The Port of Burnside is part of the Port of Greater Baton Rouge. Located almost 60 river miles downriver (43 kilometers or 27 miles southeast by air) from Baton Rouge, the Port of Burnside is part of the Mississippi River System. The Port of Burnside is also about 84 kilometers (52 miles) west-northwest of the Port of New Orleans.

Founded in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, in 1726 by French and German settlers, the Port of Burnside is an unincorporated community. Home to almost 1300 people, the Port of Burnside boasts three sites on the National Register of Historic Places.

The indigenous Bayogoula, part of the Choctaw family, inhabited the area that would become the Port of Burnside before Europeans arrived there. These sedentary hunters and farmers were allies to the French and were assailed by other tribes. Eventually, the Houma absorbed the Bayogoula.

In 1699, the Bayogoula met French-Canadian explorer and adventurer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville who founded the colony of New France's Louisiana. Iberville took one of the Bayogoula to French to learn the language. Unfortunately, the tribe member passed away before he could return to his people.

In late 1699, the Bayogoula were attacked by the Houma. Further fighting with the Mugulasha and the Taensa reduced their numbers dramatically. The remaining Bayogoula were located in Ascension Parish. In 1739, they lived between the Houma and the Acolapissa. After that time, the Bayogoula were absorbed by the Houma Nation.

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