Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop is a historic structure at the corner of Bourbon Street and St. Philip Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Most likely built as a house in the 1770s during the Spanish colonial period, it is one of the oldest surviving structures in New Orleans.
Image: Jean Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop Night (New Orleans)
Jean Lafitte was a French pirate and privateer who operated in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. He and his older brother Pierre spelled their last name Laffite, but English language documents of the time used "Lafitte". This has become the common spelling in the United States, including places named after him.
An 1837 woodcut of Lafitte, Governor W.C.C. Claiborne, and General Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812
US Commodore Daniel Patterson commanded an offensive force against Lafitte and his men at Barataria, 1814.
A persistent rumor claimed that Lafitte rescued French Emperor Napoleon (pictured) from exile on the isolated island of Saint Helena and both of them ended their days in Louisiana. No evidence supports it.