Baton Rouge’s earliest inhabitants were Native American tribes, possibly dating back as far as 8000 B.C. A pair of grassy burial mounds located on the campus of Louisiana State University serve as a reminder of these cultures. Hernando de Soto, a Spaniard searching for gold in the 1500s, was one of the first European explorers to enter the region. A century passed before the French fur trader René-Robert Cavelier (Sieur de La Salle) rediscovered the area in 1682, claiming it for France and naming it Louisiana in honor of King Louis XIV. The area’s first permanent European settlement was founded in 1699 when French-Canadian explorer Pierre Le Moyne (Sieur d’Iberville) organized the first colony here. Legend has it that Iberville and his explorers discovered a tall, blood-stained cypress tree on the riverbank that marked the hunting territory of two Native American tribes. As a result, they later christened the area Baton Rouge, or “red stick.” The actual site of this “baton rouge” (or “istrouma,” in Native American dialect), is located at what today is the campus of Southern University.

The French erected a fort here in 1718, and sent colonists to the area who brought with them their language, religion and traditions. In

1762, France secretly gave most of the Louisiana Territory to Spain as a war concession, only to demand it back in 1800.  During this same period, many Americans were trying to convince the fledgling U.S. government that controlling the mouth of the Mississippi River was critical to the new nation’s growth and trade. President Thomas Jefferson agreed, and with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States acquired from France all lands west of the MIssissippi for roughly $15 million. In 1812, Louisiana was admitted to the Union as the 18th state. Five years later, Baton Rouge, the second-largest town in Louisiana (4,000 residents), obtained its city charter. It became Louisiana’s capital in 1849. As it did to much of the South, the Civil War devastated Baton Rouge. After the war, however, the city recovered much of its economic strength by taking advantage of its premier location on the Mississippi River.

Steamboat and railroad traffic helped the city flourish in the early 1900s, and under the leadership of flamboyant Governor Huey P. Long, new roads, bridges, and a stunning state capitol were constructed.  World War II and the following years brought an industrial boom to the city as petrochemical industries, aluminum companies and shipbuilders began major operations along River Road.

Today, Baton Rouge is a dynamic community, enriched by centuries of multicultural influence. Baton Rouge visitors and residents reap the benefits of the dramatic history, colorful heritage, premier location, and vigorous spirit that have made Baton Rouge a special part of our nation’s history.