Timeline of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

Prior to 19th century

• 1721 – Fort established by French.^[1]
• 1779 - September: Battle of Baton Rouge (1779).

19th century

• 1810 - September: Baton Rouge becomes capital of the Republic of West Florida,^[2] but the republic is annexed by the U.S. as part of the Territory of Orleans (which becomes the U.S. state of Louisiana in 1812).
• 1817 - Town incorporated.^[3]
• 1819 - Baton-Rouge Gazette newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1833 - State Library of Louisiana headquartered in Baton Rouge.^[5]
• 1835 - Louisiana State Penitentiary in operation.^[6]
• 1842 - Democratic Advocate newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1849 - Baton Rouge becomes capital of Louisiana.^[3]
• 1850 – First Capitol building constructed.^[7]
• 1852 - Louisiana Institute for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind^[8] and Magnolia Cemetery established.
• 1860 - Andrew Lytle photography studio in business.^[9][10]
• 1861 – January 23: Louisiana secession convention held.^[7]
• 1862
  • May 12: City occupied by U.S. federal troops.^[7]
  • August 5: Battle of Baton Rouge (1862).^[11]
• 1867 - Baton Rouge National Cemetery established.
• 1868 - St. Joseph's Academy founded.^[12]
• 1869 - Seminary of Learning of the State of Louisiana relocated to Baton Rouge.^[13]
• 1870 - Seminary renamed "Louisiana State University".^[13]
• 1882 – State capital returns to Baton Rouge,^[1] following the Reconstruction Era.
• 1897 - Audubon Sugar School of Louisiana State University founded.^[12]

20th century

• 1905 - Daily State newspaper in publication.^[4]
• 1909 - Baton Rouge Refinery commissioned.
• 1916
  • Southern College relocates to Baton Rouge.^[7]
  • Historical Society of East and West Baton Rouge established.^[14]
• 1923 - Baton Rouge General Hospital active.^[15]
• 1924 - Community Coffee in business.
• 1926
  • New Louisiana State University campus dedicated.^[13]
  • Baton Rouge High School and Arcade Theatre^[16] built.
  • Louisiana Municipal Association headquartered in Baton Rouge.
• 1928
  • City Park Golf Course opens.
  • Louisiana State University's College of Commerce established.
• 1929 - State Theater built.^[16]
• 1932 - Louisiana State Capitol inaugurated.^[8]
• 1935 - Huey P. Long assassinated.^[8]
• 1939 - East Baton Rouge Parish Library established.
• 1940
  • Baton Rouge League of Women Voters founded.^[17]
  • Population: 34,719.^[1]
• 1944 – Piccadilly Restaurant in business.
• 1947
  • City and Parish of East Baton Rouge consolidated.
  • Baton Rouge Civic Symphony Orchestra active.^[11]
  • H. J. Wilson Co. in business.
• 1950 – Population: 125,629.^[1]
• 1953 – June 20-28: African-American Civil Rights bus boycott held.^[7][11]
• 1955 - WBRZ-TV begins broadcasting.
• 1960
  • Southern University civil rights march.^[18]
  • Broadmoor High School founded.
• 1961 - Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge established.
• 1962 - City Parish Beautification Commission established.^[19]
• 1963 - Foundation for Historical Louisiana headquartered in Baton Rouge.^[20]
• 1964 - Baton Rouge Chapter of the Links established.^[18]
• 1974 – One American Place (hi-rise) built.
• 1976 - Cortana Mall Cinema in business.^[21]
• 1978 - Comité des Archives de la Louisiane founded.^[22]
• 1979 - Louisiana Association of Museums headquartered in city.^[22]
• 1982 - City and Parish of East Baton Rouge governments merged.
• 1986 - Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge established near city.
• 1987 - Richard Baker becomes U.S. representative for Louisiana's 6th congressional district.^[23]
• 1990 - Population: 219,531.^[24]
• 1997
  • Mall of Louisiana in business.
  • Datta Temple & Hall of Trinity consecrated.^[25][26]
• 1998 - City website online.^[27][28]

21st century

• 2001 - Bobby Simpson becomes mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish.
• 2005
  • August 29: Hurricane Katrina.
  • First African-American, Kip Holden, becomes mayor-president of East Baton Rouge Parish.
  • Shaw Center for the Arts opens.
• 2007 - Cinemark 16 Perkins Rowe (cinema) in business.^[21]
• 2010 - Population: 229,493 city;^[29] 440,171 parish.
• 2011 - Cedric Richmond becomes U.S. representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district.^[30]
• 2012
  • April: Exxon Baton Rouge Refinery pipeline oil spill.
  • June 14: Exxon Baton Rouge Refinery benzene leak.

