• Published: Dec 30, 2005

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1 Baton Rouge was first named in 1699 by the French explorer Iberville as he traveled up the Mississippi River. He reported seeing a "tall red pole", or "baton rouge" in French, supposedly marking the boundary between two Indian tribes.

The exact location of the pole has been debated for years, some believing it was the junction of Bayou Manchac and the river while others think it may have been at Scott’s Bluff on what is now Southern University’s campus.

2 East Baton Rouge and the City of Baton Rouge merged as governmental entities in 1949 and became one of the first “consolidated” governments in the country.

3 Baton Rouge is the state capital of Louisiana. It became the capital in 1846, after lawmakers first tried moving from New Orleans to Donaldsonville in 1830, but lawmakers quickly moved back to New Orleans. The 1854 Constitution required the capitol to be no closer than 60 miles from New Orleans, so lawmakers picked Baton Rouge.

4 There are two state capitol buildings in Baton Rouge: The Old State Capitol was built in 1850 but was burned during the Civil War and rebuilt in the 1880s. It is located at 100 North Blvd. Mark Twain called it a “sham castle.” The new State Capitol, a 34-story building featuring marble and bronze with a observation deck on the 27th floor, was opened in 1932. It is on State Capitol Drive.

5 In 1979, the city of Baton Rouge’s Fire Department was the first in the nation to receive a Class 1 rating from the Property Insurance Association. It has maintained that rating, which has also become more common. The Fire Department’s roots began as a 94-person bucket brigade in 1825.

6 In 1810, the city had a population of 1,463 people. East of Seventh Street, there were few residences. Nearly 200 years later, the 2000 Census counted 227,818 people living in the city of Baton Rouge and 412,852 people living in the parish of East Baton Rouge.

7 Most people feel modern-day Baton Rouge really began to grow when Standard Oil (now ExxonMobil) arrived in 1909. Its refinery north of town would prove to be a major influence in the growth of the city and lured other petrochemical facilities to begin the core of the area’s Petrochemical Corridor along the Mississippi.

8 Seagoing vessels can travel up the Mississippi River as far as the U.S. 190 Bridge. That’s about 234 miles above Head of Passes, where the river splits into several channels and distributaries. The Port of Greater Baton Rouge, whose jurisdiction includes public and private facilities in East and West Baton Rouge, Iberville and Ascension parishes, is the ninth largest in the nation in terms of tonnage.

9 The average annual temperature in East Baton Rouge Parish is 70 degrees. In January, the average temperature is 70, in July 80 degrees. Annual average rainfall is 77.64 inches — a little more than 6 feet. It’s also pretty flat — the average elevation is 19 feet; two spots in the northern part of the parish are between 140 feet and 145 feet. The parish covers 455.7 square miles between the Mississippi and Amite Rivers on the west and east and generally Bayou Manchac on the south and the East Feliciana-East Baton Rouge parish line to the north.

10 Baton Rouge is home to three public colleges: Louisiana State University, Southern University and Baton Rouge Community College.

Interesting facts about Louisiana