Old Louisiana State Capitol the old capitol building. The term "Old State Capitol" in Louisiana is used to refer to the building and not to the two towns that were formerly the capital city: New Orleans and Donaldsonville. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 12, 1973, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on May 30, 1974. In 1846, the state legislature in New Orleans decided to move the seat of government to Baton Rouge. As in many states, representatives from other parts of Louisiana feared a concentration of power in the state's largest city. In 1840,
Louisiana State Guard a crisis. Key Louisiana state employees are also members of the force so they can be mobilized more effectively in order to deal with emergencies. All units of the Louisiana State Guard were deployed in support of the Louisiana National Guard in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. State defense forces are authorized by the federal government under Title 32, Section 109 of the United States Code. Currently, 23 states and the territory of Puerto Rico maintain active state defense forces. In 2005, state defense forces from several states were activated to aid the National Guard in sheltering the