Baton Rouge

“Authentic Louisiana at every turn.” This is the city motto of Baton Rouge, the capital city of the U.S. State of Louisiana. Located in the southeast part of the state, the city is along the Mississippi River. It is established in the last year of the 17th century, deriving its name from a French phrase "le baton rouge" which means "red rod." French explorer Sieur d'Iberville coined the name of the place after seeing a red, bloody totem pole in the area that serves as a partition between two Native American tribes. The Native American name of the area that is now Baton Rouge was Istrouma.

Baton Rouge is the home of the state government and a major petrochemical, industrial, and port center of southern United States. Baton Rouge's biggest industry is in petrochemicals. The gas and oil corporation ExxonMobil is said to be the second largest in the country and one of the top ten in the world. The Port of Baton Rouge is one of the top ten ports in the country. Baton Rouge is also one of the fastest growing cities in the South, in terms of population and technology. Today there are more than 800,000 people living in the Greater Baton Rouge area.