The Dueling Oak, the towering oak tree near the foot of the Dreyfous Bridge is significant for a number of reasons. Once upon a time, there were two trees, named The Dueling Oaks, which was the scene of some of New Orleans’ most colorful confrontations in New Orleans history – the place where men fought duels with pistols, sabers and swords in the early 1800s. Although outlawed in 1855, duels under the oaks continued until the practice fell out of favor around 1890. One of the two oaks was lost in a hurricane in 1949.