Founded in 1870 and named in 1873 by the Texas-Pacific Railroad, Westwego grew as developer Pablo Sala subdivided adjacent land along the banks of Company Canal in 1892 to create Salaville, where survivors of Cheniere Caminada fled after the 1893 hurricane. It was incorporated as a village and as a town in 1919 and as a city in 1951. Attorney Conrad A. Buchler served as the first mayor from 1919 to 1921.