Established in 1833 by the City of Lafayette, this cemetery occupied a square acquired from Cornelius Hurst and laid out by city surveyor Benjamin Buisson on land that had been part of the Livaudais Plantation before its subdivision into city squares in 1832. It contains many fine and historic tombs, including those of Samuel Jarvis Peters, father of the New Orleans public school system, and General Harry T. Hays, a distinguished Confederate general. Many people of German and Irish origin who lived in the City of Lafayette are buried here. The typical New Orleans burial vaults adjoining Washington Avenue were restored, and magnolia trees on the cross aisle were replanted by the City of New Orleans under Mayor Victor M. Schiro.
