re: Older Baton Rouge residents. What lead to the decline of NBR?

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They had smaller operations before then, but they really exploded during WWII. That coincides with Baton Rouge going from being literally a small town to a decent sized city. A lot of white working class folks moved into town from rural areas (a lot actually from Mississippi) to come work in the plants and settled close by in N. Baton Rouge. They found affordable housing and it was close to work, so that outweighed the idea that you literally lived in the shadow of those plants. Once they made a bit of money they figured out they could live elsewhere and started moving out of that immediate area.

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This is pretty accurate. Standard Oil opened the current refinery before WW1.

Many people did come from Mississippi but from rural La as well from sharecropping to real jobs with security. Once this was established Baton Rouge just starting moving East away from the river with vast areas of undeveloped land from Melrose, Broadmoor, Red Oaks, Sherwood Forest, Goodwood Heights etc...that were affordable.

It is no different than any city really. People want to better themselves, new bigger houses, a second car etc...and the class behind them find it affordable to move where these have upgraded. Now it has moved even farther and while it is constantly blamed on EBR public schools that is only part of it. Livingston Parish and Ascension Parish had vast areas of undeveloped land and the migration continues. Look at Melrose, Broadmoor, Red Oaks and Sherwood Forest. They all have transitioned or are in the process of transitioning into the above. It's called life.