The Mississippi River is the single most defining element of Baton Rouge’s existence. Indeed, it’s likely that Baton Rouge—back to its Native American roots—would not have existed where it does had the Mississippi not flown past. It’s no accident that many of the world’s largest cities were built along navigable rivers, and Baton Rouge is no exception.
Like the city, the ships that have navigated the Mississippi have changed considerably over time. I chose these two photos because they were probably only taken 30 or 40 years apart, but they show two very different eras of Baton Rouge’s nautical ancestry.
Louisiana
