Case 10: Histories of Baton Rouge

INTERPRETIVE TEXT:

The exhibition "From Red Stick to River Capital: Three Centuries of Baton Rouge History" is based on the city's most famous history, River Capital: An Illustrated History of Baton Rouge , by Mark Thomas Carleton (1935-1995) and Marshall Stone Miller, Jr. (1938-1991). Dr. Carleton authored the text of the book, and Mr. Miller was responsible for the pictorial research.

Visitors have been writing about Baton Rouge since its earliest days. An early description in English was offered by Fortescue Cuming in 1810. He reported "a half dozen tolerably good frame (or wooden) houses scattered on an extensive plain surrounded on three sides by woods ... while a dirty little town of 60 cabins crouded [sic] together in a narrow street on the river bank." He found the gumbo served him by Madame Legendre to be a "most awkward dish for a stranger," because the "ocroc" (okra) makes it "so ropy and slimy as to make it difficult with either knife, spoon or fork, to carry it to the mouth, without the plate and mouth being connected by a long string."

Boosterism has also colored some local histories. Joseph St. Clair Favrot (1872-1943) composed a "Patriotic Pageant and Homecoming Celebration" in 1923, when a "high degree of civic spirit [made] Louisiana's capital city a name to conjure with in all that stands for progress and substantial advancement." The pageant included a "Procession of Emblematic Floats" and "elaborate scenic productions, with music provided by the Stanocola (Standard Oil Company of Louisiana) and Louisiana State University bands. Act III, "The Golden Future" included a baby judging contest.

Walter Prichard wrote what may be considered the first historical analysis of Baton Rouge. His History of Baton Rouge and Its People was published by the States Historical Publishing Company in 1933. Rose Meyers wrote the first thorough study of the early life of the town, published in honor of the bicentennial of the United States. David King Gleason's Baton Rouge offers a different kind of documentation with stunning color photography of life in the city in the last decades of the 20th century. Although his life was tragically cut short by a plane crash in 1992, Gleason's photographic archive is preserved in the LSU Libraries' Special Collections.

Other studies of Baton Rouge can be found in articles in the publications of the Louisiana Historical Association and in books about Louisiana. Numerous studies of various facets of Baton Rouge history have been published, including histories of local churches, Harding Field, the educational system and universities, Magnolia Mound, and social organizations. A critical history of Baton Rouge, however, is still needed to bridge the gap between Meyers and Carleton.

Other studies of Baton Rouge can be found in articles in the publications of the Louisiana Historical Association and in books about Louisiana. Numerous studies of various facets of Baton Rouge history have been published, including histories of local churches, Harding Field, the educational system and universities, Magnolia Mound, and social organizations. A critical history of Baton Rouge, however, is still needed to bridge the gap between Meyers and Carleton.

ITEMS DISPLAYED:

Items listed below were part of the exhibition but some are not pictured on this page.

Fortescue Cuming. Sketches of a Tour to the Western Country, ... Commenced ... in ...1807, and con-cluded in 1809.... Together with a Notice of an Expedition Through Louisiana. Pittsburgh: Cramer, Spear & Eichbaum, 1810. LLMVC Rare F518 C97.

Joseph St. Clair Favrot. ...7th Port Pageant. Homecoming Celebration. April 15-21, Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge: Ramires-Jones Printing Co., 1923. LLMVC F379 B33 F28.

Rose Meyers. A History of Baton Rouge, 1699-1812. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1999.

Mark T. Carleton. River Capital: An Illustrated History of Baton Rouge. Woodland Hills, CA: Windsor Publications, 1981. LLMVC F379 B33 C35.

David King Gleason. Baton Rouge. Baton Rouge: LSU Press, 1991. LLMVC Oversize F379 B33 G57 1991.