The neighborhood of Spanish Town was commissioned in 1805 by "Don" Carlos de Grand Pré. According to the "Baton Rouge State Times" (Oct. 18, 1980), "When Galvez Town, twenty miles southeast of Baton Rouge, was ceded in the Louisiana Purchase to the United States in 1803, the Canary Islanders who lived there asked to come to Baton Rouge in order to continue living on Spanish soil. In 1805, Carlos de Grand Pré (Charles Grandpre), administrator of the Baton Rouge District, drew up the layout of an area east of the fort 'out of cannon shot' that became known as Spanish Town."