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,
Harrisonburg, Louisiana with easy access to the Mississippi River and New Orleans. The Harrisonburg Road ran through the area as it crossed Louisiana between Mississippi's Natchez Trace and Texas' El Camino Real. Harrisonburg was considered for the new site of the Louisiana state capital when the legislature decided to move it from New Orleans after the Civil War. Harrisonburg is located in northern Catahoula Parish at (31.772177, -91.827403), on the west bank of the Ouachita River. Louisiana State Highway 8 passes through the village, leading northeast across the Ouachita to Sicily Island, and southwest to U.S. Route 84 near Catahoula Lake. Jonesville,