Originally a colonial town, it was named for the park of the Château de Baron Roger, laid out by botanist Jean Michel Claude Richard.

[1] Until 1817, at roughly the location of Richard Toll there were two communities, Ndiangué and Xhouma, inhabited by the Mbodi — descendants of Brack and followers of the royalist Walo tradition.

In 1817 the French government's most senior representative in the region, Schmaltz, created an outpost community on the River Senegal, naming it l’Escale.

It grew greatly in 1945 with the creation of the Mission Agricole du Sénégal, which also brought other institutions such as a hospital, and chapel, and a school.

Since then the city has grown and evolved into what it is today, including the addition of neighbourhoods such as Campement, Thiaback, GAE2, and Taouey.