Carrollton began to be populated in 1835 and was incorporated in 1845 as a town in Jefferson Parish. For a time Carrollton was the Jefferson Parish seat of government with its own courthouse, jail, and offices. After Carrollton was annexed by New Orleans in 1874 the courthouse was converted to school. The site housed McDonogh No. 23 Grammar School until 1957 when it became Benjamin Franklin Senior High School after Franklin moved to the UNO campus, the courthouse became Lusher Middle School Extension.

The boundaries of the city of Carrollton are the Mississippi River, Jefferson Parish, Claiborne Avenue, and Lowerline Street. This means parts of the current Leonidas neighborhood (aka West Carrollton) plus all of East Carrollton and Black Pearl made up the Old City of Carrollton.

Predominately a residential area, there are just a few commercial streets. Small restaurants, bars and shops can be found sprinkled around the area but are not concentrated in strip malls. The Camellia Grill draws a steady stream of tourists and locals hungry for a Burger and a Freeze.  The raw Cannibal Burger was discontinued due to health concerns in the eighties. Maple Street offers entertainment and eats, catering to the college crowd from Tulane, Loyola and Newcombe. The older and run down commercial district along Oak Street is gradually being reborn with trendy upscale shops, restaurants, clubs and salons.

Carrollton has long been ethnically mixed. Black and white families have lived next to each other, on adjacent streets and in scattered groupings for one hundred fifty years.  Many immigrants from Germany, Ireland, and the United States settled here in the 19th century alongside many free persons of color. The neighborhoods are mostly one and two family homes ranging from massive three story Victorian mansions to modest two family shotgun doubles.

Residential construction started in 1835 and was largely complete before WW I. Flooding has always been a concern, and this concern is reflected in responsible designs. The Sauve Crevasse Flood of 1849 had a significant impact on this community and promoted responsible designs from the start. Most homes are raised two or more feet above the already high ground. Only a very few slab on ground homes and buildings constructed after 1950 can be found in Carrollton. Some multi-family apartment buildings can be found in the area and these tend to be student oriented small apartments in converted three story buildings.

Audubon Park and Tulane University border Carrollton to the east providing recreation and commerce.  Claiborne Avenue at the end of the street car line bounds the neighborhood to the north. Before effective drainage pumps were deployed after 1913, the Caliborne Avenue boundary was also the edge of the back swamp and generally impassable.

Katrina's flooding crossed Claiborne Avenue leaving Palmer Park and the bank at the corner of Claiborne and Carrollton in about three feet of water. Flooding reached to within fifteen blocks of the river levee.