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Newspaper The Louisiana Cotton-Boll (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883 Cotton-boll" de la Louisiane / Grabot de coton de la Louisiane

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About The Louisiana Cotton-Boll (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883

Vermilionville, Louisiana (renamed Lafayette in 1884) is the seat of Vermilion Parish. Located 15 miles west of the Atchafalaya Swamp and 35 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, it struggled after the Civil War because of the destruction of the state’s plantation economy. The town received a boost in the 1870s when two major railroads intersected there, facilitating the transport of local crops (particularly cotton and sugar) and cattle.

Among Vermilionville’s promoters at that time was John Young Gilmore (1838-1900). Born in Pennsylvania, Gilmore went to work as a printer at the New Orleans Commercial Bulletin in 1859. During the Civil War, he served in an Alabama regiment and was severely wounded. Afterwards, he returned to journalism, founding the Louisiana Sugar-Bowl in New Iberia in 1870 and the Louisiana Cotton-Boll two years later in nearby Vermilionville. He eventually moved the Sugar Bowl to New Orleans, where it became the Sugar Planters’ Journal, one of the American sugar industry’s most important early publications.

Published weekly in four pages, the Cotton-Boll was originally half English, half French, the latter printed under the title Le “Cotton-Boll” de la Louisiane or Le Grabot de Coton de la Louisiane. By 1878, French-language content had virtually disappeared. Gilmore announced that the paper was “devoted to the cotton planting interest, immigration, education, and internal improvements.” The Cotton-Boll largely avoided politics, although in the presidential election of 1876, it endorsed Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden of New York and his running mate Thomas Hendricks of Indiana.

The paper’s content was miscellaneous, ranging from digests of local, national, and international news to general interest articles on various topics. Reports on agricultural developments are abundant, along with market reports and advertisements for local businesses. As a “home” newspaper, the Cotton-Boll also carried a selection of fiction, poetry, anecdotes, domestic advice, and religious reading, largely copied from other publications.

At present, the latest surviving copy of the Louisiana Cotton-Boll is from December 18, 1879, but the paper is thought to have continued publication until at least 1883.

Provided By: Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • The Louisiana Cotton-Boll (Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La.) 1872-1883

Other Title

  • Cotton-boll" de la Louisiane
  • Grabot de coton de la Louisiane

Dates of Publication

  • 1872-1883

Created / Published

  • Vermilionville [i.e. Lafayette], Attakapas, La. : J.Y. Gilmore

Headings

  • -  Lafayette (La.)--Newspapers
  • -  Louisiana--Lafayette
  • -  United States--Louisiana--Lafayette--Lafayette
  • -  United States--Louisiana--Lafayette--Vermilionville

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began Dec. 17, 1872? Ceased in 1883?
  • -  Published with an additional masthead in French: Le "Cotton-boll" de la Louisiane, -; Le grabot de coton de la Louisiane, -.
  • -  Editor: J.Y. Gilmore, <1873-1876>.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  In English and French, -.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 12 (Feb. 26, 1873).
  • -  Courrier de la Louisiane (New Iberia, La.)

Medium

  • volumes ; 67 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86079083

OCLC Number

  • 13170811

ISSN Number

  • 2377-8024

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 Louisiana Cotton-Boll Vermilionville i.e. Lafayette, Attakapas, La. -1883. (Lafayette, LA), Jan. 1 1872. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86079083/.

APA citation style:

(1872, January 1) The Louisiana Cotton-Boll Vermilionville i.e. Lafayette, Attakapas, La. -1883. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86079083/.

MLA citation style:

The Louisiana Cotton-Boll Vermilionville i.e. Lafayette, Attakapas, La. -1883. (Lafayette, LA) 1 Jan. 1872. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn86079083/.