Welcome to Baton Rouge!
Baton Rouge is the capital and the second largest city in Louisiana behind New Orleans. The effects of Hurricane Katrina have, at
least temporarily, reduced the population of Orleans Parish such that East Baton Rouge Parish is currently more highly populated than Orleans
Parish. Baton Rouge serves as the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish. In June 2005 East Baton Rouge Parish contained 412,000 residents. Baton
Rouge is located in the southeast portion of the state along the Mississippi River. It owes its location and its historical importance to its
site upon Istrouma Bluff, the first bluff upriver from the Mississippi delta, which protects the city’s 224,097 residents from flooding and other
natural disasters. In addition to the natural protection, the city sports a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect the
riverfront and the southern agricultural areas.
The Greater Baton Rouge population is approximately 700,000. The effects of Hurricane Katrina temporarily accelerated the metro's population in
mid to late 2005, though the early estimates of soaring past 1 million have since been refuted. Joachim Singelmann, an LSU sociologist who
directs the Louisiana Population Data Center, said Baton Rouge's metro area probably never topped 200,000 new people.
Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, and port center of the American South. The Port of Baton Rouge is the tenth largest in the
United States.
The Baton Rouge region, like that of other capital cities in the United States, is called the "Capital Area."
In 1812, Louisiana was admitted to the Union as a State. Baton Rouge's location continued to be a strategic military outpost. Between 1819 and
1822, the U.S. Army built the Pentagon Barracks, which became a major command post up through the Mexican American War (1846-1848). Lieutenant
Colonel Zachary Taylor, supervised construction of the Pentagon Barracks and served as its commander. In the 1830s, what is known today as the
"Old Arsenal" was built. The unique structure originally served as a powder magazine for the U.S. Army Post.
|