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Newspaper The Opelousas Journal (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878 Journal des Opelousas

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About The Opelousas Journal (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878

Founded in the early 18th century as a French trading post, the town of Opelousas, Louisiana, had developed into a cattle and farming center of regional importance by the middle of the 19th century. It served briefly as Louisiana’s capital during the Civil War after the state legislature abandoned the more strategically vulnerable city of Baton Rouge, located about 60 miles to the east.

James W. Jackson (b. 1837), a native of North Carolina, established the Opelousas Journal in 1868. During its first year, it was printed weekly on a single double-sided sheet. Every second week, one page contained French-language content, under the title Le journal des Opelousas. In December 1868, the Journal expanded to four pages, with one page in French every week. Except for ads and occasional announcements, the paper had become English-only by 1871.

The Journal was a typical Southern small-town newspaper that offered miscellaneous news from around the world; brief editorials on various topics, especially local politics (the paper was affiliated with the Democratic Party); reports on political meetings and internal improvements such as the construction of roads, railroads, and levees; general-interest articles, fiction, and poetry, mostly reproduced from other sources; agricultural and domestic advice; advertisements; and marriage notices and obituaries. Also printed were acts of the Louisiana state legislature and letters chiefly on political topics from correspondents in Washington, New York, Philadelphia, and other cities. Like many French-language Louisiana newspapers of its day, each issue of the Journal contained a “feuilleton” (serialized novel or short story) until the paper ceased being bilingual around 1871.

The Opelousas Journal was published until January 1878, when it was sold and reorganized as the St. Landry Democrat.

Provided By: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Opelousas Journal (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878

Other Title

  • Journal des Opelousas

Dates of Publication

  • 1868-1878

Created / Published

  • Opelousas, La. : J.W. Jackson & J.M. Gale

Headings

  • -  Opelousas (La.)--Newspapers
  • -  Louisiana--Opelousas
  • -  United States--Louisiana--Saint Landry--Opelousas

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began with Jan. 4, 1868 issue; ceased with Jan. 5, 1878 issue?
  • -  Published with an additional masthead in French: Le journal des Opelousas, Jan. 4, 1868-.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  In English and French, 1868-Aug. 20, 1875.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 2 (Jan. 11, 1868).
  • -  St. Landry democrat 1945-9963 (DLC)sn 88064537 (OCoLC)18178926

Medium

  • volumes ; 61 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86079077

OCLC Number

  • 13169389

ISSN Number

  • 2377-827x

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

The Opelousas Journal Opelousas, La. -1878. (Opelousas, LA), Jan. 1 1868. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86079077/.

APA citation style:

(1868, January 1) The Opelousas Journal Opelousas, La. -1878. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86079077/.

MLA citation style:

The Opelousas Journal Opelousas, La. -1878. (Opelousas, LA) 1 Jan. 1868. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn86079077/.