All it took was 6,284 people. Dissatisfied with Jefferson Parish government but recognizing political strength in numbers, Gretna petitioned the state in 1913 to stand on its own. That May, it was declared a village. And on Aug. 20, 1913, it was incorporated as a city.
When Gretna turns 100 years old Tuesday, it will celebrate its evolution from a humble settlement along the Mississippi River to a modern government center for Jefferson's second most populous municipality. Yet through it all, the city has held tightly to its history, preserving pieces of the past from City Hall to the David Crockett Firehouse.