Harahan, Louisiana
suburb city of New Orleans, located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States
Harahan is a city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; it is a suburb of New Orleans. Its population was 9,116 at the 2020 census.
History
Harahan occupies land which was once part of the Soniat Plantation. The area was historically known for ideal conditions to use as farming and raising cattle. In the late 1800s, part of the former plantation was used as an experimental farm operated by Southern University and A&M College.
Non-agricultural development began in 1894, when the Illinois Central Railroad (now Canadian National) built a repair yard and roundhouse adjacent to the current city hall. In 1914, the Harahan Land Company, composed of ICRR officials, bought the Southern University tract of land and subdivided it. Residents included railroad workers, river workers and truck farmers. The village of Harahan was incorporated in 1920–named after James Theodore Harahan, the ICRR President.
Prior to the Huey P. Long Bridge being built, Harahan was one of few points on the entire Mississippi River where railcars could cross.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Harahan, Louisiana” is suburb city of New Orleans, located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Harahan, Louisiana and suburb, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “suburb city of New Orleans, located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2229176. VIAF identifies the subject as 133733029. The Library of Congress control number is n83205332. Authority coordinates are 29.941, -90.202. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1894, 1914 and 1920.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Harahan, Louisiana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Harahan, Louisiana primary sources, Harahan, Louisiana archive and Harahan research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Harahan, Louisiana”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Harahan, Louisiana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.