About Thomas Jefferson Bronze Statue

The Thomas Jefferson statue, located northeast of the present Jefferson Parish Courthouse (Jefferson Parish Government Building) at the corner of Second and Derbigny streets, was commissioned by the Jefferson Parish Sesquicentennial Commission in conjunction with the parish’s sesquicentennial (175 th Anniversary) celebration in 1975. The sculptor was Donald DeLue of Leonardo, New Jersey.

The bronze statue is 8.50 feet tall, approximately 1.50 times life size; weighs approximately two tons; and presents a powerful, muscled image with 15.75-inch feet and hands measuring 8.50 inches from wrist to first knuckle. The head of the statue was modeled on one done from life by French sculptor Jean Antoine Houdon.

The effigy is depicted striding forward, reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson’s role in history, with a quill in hand because he gained more land for our country by the power of the pen than any other president gained by the power of the sword. The statue also shows Thomas Jefferson carrying a copy of the Declaration of Independence, because so any of his ideals for the Nation are carried therein.

The base of the statue has its own story to tell. It consists of a four-foot by six-foot slab of Dakota mahogany granite and includes stripes depicting Jefferson as a federal person. The 13 stars represent the original 13 states and the territory from which emerged an equal number of states, doubling the size of the Union in 1803. Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States, is, of course, the eponym of Jefferson Parish. The parish was named for him 22 years after he finalized the purchase agreement with Napoleon, gaining the greatest amount of land recorded for the United States at one time – the Louisiana Purchase. The statue was dedicated on December 6, 1975, two weeks before the 172 nd anniversary of the official transfer of Louisiana to make it an American possession in ceremonies at the New Orleans Cabildo, December 20, 1803.

By Mary Grace Curry, Ph.D in the Jefferson Parish Historical Society 1986 Monograph, “GRETNA – A Sesquicentennial Salute” (Available by order. See book list)