Downtown Baton Rouge Historical Background

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was first discovered and named by the French explorer Iberville in 1699. Pierre Le Moyne and Sieur d'Iberville, had led an expedition along the Mississippi River and recorded the city's earliest written records. These journals tell the tale of a pole stained with blood of fish and animals that served as the dividing line between the Bayougoula and Houmas Indians. Iberville christened our city "le Baton Rouge" with this "red stick."

Baton Rouge was first settled in 1763 as a British military outpost. In the eighteenth century, it was ruled successively by the French, British, and Spanish. Incorporated in 1817, Baton Rouge was named the state capital in 1846, and the Old State House was completed in 1850. Louisiana seceded from the Union in 1861, and in August 1862, Baton Rouge fell to the Union forces. The federal government of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans. It was 1882 before Baton Rouge again became the capital of the state.