Prehistory The
Medora site, a
Plaquemine culture mound site located adjacent to
Bayou Bourbeaux on the flood plain of
Manchac Point, a hair-pin bend of the Mississippi River in the southeast corner of the parish, was instrumental in defining the Plaquemine culture and period. The site was excavated in the winter of 1939–40 by
James A. Ford and
George I. Quimby, for the
Louisiana State Archaeological Survey, a joint project of
Louisiana State University and the
Work Projects Administration.
Historic era West Baton Rouge Parish was formed in 1807; it was named
Baton Rouge Parish until 1812. The Baton Rouge, Gross-Tete and Opelousas Railroad was chartered in 1853. The company had an eastern terminus on the west bank of the Mississippi River across from Baton Rouge in what later became the City of Port Allen. A steam ferry boat, the
Sunny South, made three trips a day to connect the railroad to Baton Rouge. The railroad ran westward into neighboring Iberville Parish passing the village of
Rosedale. After reaching Bayou Grosse-Tete near the village of
Grosse Tete, the line turned to the northwest and ran to
Livonia in
Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, a total distance of twenty-six miles. The roadbed westward from Livonia to the Atchafalaya River had been prepared by 1861.
Civil War The advent of the Civil War prevented the railroad from getting the necessary rails to complete the line. The tracks to
Opelousas were never built. After Louisiana seceded, two companies of militia were organized in West Baton Rouge, the Delta Rifles, headed by Captain Favrot and the Tirailleurs of Brusly Landing, a French-speaking company of creoles headed by Captain Williams. The two West Baton Rouge companies were included in the
4th Louisiana Regiment, commanded by Colonel Robert J. Barrow, assisted by Lieutenant Colonel
Henry Watkins Allen. The regiment participated in the
Battle of Shiloh, the
Battle of Baton Rouge and other actions. The railroad operated up until May 1862 carrying sugar cane, cotton, and Confederate troops, including the Delta Rifles headed by Captain H. M. Favrot. When Union force occupied Baton Rouge in May 1862, all rolling stock was sent to the extreme western end of the railroad for safety where it remained for the duration of the war. Mr. J. V. Duralde was the president of the company during the Civil War period. Many
Baton Rouge residents took refuge in West Baton Rouge Parish during the Union occupation of Baton Rouge in 1862.
Sarah Morgan saw the
CSS Arkansas, a Confederate ram, tied to the bank below the levee in West Baton Rouge Parish prior to the
Battle of Baton Rouge. Morgan observed the Battle of Baton Rouge from West Baton Rouge Parish. The defeated Union army under the command of Major General
Nathaniel P. Banks passed through West Baton Rouge Parish on Rosedale Road on its return to New Orleans in May 1864, after the failure of the
Red River Campaign.
Post-Civil War period The American Civil War devastated the
sugar industry that had flourished in the southern part of Louisiana, including West Baton Rouge Parish, prior to the war. The control of the Mississippi River by the Union prevented the sugar crop from going to market, Horses and mules were seized by the Union forces, and crops were left unharvested in the fields, so the sugar industry was bankrupt at the end of the Civil War. Many sugar plantations were taken over by northern interests. West Baton Rouge Parish was no exception. The conveyance records on file with the Clerk-of-Court of West Baton Rouge Parish show that many plantation properties were sold at sheriff's sale to satisfy debts in the years immediately after the end of the Civil War. The Baton Rouge, Grosse Tete, and Opelousas Railroad resumed operation after the end of hostilities, but found the economy adverse, because of the devastation in agriculture. Moreover, its sixty-nine slaves had been emancipated and had to be replaced with hired labor. Furthermore, the "Great Crevasse", which occurred in the north end of West Baton Rouge Parish in 1867, caused flooding that greatly damaged the track in a low section about six miles west of the Mississippi River. The now unprofitable rail company eventually ceased operations in 1883. The town of Addis grew up around Baton Rouge Junction. The Texas and Pacific acquired additional right-of-way in 1899 to extend the spur from Port Allen to
New Roads, Louisiana and beyond to
Alexandria, Louisiana.
Twentieth century A crevasse in northern Point Coupeé Parish near Torras in May 1912 caused flooding that spread into northern West Baton Rouge Parish and southward to Addis west of the Texas and Pacific Railroad. The Texas and Pacific was merged into the
Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1976. A further merger of the Missouri Pacific and the Union Pacific occurred in 1997, making the Texas and Pacific part of the
Union Pacific Railroad. The Southern Pacific Railroad built a spur line from
Lafayette, Louisiana to Anchorage in West Baton Rouge very early in the twentieth century. The line ran in a straight line and is notable for crossing the
Atchafalaya Basin. The line was never financially successful and was abandoned in the 1920s. Southern Pacific Road occupies the former right-of-way of a small portion of the line. Starting in 1906, the Missouri Pacific Railroad operated the
George H. Walker, a rail ferry, called a "transfer boat", from Anchorage (immediately north of the Sunrise Community) in West Baton Rouge Parish across the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish. The transfer boat was steam-powered and equipped with rails on its deck that allowed passenger and freight railcars to be rolled on and off. It ceased operation September 2, 1947, after the construction of the Huey P. Long Bridge, which included a railway, made its continued operation unnecessary. West Baton Rouge Parish was the location of Prisoner of War Sub-Camp 7 from 1943 until mid-1946. The camp housed German prisoners who were deployed as plantation labor. The camp was located on West Baton Rouge Parish property fronting on Sixth Street in Port Allen. The
Cinclare Sugar Mill Historic District is located in West Baton Rouge Parish near Brusly. ==Geography==