Why the oldest neighborhood in Jefferson Parish is ‘on the cusp’ of a rebirth

By the time the Rev. Orin Grant arrived at Public Enemy Cuts, a popular barber shop in McDonoghville, three people were already waiting in their cars to put their names on Oliver Young, Jr.’s schedule for the day, despite his opening time not being for another hour. One came straight from getting off work at 4:30 a.m.

The shop has weathered Hurricane Katrina, tornadoes and the general ups and downs of the neighborhood, a community cornerstone through it all. The people who sit in Young’s chair know each other, swapping stories and talking about nothing and everything over the buzz of an electric razor.

“This is McDonoghville, capital M-C-capital D-O-N-O-G-H-V-I –double L E,” said Grant, as he gestured at the men waiting as Young carefully shaved a customer with a straight edge razor one recent morning. “The barber shop is my second church. It's a community.”

McDonoghville, the oldest neighborhood in Jefferson Parish, has existed for more than two centuries at the Jefferson and Orleans parish line. A historically diverse neighborhood in Gretna that is home to some of the most economically disadvantaged populations in the parish, older residents remember a time when streets now full of vacant properties were bustling commercial hubs. 

But the tide appears to be shifting. Last year, the neighborhood was added to the National Register of Historic Places, opening the door for tax incentives and grants, and the city won a grant for infrastructure and economic revitalization in McDonoghville. City officials hope the recent relocation of a popular brunch spot and a bakery to the area are a sign of what’s to come.

“It’s really on the cusp,” said Zach Dieterich, a McDonoghville resident and a member of Gretna's Historic District Advisory Commission. “People are recognizing that it still has the charm and historic resources of old Gretna and Algiers Point and it's got a lower price point. You have the safety of Gretna police and fire departments but it’s also very neighborly.”

Oldest neighborhood in Jefferson Parish

As he stood outside his red-brick church on Monroe Street on a weekday morning, Grant — known as the 'McDonoghville Minister' — was regaled with honks from passing cars. St. Paul Baptist Church has been on the same site for 134 years, and he plans to build a new church for his 200-member congregation on the lot next door.

“When it comes down to small town America, [McDonoghville] is one of the last great municipalities,” Grant said, likening the neighborhood to the “Cheers” theme song where “Everyone knows your name.” 

A few blocks away, a plaque commemorates McDonoghville’s founding in 1815 by John McDonogh, the slaveowner and real estate developer who donated money to New Orleans and Baltimore schools when he died. Portions of the neighborhood were known as Freetown, a settlement of freed slaves from New Orleans, and Gouldsboro for railroad magnate Jay Gould. It was incorporated into Gretna in 1913.

Dieterich said the destruction of the nearby William J. Fischer Housing Development, better known as the Fischer Projects, and its replacement with affordable mixed-income houses was a “redefining moment” for the neighborhood which struggled with blighted properties and abandoned lots. 

Even before Katrina, about 20% of homes in the neighborhood were vacant, Dieterich said. In the past five years he has renovated 12 homes in McDonoghville, including four doubles on Monroe Street. On that block, Dieterich said, five of the seven houses have undergone full gut renovations and their prices have jumped from $125,000 to $400,000.

Unlike in old Gretna and Algiers Point, McDonoghville still has vacant land for development, Dieterich said, and could have more in the future. The Port of Orleans owns about 12 blocks, which could make their way to commerce, and if Gretna succeeds in its decades-long quest to move the railroad tracks, that would further open up some space.

Gretna City Council member Rudy Smith, who represents McDonoghville, recalled growing up in McDonoghville in the 1950s and 1960s with a mix of White and Black families, when there were a variety of grocery stores, a theater and retail stores all within walking distance.

“Anything you needed you could walk from one corner to the other to get it, barrooms on Cook Street, it was lively,” said Deanna, Smith's wife who grew up down the street. “It was family oriented — if something happened at school your mom knew about it before you got home.”

Smith said he sees bringing back businesses to the neighborhood as a significant part of revitalization and pointed to the additions of Toast, a popular brunch spot, and Hen House, a gluten-friendly bakery, as signs of progress.

Some businesses have opened in long-abandoned commercial properties. Hen House opened in a building that was a deli and later a catering company but had been vacant for a decade, Dieterich said. Young Audiences Charter School opened in an old Coca-Cola bottling plant built in the 1960s. The city recently bought an old Piggly Wiggly and is renovating the building with plans to turn it into a recycling drop-off facility. 

Jerry Bologna, president of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission, said McDonoghville’s resurgence is a “natural progression as a result of what’s happened in downtown Gretna,” which has seen tremendous growth and attracted new businesses to the area. Terrytown experienced a similar boom after Gretna began to build out, he said.

Gretna has begun a major renovation of Fifth Street, including new sidewalks, street parking and adding a median in some spots. The city also purchased a handful of properties on Fifth Street to develop into retail space, Smith said.

Last year, the city won a grant from Greater New Orleans Foundation for a project that focuses on McDonoghville’s future through green infrastructure, housing and economic opportunities through localized water management and reinvesting money in historic structures.

“Those are my visions of how we bring the community back,” Smith said. “I want people to feel safe and that a person can go walk the neighborhood, walk to a retail outlet and just enjoy the neighborhood.”