Community Atlas

Sunrise

Sunrise was located in West Baton Rouge Parish just across the river from Baton Rouge. The town was founded on land purchased in 1874 by Alexander Barnes, a former slave. The population increased and became more diverse in 1906 due to a Missouri-Pacific train-ferry crossing over the Mississippi River (West Baton Rouge Museum).

A large oil refinery was constructed adjacent to this community in 1972 and acquired by Placid Refining Company in 1974. Placid Refining bought out most of the white residents to expand the site. In the 1990s, the primarily African-American residents remaining, sued to be bought out as well. Placid bought all the remaining 241 residents of the historic community (Tulane University 2021). Old trees once in the yards of homes and a metal plaque are the only evidence of the community that existed for over a century (West Baton Rouge Museum).