New Orleans Custom House

The New Orleans Custom House was the headquarters of the Collection District of Mississippi, later renamed the Collection District of New Orleans, established on March 2, 1799. Located on Canal Street, just blocks from the mighty Mississippi River, the building encompasses an entire city block and is the third federally constructed Custom House to occupy the site. In the years before the Civil War, Custom House employees worked on the first floor in the building while it was still under construction and had only a temporary roof. The U.S. Post Office and Federal Courts also came to occupy floors in the building. When it was built, it was considered the largest federal building outside Washington, D.C. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1974.

This set includes selected letters, invoices, payrolls and manifests that are part of Record Group 36 (Records of the United States Custom Service) located at the National Archives at Fort Worth. They show the on-going construction, administrative correspondence and daily work of Custom House employees for the years 1803, 1857-1862.