The unusual name of the lake that provides the namesake for this krewe comes from King Louis XIV of France.  During the French Occupation of Nouvelle Orleans, King Louis XIV's Minister of Marine in France was Louis Pontchartrain, which seemed a perfectly reasonable name for such a large, expansive lake.  Originally, the krewe's parade route ran along the shore of the lake in New Orleans East until 1991 when they moved to the Mid-City Route, then joined the mass krewe migrations to the Traditional Uptown Route.
The krewe selects its royalty at the annual Jeudi Gras Ball at the Marriot Hotel, with a band contest in the 3900 block of St. Charles Avenue.

This krewe shares its New Orleans theme with the krewes of Alla, Arabi, Carrollton, Grela, Mid-City, and NOMTOC.

This krewe was stopped from marching in the 149th Carnival  celebrations by Hurricane Katrina.  The krewe shares that bond with Adonis, Aphrodite, Arabi, Atlas, Bards, Choctaw, Cleopatra, Gladiators, Grela, Hermes, L'il Rascals, Mercury, NOMTOC, Oshun, Pegasus, Saturn, du Vieux, and Crescent City.