
		Finding Themselves in the Arctic: Samuel Entrikin and the Peary Expedition of 1893-95 - Rob Lukens
	6:00- 7:30 pm	SHD Council Meeting
	7:30- 9:00 pm	Optional dinner at Palm Court Café (requires walk or short taxi ride)
25 OCTOBER (Saturday)	8:45-10:20 am	Session V - Western Exploration and Political Intrigue (Session Chair - Richard Francaviglia)
		Ambition and Enterprise: Zebulon Pike’s Maps Relating to the Exploration of the Southern Louisiana Purchase - Dennis Reinhartz
		Pike’s Peek: To Spy or Not to Spy -- Was Zebulon Pike lost on the Rio Grande in 1807? - Stuart Bryant
		Marco Polo’s New World Expeditions: The Role of Commercial Espionage in Westward Expansion and Discovery from Labrador to Louisiana and the Pacific - Gunnar Thompson
	10:20-10:30 am	Break
	10:30-11:30 am	Session VI - Enduring Places and Peoples (Session Chair - Sanford Bederman)
		Why Travel to Palestine? A Model of Jerusalem in the Louisiana Purchase Centennial Exhibition - Rehav Rubin
		Discovery of the Remnants of a French Colony in Mexico: Lessons in Survival for the Cajun Culture in Louisiana - Rodrique Lévesque
	11:30-12:15	SHD Business Meeting
	12:15- 2:00 pm	Lunch on your own
	2:00- 4:00 pm	Laura Plantation Tour
	7:00- 9:00 pm	SHD dinner and Keynote Speech “The Travels of Général Collot in Louisiana (March-December, 1796)” by Dr. Gilles-Antoine Langlois, at Restaurant 127 in the Wyndham Hotel in the French Quarter.
26 OCTOBER (Sunday)	9:00-12:00 noon	Walking tour of St Louis Cemetery #1 (1789) and French Quarter (1803)
	12:00- 1:30 pm	Luncheon and presentation at Muriel’s, overlooking Jackson Square: John Magill - Evolution of the French  Quarter (with an emphasis on maps).
	2:00- 4:00 pm	Afternoon Mississippi River tours
2002 Louisiana Quarter Click here for a list of previous and future annual meeting venues.