Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge Louisiana is a great place to be for all kinds of great reasons. For one thing, it is authentic Louisiana at every turn. The extensive Cajun influences in the food, the music and even the way people talk in this area make for a lot of unique local color. Even the unique foods like "gumbo" and "jumbalaya" carry unique names and tastes. However, the food and the music are far from the only reasons why going to Baton Rouge is worth the time it takes to get there and back.

There is also a very robust job market and a lot of great sights to see all over the city, including the capital building's medieval castle appearance. While many cities adopt building styles similar to those in Washington, DC, the designer of Baton Rouge's took it a lot farther, basing it on the Neo-Gothic architectural style of medieval castles. Seeing that as one of the fundamental parts of the city really sets you up to understand what you're getting when you come to Baton Rouge.

A visit to the area isn't your ordinary experience, even for the south. Baton Rouge is a great place to get something unique and special.

Welcome to the city of Baton Rouge, where you will be able to make just about anything happen. There are intriquing options in entertainment, education, affordable living and many other benefits the city offers its residents. It is also an area of history and culture.

Baton Rouge History

Baton Rouge's European history is remarkable, going all the way back to 1699. However, the local Native American population was using the area as far back as 8,000 BC, as evidenced by their remaining mounds. The meaning of the city's name, "red stick," was originally a marker of tribal hostility, especially towards white settlers. Being protected by a large natural bluff and a large collection of properly maintained levees has helped Baton Rouge to be a stable and prosperous place, as has its location on the Mississippi River.

Native Americans have been in Louisiana for ten thousand years or more, so the land was well known to them long before white people ever set foot there. In the past, red stick settlements were hostile, often to white settlers attempting to enter the territory and sometimes even to other Native American settlements. The first European settler who explored this area was a Frenchman named Sieur d'Iberville. As his expedition traveled up the Mississippi River, he saw a red cypress pole covered in blood-soaked animals that designated the hunting grounds of Bayou Goula and Houma Native Americans. At that point, the area had been known to the natives as Istrouma.

A red stick community of Native Americans would be hostile, sometimes with proactive aggression, against white settlers. By contrast, white stick communities were peaceful, and aggressive action was forbidden in such places. The location which would become Baton Rouge was a red stick area.

Widespread settlement of the area began to occur in 1755, when Acadian settlers went into exile and became Cajuns. These people have had a tremendous and enduring impact on the Baton Rouge area which continues to this day. Despite ample settlement, Baton Rouge was not officially incorporated until 1817. Decades later, in 1849, the city became the state capital of Louisiana. One very interesting aspect of the capital is that its designer, James Dakin, chose to base the capital building's design on a Neo-Gothic medieval castle.

Steamboat trade was one of the early engines of Baton Rouge's growth. The city did not grow during Union occupation as the Civil War went on, but it did continue afterward in force. As the 19th century drew to a close and the 20th century dawned, a new industry emerged: oil.

Petrochemicals are a massive business the world over, and simply not having natural resources would not deter Baton Rouge from turning a profit on them. In addition to shipping crude oil, the industry has a home in Exxonmobil's huge oil refinery, the largest in the country. Since the 1950s, oil has been a massive growth driver for the Baton Rouge economy. In the early 21st century, technology has driven much of Baton Rouge's growth, along with refugees from areas hit by Hurricane Katrina.

About Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is protected from a wide variety of natural disasters by a natural component of its location known as Istrouma Bluff, as well as through a sophisticated series of levees, which protect lower lying areas dedicated to growing crops and the waterfront area. This is more than just a powerhouse of business, though. It also features a fascinating culture and a large population.

Panamax ships are measured according to standards handed down by the government of Panama, which dictates what size of ship may pass through the Panama Canal without causing damage to itself or any components of the canal itself. These regulations are also very useful for protecting ships from trying to navigate into waters that simply won't allow them through, such as waters without adequate depth and width. One of the best parts of Baton Rouge is that it has ample levels of both measurements to allow ships of nearly any size to dock there. This allows trade to happen in massive volume, as everything from crude oil to cars come in on ocean-going vessels, which are unloaded and their contents shipped on barges and rail cars to subsequent destinations.

Portfolio Magazine ranked Baton Rouge, also known as Red Stick, among the top 10 places for young adults in 2010. By far the greatest industry in Baton Rouge is the oil industry. For one thing, Exxonmobil's crude oil refinery is the largest in the United States, and is ranked among the top ten by size in the world. As well, the Dow Chemical Company has a very large plant in the area.

Naturally, to maintain a high level economy requires a lot of quality education. Louisiana State University is located in Baton Rouge. The area also contains several research hospitals, such as Our Lady of the Lake, Earl K. Long and the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. In addition, the area also features a nursing school from Southeastern Louisiana University. Nearly a third of Baton Rouge's population has a bachelor's degree.

Some have speculated that the original reason for calling Baton Rouge by its name, which is French for "red stick," goes back to aggressive Native American tribes that lived in the area during times past. The Native Americans who lived in the area have been dated to around 8,000 BC.

About East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

Baton Rouge Louisiana is the Parish seat of the East Baton Rouge Parish. This is the name given to the equivalents of counties in the state of Louisiana. The population of this parish according to the report issued by the 2010 Census was just over 440 thousand people. In addition to this, the parish has a total area of 471 square miles, roughly 455 of which are land. The area was first settled in 1810, and has seen steady population growth in the time since then. This is also a fairly well racial diversified parish, with a solid mix of different ethnic groups claiming their places.

The East Baton Rouge Parish most likely got its name because of early Native Americans who lived in the area for many thousands of years. The name of the place, which translates from French into "red stick," is generally believed to indicate that this was a violent and bloody area rife with wars. Native American mounds still remain in some areas, and have been dated to have existed as far back as 8,000 BC.

The East Baton Rouge Parish's 2010 Census report declared that over 440 thousand people lived in the area. This is a significantly higher population than in any other parish in Louisiana. Containing these people were roughly 156,000 households and just over 102,000 families. Across the parish's surface area, the population density was 906 people per square mile. Out of these people, there was a fairly diverse mixture of different races, with about 56% being caucasians, slightly over 40% being black or African American, and a little over 2% being of Asian descent.

The East Baton Rouge parish has seen excellent growth ever since the first Census of the area was taken back in 1810. The second Census saw a growth rate of 255%, and every subsequent one has shown positive growth. In fact, all but three of these Census reports place the growth rate at over 10% over the previous figure.

East Baton Rouge has a solid educational system. With its 82.2% high school graduation rate, this is the best in Louisiana. As well, with 33.3% of the adult population having at least a bachelor's degree, it is the most educated parish in Louisiana.