Histories

1909 East Baton Rouge Parish

East Baton Rouge Parish. — When this parish was settled, or who the first settlers were, is not definitely known. Le Page du Pratz, writes about the settlement as far back as 1725, in a letter to his government, in which he gives the population as a mere score of inhabitants, who were nearly all Frenchmen, with a few Canadians, and some Indian women, wives of the settlers. In 1699, Iberville, on his first exploring expedition up the Mississippi river, wrote: "There are on the bank many cabins covered with palmetto leaves, and a May pole without branches, reddened with several heads of fish and beasts attached as a sacrifice." This red pole (baton rouge) is said to have given its name to the present capital of Louisiana. As the Mississippi river was the main highway of the French from Louisiana to the Illinois country and Canada, such settlements as Eaton Rouge were important factors in the colony. The usual French policy in a new country was merely to govern the subject race, but in Louisiana a new policy was adopted and the government tried to make permanent colonization. In order to encourage emigration of industrious, useful men to this great western empire, who would take up land and establish a permanent agricultural settlement in the fertile valley of the Mississippi, the government of France made large grants to influential Frenchmen of enterprise, who were expected to colonize their concessions with emigrants from France. A grant of this kind was made to d'Artaguette, at Baton Rouge. Immigrants from France settled at Baton Rouge, and de la Harpe states that "on the 16th of September the ship Profound, * * * with a transport, arrived at Ship island * * *. These ships also brought over supplies for the concession of d'Artaguette." By the Treaty of Paris (See Treaties) of 1763, Great Britain received all the territory from St. Augustine to Lake Borgne, and the only frontier in the south was along Bayou Manchac. At first the only change the English made was in the matter of trade, as the majority of the inhabitants remained French. In 1765 and 1766 some adventurers came from the Carolinas and settled at Baton Rouge, who took up land and became a part of the permanent English population. The English settlers were not allowed to buy land direct from the Indians but settled on the east bank of the Mississippi, from Bayou Manchac as far as the Yazoo river. One of the largest of these grants was one of 10,000 acres, made by the government to George Johnstone at Baton Rouge.

When Spain declared war against England in 1779, Don Bernardo lie Galvez, the Spanish governor, fitted out an expedition and started on a mission of conquest against the English settlements in the south. The fort at Baton Rouge "had high walls, protected by a moat 18 feet wide and 9 feet deep, filled with water from the Mississippi." Galvez compelled the British to surrender on Sept. 21, 1779, and promoted Carlos de Grandpre to the governorship of the conquered territory, among which was the district of Baton Rouge. Spanish institutions, habits, and customs were gradually introduced into the conquered province, superseding those of the English, and as many of the English fled during the war, large grants of land reverted to the government and were granted anew by the Spanish. Spanish governors ruled the Feliciana district until the West Florida Revolution (q. v.) in 1810, when Gov. Claiborne took possession of it in the name of the United States, pursuant to an order from President Madison.

An act creating the parish was passed in 1807, but as the territory did not then belong to the United States another act was passed in 1811 establishing the parish of East Baton Rouge. It has an area of 451 square miles and lies in the fertile Mississippi valley, about 100 miles above New Orleans. The parish is bounded on the north by East Feliciana parish; on the east by St. Helena and Livingston parishes: on the south by Ascension parish, and the Mississippi river forms its entire western boundary. From 1810 to the War of 1812, the commerce of the parish did not increase in proportion to the population, which was something less than 1,000 in 1810. The Mississippi river drains the western portion of the parish, and such streams as the Amite, Manchac, Bayou Fountain, and other minor water courses, afford sufficient drainage to its entire surface. The formation along the Mississippi river is alluvial, subject to inundation by the river, very fertile, with a heavy loamy soil, and about one-third of this is under cultivation. The remainder of the parish is undulating or rolling and hilly, breaking into highlands and bluffs, with level stretches along the river and creek bottoms. Much of the original forest has been cleared away, but the parish still has a good supply of timber, principally cypress, oak, gum, poplar, magnolia and beech, with a dense undergrowth in many places. On the uplands the soil is as varied as the timber, ranging from a thin sandy clay to a rich loam, but when scientifically farmed is capable of yielding profitable crops. Excellent pasturage for stock is to be had throughout the year, and the livestock industry is one of considerable magnitude. Nearly all the staple crops are cultivated successfully, cotton, sugar-cane, and corn, yielding well on the rich bottom lands. New Orleans is the principal market. The facilities for shipping and transportation are unsurpassed. The Mississippi river affords easy and cheap communication with New Orleans: the Yazoo & Mississippi Valley R. R. runs direct to Memphis and New Orleans, traversing the parish north and south; the Texas & Pacific R. R. furnishes an outlet to the west, and the line of the Louisiana Railway & Navigation company runs directly to Shreveport and New Orleans. In 1810 East and West Baton Rouge were given as Baton Rouge, and the combined population was 1,463, which was credited to East Baton Rouge alone. The growth of the parish was rapid, as the population of East Baton Rouge alone had increased to 8,138 by 1840, and since that time there has been a steady increase each decade, until in 1900 it was the 6th most populous parish in the state. The city of Baton Rouge is the largest in the parish. Some of the other important towns and villages are Baker, Burtville, Manchac, Port Hudson, Baywood, Stony Point and Zachary. The following statistics are taken from the U. S. census for 1900: number of farms. 2,477; acreage, 198.253; acres improved, 100,152; value of farm land exclusive of buildings, $1,675,270; value of farm buildings, $634,070; value of livestock, $584,635; value of all products not fed to live stock, $1,265,470; number of manufactories, 58; capital invested, $991,049; wages paid, $127,741; cost of materials used, $482,867; total value of products, $866,912. The population in 1900 consisted of 10,552 whites, 20,578 colored, a total of 31,153, an increase of 5,231 over the year 1890. The estimated population for 1908 was 36,000.

Extracted 12 Nov 2020 by Norma Hass, from Louisiana; comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, published in 1909, volume 1, pages 377-379.

Biographies

1909 East Baton Rouge Parish