BATON ROUGE — The original Louisiana Purchase document that doubled the size of the United States of America at the start of the 19th century will be on display at the Old State Capitol in downtown Baton Rouge starting in April. 

The document signed by Napoleon Bonaparte will be on display as part of a commemoration of America's 250th anniversary, with this being only the second time the historic document has been put on display in the Old State Capitol. The last time it was available for the public to see was in 1994, when the building reopened as a museum. 

The Louisiana Purchase was finalized in 1803 and saw the United States acquire 828,000 square miles of land from France that stretched west of the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf to the Canadian border. This territory made up all or part of fifteen modern states.

The exhibit starts April 14, with visitors recommended to reserve a time slot to view the document. Click here for more information.

The exhibit was formally announced by Gov. Jeff Landry on Monday during his State of the State speech to kick off the 2026 legislative session.