Our History

The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) was founded in 1966, following Leila’s death. Her will established the Kemper and Leila Williams Foundation, which operates HNOC through the endowment of the Williamses’ estates and contributions from members and donors.  

HNOC began as a small reading room at 533 Royal Street, and it opened its doors as a museum in 1970. As the curatorial and cataloging teams grew, the institution expanded its collecting interests, acquiring large bodies of work related to Louisiana photography, jazz, architecture, and politics. HNOC continues to collect rigorously, adding roughly 2,700 new items each year. Recent and current collecting initiatives include LGBT+ history, coastal Louisiana and the environment, and the Vietnamese American experience. 

Through our oral history program and many database initiatives, we have compiled and digitized thousands of unique primary source materials dating from colonial Louisiana. We strive to make as much of our holdings available to view online as possible, via the public catalog. 

Named Museum of the Year in 2023 by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, HNOC produces exhibitions that explore Gulf South history from a variety of perspectives—civil rights leaders, makers and builders, early Louisianians, Carnival revelers, artists and musicians, and people affected by incarceration. We offer two permanent exhibitions, one on the history of the French Quarter and the other on coastal Louisiana and the environment. 

HNOC’s publishing program began in 1983 and encompasses over 50 nonfiction titles; a scholarly journal, the Tennessee Williams Annual Review; a magazine, the Historic New Orleans Collection Quarterly; and our blog, First Draft.  

HNOC was founded by two people, but we continue our work and expand our reach through the support of members, sponsors, donors, and supporters. Our mission is to engage as many people as we can with New Orleans and Gulf South history, making the place we call home accessible to everyone.

Institutional partnerships are an important part of our mission, and in recent years we have worked with the Tate, Etienne, Prevost (TEP) Center, the National Urban League, the American Folklife Center, and various local civic groups.

Above all we want to be a resource for people to find something relevant to their own lives and interests. In the crossroads of history, we strive to be wayfinders, helping people see understand where we came from and where we might go next.