West Baton Rouge Parish
| West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana | |
|---|---|
 Location in the U.S. state of Louisiana |
|
 Louisiana's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | March 31, 1807 |
| Named for | bâton rouge, French for red stick |
| Seat | Port Allen |
| Largest city | Port Allen |
| Area | |
| • Total | 204 sq mi (528 km2) |
| • Land | 192 sq mi (497 km2) |
| • Water | 11 sq mi (28 km2), 5.6% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 25,490 |
| • Density | 124/sq mi (48/km²) |
| Congressional districts | 2nd, 6th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
West Baton Rouge Parish (French: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Ouest) is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,788. The parish seat is Port Allen. The parish was created in 1807.
West Baton Rouge Parish is part of the Baton Rouge, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The parish has a highly rated school system and is one of the few in Louisiana that has privatized school bus services. West Baton Rouge saw a very small percentage of growth after Hurricane Katrina with the latest estimate (July 2006) put about 864 extra residents into the parish.
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.
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.
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