Historic Highland Cemetery (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

USA / Louisiana / Port Allen / Baton Rouge, Louisiana
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One of the oldest, if not THE oldest, cemetery in Baton Rouge. Contains burials of many of the plantation owners who helped found the city, along with members of the early legislature, soldiers from the capture of the Baton Rouge fort by the West Floridian "rebels", and Confederate soldiers. Urbanzation encroached on the cemetery, shrinking its boundaries and resulting in the loss of many markers. It is now surrounded by homes and a condominium/apartment complex. Some of the condominiums stand only a foot or two from burial vaults, so many graves must have been covered over by the developments. Restored from 1968-1978, it is now a park.

More details here:
ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/la/e-batonrouge/cemeterie...
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   30°24'17"N   91°10'19"W

Comments

  • As a historian working on the West Florida Rebellion, I am greatly intrigued by this find.
  • Highland Cemetery is indeed a jewel of La. history. Pierre Joseph de Favrot, buried here was commandant of the Spanish Fort at Baton Rouge for a couple of years. His daughter, Josephine, also buried here was engaged to the only casualty of the West Florida rebellion, the son of then Governor Grand Pre. On the other side of the cemetery, General Philomen Thomas's daughter, her husband and their children are buried. The general himself was buried at the Post Cemetery on the fort but was reinterred to the National Cemetery in 1886. Actually, I'm the caretaker of Highland Cemetery and it is not a park. It is owned by the Catholic Diocese of Baton Rouge, deeded to them in 1819 but is located near a public park, hence the confusion or assumption that it is a "park." Too many people think its only use is a dog bathroom. Guess who has to clean it up.
This article was last modified 17 years ago