$500 Canal Bank - New Orleans Canal and Banking Company - Louisiana Obsolete Banknote - Paper Money

$500 note printed by Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, New Orleans & NY. New Orleans, Louisianna. Light Stains. N-351.

The New Orleans Canal and Banking Company, chartered by the Louisiana State Legislature on March 5, 1831, was established as an “improvement bank” with a substantial capitalization of $4 million. Its primary objective was to finance and construct the New Basin Canal, a six-mile waterway designed to connect the thriving “American” sector of New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain. Construction commenced in 1832 and was a monumental engineering achievement, but it came at a staggering human cost. An estimated 8,000 to 20,000 Irish immigrants perished from yellow fever, cholera, and exhaustion while laboring tirelessly in the mosquito-infested cypress swamps to hand-dig the canal. Despite these hardships, the canal finally opened in 1838, serving as a crucial commercial artery for the city. However, the company’s exclusive toll rights eventually reverted to the state after 35 years.

As a financial institution, the company operated for over a century and stood as a cornerstone of the New Orleans banking industry, later known as the Canal Bank and Trust Company. Its presence was physically evident through grand headquarters, such as the 1843 James H. Dakin-designed building at 301 Magazine Street and the subsequent Neo-Classical skyscraper at 210 Baronne Street. Despite its longevity and numerous mergers, the bank was compelled to liquidate on March 1, 1933, following the National Bank Holiday during the Great Depression. It was succeeded by the National Bank of Commerce. While most of the New Basin Canal was filled in by the 1950s to construct the Pontchartrain Expressway, the company’s legacy endures in the historic architecture of the Central Business District and the Celtic Cross memorial dedicated to the laborers who contributed to the city’s infrastructure.