French Period (1699-1763)
European history of Baton Rouge dates to 1699, when French explorer Sieur d'Iberville led a party up the Mississippi River and saw a reddish cypress pole festooned with bloody animals and fish; it marked the boundary between the Houma Tribe and the Bayougoula hunting grounds. The French called the landmark tree le bâton rouge, (red stick). The Native American name for the site had been Istrouma. The French city of Baton Rouge became one of the more prominent of the few settlements of New France after permanent settlement began in 1719 with the building of a fort.
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