2 definitions by Spi3rit1000
The Red Stick city or Baton Rouge dates from 1699, when French explorer Sieur d'Iberville leading an exploration party up the Mississippi River saw a reddish cypress pole festooned with bloody animals and fish that marked the boundary between the Houma indians and the Bayou Goula indian's tribal hunting grounds. They called the pole and its location "le bâton rouge", or red stick in the present day area of Southern University on the bluff of the Mississippi River. There is a monument commemorating the spot.
by Spi3rit1000 July 20, 2010
The local Native American name for the city of Baton Rouge is "Istrouma". From evidence found along the Mississippi, Comite, and Amite rivers, and in three Native American mounds remaining in the city, archaeologists have been able to date habitation of the Baton Rouge area to 8000 BC.
The french explorers may have named the area, "Baton Rouge", back in 1699, the Indians have always called the area, Istrouma.
by Spi3rit1000 July 20, 2010