Istrouma, Louisiana

Istrouma, Louisiana
Unincorporated community
Istrouma, Louisiana Show map of Louisiana Istrouma, Louisiana Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 30°28′45″N 91°09′35″W
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Parish	East Baton Rouge
Elevation [1]	59 ft (18 m)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	70805
Area code	225
GNIS feature ID	543220 [1]
FIPS code	22-37690

Istrouma is an unincorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. The community is located less than 2 miles (3.2 kilometres) northwest of Baton Rouge and 7 miles (11 kilometres) south of Baker.[2][3]

Etymology

It is speculated that the name of the community is derived from the Choctaw words 'ita humma' which means 'red pole' in the Choctaw language.[4][5]

Red Pole

On March 17, 1699 Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville described the red maypole that he found in the area:

On the 17th of March we reached a small stream at the right of the river at five and a half leagues from our camp, where they gave us to understand there was a great quantity of fish, and where I had nets stretched and caught only two catfish. This river separates the hunting grounds of Bayougoulas and the Houmas. Upon its banks are huts covered with palmetto leaves and a reddened Maypole without branches, with several heads of fish and bears attached in sacrifice. [6]

— Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville

References

1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Istrouma, Louisiana
2. William A. Read (October 12, 2008). Louisiana Place Names of Indian Origin: A Collection of Words. University of Alabama Press. pp. 37–. ISBN 978-0-8173-5505-0.
3. John Wymond; Henry Plauché Dart (1945). The Louisiana Historical Quarterly. The Louisiana Historical Society.
4. Rose Meyers (March 1, 1999). A History of Baton Rouge, 1699–1812. LSU Press. pp. 7–. ISBN 978-0-8071-2431-4.
5. André Pénicaut (July 30, 1988). Fleur de Lys and Calumet. University of Alabama Press. pp. 25–. ISBN 978-0-8173-0414-0.
6. Historical Society of East and West Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, La.); Historical Society of East and West Baton Rouge, Baton Rouge, La (1917). Proceedings of the Historical Society of East and West Baton Rouge. The Society. pp. 21–.