BATON ROUGE, the capital of Louisiana, U.S.A., and of East Baton Rouge parish, on the bank of the Missis sippi river, at the head of deep-water navi gation, about Tom. N.W. of New Orleans.
It is on the Jefferson and the Mississippi river scenic highways ; is served by the Illinois Central, the Missouri Pacific, and the Southern Pacific railways, the Louis iana railway and Navigation company, and (through Port Allen, across the river) by the Texas and Pacific railway; has a mu nicipal airport and a well-equipped river port which accommodates ocean-going vessels. The population was 11,269 in 1900, 21,782 in 1920, of whom 39% were negroes, and was 30,729 in 1930. The city and suburbs were estimated at 45,00o.
The city is built on bluffs, well above the highest flood on record. Every street within the city limits is paved. Charm is given by old houses in the Spanish style and by sub-tropical foliage; and there are beautiful ante-bellum plantation homes in the vicinity. Sugar, cotton, rice, vegetables and fruits are the leading products of the rich surrounding country. Sugar mills, rice mills, chemical plants and woodworking factories constitute the leading industries. Divi sion headquarters of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley railroad (Illinois Central system) were established here in 1925, when large new passenger and freight stations were built. There is a refinery (of the Standard Oil Company of Louisiana) which has a daily capacity of Ioo,000 barrels of crude oil, covers 1,600ac., and em ploys 5,00o men. Crude oil comes to it by pipe lines from as far away as Oklahoma and Kansas, and by tank cars and steamers from Mexico, Texas and California ; and from it naphtha, gasoline, refined and lubricating oils, gas and fuel oils, paraffin wax, grease, asphalt, and many other products go out to all parts of the world.
The State penitentiary and State institutions for the deaf and blind are here. South of the city, 21m. from the capitol, is the State university and agricultural and mechanical college, on a 2,000ac. tract along the river, bought in 1920, and occupied in 5925, with 34 buildings (including a Greek theatre) at a cost of $5,000,000. The university dates back to grants of land made by the United States to the State in 1806, 1811, and 1827 "for the use of a seminary of learning." The seminary was opened in 1860, near Alexandria, with General W. T. Sherman as superin tendent. It was suspended 1863-65, destroyed by fire in 1869 and reopened within a fortnight in Baton Rouge in the building of the school for the deaf. In 1877 it became the Louisiana State university; and in the same year the State agricultural and mechanical college, which had been opened in New Orleans in 1874, was consolidated with it. In 1886 it found quarters in buildings of the United States army post, which are still used for part of the instruction. The total net enrolment in 1925-26 was 3,358. A summer forestry camp is maintained at Bogalusa.
The Audubon sugar school of the university was established in 1891 by the sugar planters' association of Louisiana to train managers for sugar plantations. The sugar experiment station is in New Orleans. Special courses are offered in petroleum engi neering.
Baton Rouge was one of the earliest French settlements in the State. It was incorporated in 1817; was the State capital from 1849 to 1862; was occupied by U.S. troops from May 1862 until the end of the Civil War, and became the capital again in 1882.