Baton Rouge is the capital city and the second most populated city of Louisiana. The city is situated in the southeast portion of the state along the Mississippi River. It owes its location and its historical significance to its site upon Istrouma Bluff, the first bluff upriver from the Mississippi delta, which protects the city’s 227,017 residents from flooding and other natural disasters.

History

The history of Baton Rouge dates back to 1699, when French explorer Sieur d'Iberville leading an exploration party up the Mississippi River saw a reddish cypress pole draped with bloody animals and fish that marked the boundary between Houma and Bayou Goula tribal hunting grounds. They called the tree "le bâton rouge", or red stick. The native name for the location had been Istrouma.

Since European settlement, Baton Rouge has been governed by France, England, Spain, Louisiana, the Florida Republic, the Confederate States, and the United States. In the mid-1700s when French-speaking settlers of Acadia in Canada's Maritime were driven into exile by British forces, many took up abode in rural Louisiana. Oftentimes referred to as Cajuns, the descendants of the Acadians maintained a separate culture that immeasurably enriched the Baton Rouge area.

Economy

Baton Rouge is the farthest inland port on the Mississippi that can hold ocean-going tankers and cargo carriers. As such, those ships move their cargo (grain, crude, cars, containers) at Baton Rouge onto rails and pipelines (to travel east-west) or barges (to travel north-south). Deep draft vessels cannot pass the old Huey Long Bridge because of the clearance is insufficient, and the river depth decreases significantly just to the north, near Port Hudson.

Baton Rouge's largest industry is petrochemical production. ExxonMobil has the second largest refinery in the country located in the area and among the top 10 in the world. Baton Rouge also has rail, highway, pipeline, and deep water access.