It was originally a small, independent rural community that developed along the Mississippi River in northern East Baton Rouge Parish.

Aboriginal Native cultures existed during the Archaic period and built earthen mounds in the area now known as Scotlandville.

When the site was demolished in 1967, three days of salvage excavations exposed platforms, charcoal, effigy beads, and projectiles determined to be dated prior to 5000 BC.

The only Black family living in the village before the establishment of Southern University in 1914 was that of William "Dreher" Kelly and his wife Priscilla.

[citation needed] When Standard Oil Company opened a processing plant here in 1909, it attracted many new workers, including rural black migrants from other areas of the state, and immigrants from Eastern and Southern Europe.

After World War II, Black veterans such as Acie Belton of Scotlandville organized voter registration drives in order to overcome the disenfranchisement of most African Americans.