Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

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Baton Rouge skyline as viewed from the west side of the Mississippi River in 2013.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River (upriver and 82 miles distant from New Orleans), it is the seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, the state's most populous parish (equivalent to county). Since 2020, Baton Rouge has been the second-largest city in Louisiana after New Orleans. As of 2020, the city-proper had a population of 227,470, and its metropolitan area population was 870,000.

The Baton Rouge area owes its historical importance to its strategic site upon the Istrouma Bluff, the first natural bluff upriver from the Mississippi River delta at the Gulf of Mexico. This allowed development of a business quarter safe from seasonal flooding. In addition, it built a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect the riverfront and low-lying agricultural areas.[1]

It has developed as a culturally rich center, with settlement by immigrants from numerous European nations and African peoples brought to North America as slaves or indentured servants. It was ruled by seven different governments: French, British, and Spanish in the colonial era; the Republic of West Florida; as a United States territory and state; Confederate, and United States again since the end of the American Civil War. Through the various occupying national governments of Baton Rouge, the city and its metropolitan area have developed as a multicultural region practicing many religious traditions from Catholicism to Protestantism, and Louisiana Hoodoo. The area has also become home to a sizeable lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community,[2] and elected the first open LGBT politician for the Louisiana Public Service Commission.[3]

Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, research, motion picture,[4] and growing technology center of the American South.[5] It is the location of Louisiana State University—the LSU system's flagship university and the state's largest institution of higher education.[6] It is also the location of Southern University, the flagship institution of the Southern University System—the nation's only historically black college system.[7] The Port of Greater Baton Rouge is the tenth-largest in the U.S. by tonnage shipped, and is the farthest upstream Mississippi River port capable of handling Panamax ships.[8][9] Major corporations participating in the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area's economy include Amazon.com, Lamar Advertising Company, BBQGuys, Marucci Sports, Piccadilly Restaurants, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers, ExxonMobil, Brown & Root, Shell , and[Dow Chemical Company.

## Provenance[edit]

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## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ LSU Libraries - Special Collections - Andrew David Lytle, photographic artist - Baton Rouge: Levee Construction, Mississippi River.
2. ↑ Williams, Aris (July 2022). Baton Rouge Pride was a needed reminder about the joy to be found in the LGBTQ community (en).
3. ↑ O'Donoghue, Julie (2022-12-11). Davante Lewis becomes Louisiana's first openly LGBTQ person elected to state government (en-US).
4. ↑ "Growing Louisiana-Based Businesses Sustains Hollywood South" Template:Webarchive, Forbes, June 9, 2014
5. ↑ "IBM selects BR" Template:Webarchive, The Advocate – Baton Rouge, LA
6. ↑ About.
7. ↑ Louisiana historically black universities host inaugural 'HBCU Day at the Capitol' (en) (2019-04-26).
8. ↑ Top 25 Water Ports by Weight: 2004 (Million short tons). Freight Facts and Figures 2006. Federal Highway Administration (November 2006).
9. ↑ About the Port. portgbr.com.