13. Hook & Ladder Cemetery

The Hook and Ladder Cemetery was founded on Feb.15, 1858 when three lots of ground, #1, #2 and #3 on the corner of 10th and Lafayette Streets were bought by Gretna Hook & Ladder Company No. 1 for the purpose of a firemen’s burial ground. In January of 1882, 3 more lots, #4, #5 and #6 were purchased. As the decades passed, lots were sold to individuals beyond the firemen.

The cemetery today takes up most of the block, bounded by Lafayette, Newton, 10th and 11th Streets.

Tombs in the cemetery range from very modest to much more ornate sites finished with granite or marble. Many of the tombs, especially in the “Old-Old” section of the cemetery are in very bad shape, some decrepit and falling down. The City of Gretna is in the process of taking over operations of the cemetery, awaiting state licensing.

Hook and Ladder is a remarkable thread of history woven into the fabric of the community. Although the people have long been gone, it is important that their history lives on. The historic cemetery needs refurbishing and GHS plans to assist in that endeavor. With that goal in mind, the society has sponsored the Hook and Ladder Cemetery Tour since 2013 where all proceeds from the tour go to cemetery restoration.

Guests embark on a guided tour throughout the historical cemetery.
The cemetery tour showcases some of the people who helped to shape Gretna in both character and history by having actors depict people buried there.

This cemetery has beautiful statues adorning the above ground tombs our region is known for. It has several interesting sites steeped in history like the Societa-Italiana, the Italian Society Tomb where young Mary Cortimiglia is buried. Her story was featured on one of the cemetery tours.

In the early 20th century a murderer known as the “Axeman of New Orleans” held the city paralyzed with fear. In the dead of night, the Axeman broke into a series of Italian groceries, attacking the grocers and their families.  Many he left wounded; four people he left dead. The attacks were vicious. Joseph Maggio, for example, had his skull fractured with his own axe, his throat cut with a razor. His wife, Catherine had her throat cut and asphyxiated on her own blood as she bled out.

The Axeman struck from 1917 to March 1919. The victims usually were attacked with an axe, often belonging to the victims. In most cases, a panel on a back door of the home was removed by a chisel and the intruder then attacked one or more of the residents. The crimes were not motivated by robbery. New Orleanians were terrified!

Then, the killer crossed the river to GRETNA. On the night of March 10, 1919 he assaulted the Cortimiglias in his familiar way, badly injuring Charlie and his wife, Rosie and killing their two year old daughter, Mary. The child was killed while sleeping in her mother’s arms. Little Mary is buried in Hook and Ladder Cemetery in the Societa-Italiana, the Italian Society Tomb.

On the night of March 10, 1919 screams were heard coming from the Cortimiglia residence. The grocer Iorlando Jordano rushed across the street to discover that the Cortimiglias had been attacked. The assailant had fled. Rosie stood in the doorway with a serious head injury, clutching her dead daughter while Charles lay bleeding. The couple suffered skull fractures. A panel had been chiseled from the door and a bloody axe was found on the porch.

Once conscious, Rosie made claims that Iorlando Jordano and his 18-year-old son, Frank were responsible for the attacks. Iorlando, a 69-year-old man, was in too poor of health to have committed the crimes. Frank Jordano, over six feet tall and weighing over 200 pounds was too large to fit through the open door panel. Charles vehemently denied his wife’s claims, yet police nonetheless arrested the two, charged them with murder. Found guilty, Frank was sentenced to hang and Iorlando, to life in prison.

Charles divorced his wife after the trial. Nine months later, Rosie walked into the Times-Picayune newspaper office to retract her testimony. She said that St. Joseph had come to her in a dream and told her to tell the truth. Rosie admitted that she had falsely accused the two out of jealousy and spite over a business dispute. Both father and son finally walked free.

What we would today call a serial killer, the Axeman was never caught, his crime spree stopped as mysteriously as it had started, and his identity remains unknown. Poor little Mary lies at peace in Hook and Ladder Cemetery.

You are welcome to explore the cemetery. If you decide to do so, please be respectful and remember that this is the final resting place for loved ones. You may also enjoy the free genealogy site here.

Photos

<< 12. St. Joseph Church and Shrine on the Westbank

14. McDonoghville Cemetery >>

Learn more