See also

• History of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• List of mayors of Baton Rouge, Louisiana
• National Register of Historic Places listings in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana
• Timeline of Louisiana^[8]

other cities in Louisiana

• Timeline of New Orleans

References

1. Leon E. Seltzer, ed. (1952), Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World, New York: Columbia University Press, p. 174, OL 6112221M
2. Florence M. Jumonville (2002). "Chronology of Louisiana History". Louisiana History: An Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-28240-9.
3. Federal Writers' Project 1941, p. 250: "Baton Rouge"
4. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved August 2014.
5. Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved August 2014.
6. Nobles 2000.
7. "Louisiana: A History Timeline". Louisiana Educational Television Authority. Retrieved August 2014.
8. Federal Writers' Project 1941, pp. 693–703: "Chronology"
9. Mark Martin (2006). "An Eye of Silver: Andrew D. Lytle, Baton Rouge Photographer, 1858-1917". Louisiana History 47. JSTOR 4234203.
10. Hill Memorial Library, Special Collections. "Online Exhibitions". Louisiana State University. Retrieved August 2014.
11. "KnowLA Encyclopedia of Louisiana". Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved August 2014.
12. Patterson's American Educational Directory 29. Chicago. 1932.
13. "History of LSU". Louisiana State University. Retrieved August 2014.
14. Proceedings of the Historical Society of East and West Baton Rouge. University Bulletin 8 (Louisiana State University). 1917.
15. "Baton Rouge General History and Timeline". Baton Rouge General. Retrieved August 2014.
16. "Historic Theatre Inventory". Maryland, USA: League of Historic American Theatres. Retrieved August 2014.
17. Robin Roberts (ed.). "Timeline of Louisiana Women's History". Louisiana State University. Retrieved August 2014.
18. "Our African American Legacy". East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Retrieved August 2014.
19. "Finding Aids for Collections in the Baton Rouge Room". East Baton Rouge Parish Library. Retrieved August 2014.
20. "Foundation for Historical Louisiana". Retrieved August 2014.
21. "Movie Theaters in Baton Rouge, LA". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved August 2014.
22. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Louisiana: Baton Rouge". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). ISBN 0759100020.
23. "Louisiana". Official Congressional Directory. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1987.
24. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
25. "Datta Temple & Hall of Trinity". Baton Rouge. Retrieved August 2014.
26. Pluralism Project. "Baton Rouge, Louisiana". Directory of Religious Centers. Harvard University. Retrieved August 2014.
27. "City-Parish Gets Wired", The Advocate, January 31, 1998 – via East Baton Rouge Parish Library
28. "Official Website of Baton Rouge". Archived from the original on December 1998 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
29. "Baton Rouge (city), Louisiana". State & County QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 2014.
30. Civic Impulse, LLC. "Members of Congress". GovTrack. Washington DC. Retrieved August 2014.

Bibliography

Published in the 19th century

• "Baton Rouge". Commercial Directory of the Western States. St. Louis: Richard Edwards. 1867.
• "Mississippi River: Baton Rouge". James' River Guide ... Mississippi Valley. Cincinnati: U.P. James. 1871.

Published in the 20th century

• "Baton Rouge". Automobile Blue Book. USA. 1919.
• Federal Writers' Project (1941). "Baton Rouge". Louisiana: a Guide to the State. American Guide Series. NY: Hastings House. + Chronology
• Wm. L. Richter (1969). "Slavery in Baton Rouge, 1820-1860". Louisiana History 10. JSTOR 4231058.
• Sidney Tobin (1969). "The Early New Deal in Baton Rouge as Viewed by the Daily Press". Louisiana History 10. JSTOR 4231090.
• Meyers, Rose. A History of Baton Rouge, 1699-1812 (1976)
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Baton Rouge", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• George Thomas Kurian (1994), "Baton Rouge", World Encyclopedia of Cities, 1: North America, Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO (fulltext via Open Library)

Published in the 21st century

• Connie H. Nobles (2000). "Gazing upon the Invisible: Women and Children at the Old Baton Rouge Penitentiary". American Antiquity 65. JSTOR 2694805.
• "Plantation Country: Baton Rouge", Louisiana & the Deep South, Lonely Planet, 2001 (fulltext via Open Library)
• Florence M. Jumonville (2002). "East Baton Rouge". Louisiana History: An Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood. p. 524+. ISBN 978-0-313-28240-9.

External links

• "Baton Rouge Room". East Baton Rouge Parish Library.
• "(Baton Rouge, Louisiana)". Louisiana Digital Library. Louisiana State University Libraries Digital Services.
• Items related to Baton Rouge, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).