Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

HQ: Lafayette, IN |

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Overview

There was little settlement in the northern half of Indiana when the town of Lafayette was founded by William Digby in 1825. It was named in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, a French Revolutionary War soldier, whose visit to the U.S. recalled his service and valor.

The town, when Digby plotted an area of several blocks on the Wabash riverfront, was an unpromising bramble patch that he had aquired cheaply. It was a few miles downstream from the point where the Tippecanoe River joins the Wabash and the locale of the 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe. Further downstream was the site of an old French trading post, Fort Ouiatenon, established in 1719.

But Digby chose well, for the site had been a long-time trade center for the Indians and the French. The establishment of the Wabash and Erie Canal in Lafayette in the 1840's transformed Lafayette into a transportation center, where cargoes were transferred from canal boat to river packet.

Railroads arrived in 1853 and the town emerged as a concentrated center for manufacturing and distribution. The establishment of Purdue University in 1869 created another center: Education. (Today there are about 37,000 students on the West Lafayette campus.)

Early settlers chronicled daily life in the prospering town of Lafayette, and in 1829, Lafayette's first newspaper, John B. Semans' Free Press, made its debut.

The Free Press was renamed the Journal and Free Press in 1841. The Journal continued until 1920. That year, a merger under the ownership of Henry W. Marshall changed the name to the Journal and Courier, the Courier having had its beginning back in 1845.

The Journal and Courier prides itself on the geneaology that makes it the second-oldest newspaper in continuous publication in Indiana. First honors go to the Vincennes Sun Commercial, heir to Elihu Stout's Western Sun, established in the capital of the old Northwest Territory when William Henry Harrison assumed the governorship of Indiana. Several other papers in the state, founded earlier, discontinued publication over the years.

By 1954 the 40,000 circulation Journal and Courier was sold to Federated Publication Inc., of Battle Creek, Michigan and became a part of what ultimately was a seven-newspaper group stretching from the Midwest to the Far West. Louis A. Weil Jr., came from the Grand Rapids Herald as the first Federated publisher, serving as publisher of both papers for a time before devoting full time to the Journal and Courier.

Since that time, the Journal and Courier has undergone a number of changes, both from a physical standpoint as well as a publishing standpoint. As Federated Publications became a part of Gannett Co. in 1971, the newspaper has been improved further to identify and serve Greater Lafayette's needs. It has also become a pioneer and leader in new technology for newspaper printing.

Today, as a seven-day publication coupled with an online presence, the Journal and Courier continues to be a leader in providing accurate and comprehensive news and information to the people of Greater Lafayette and surrounding communities, emphasizing quality, service and value to our customers into the 21st century.

Vision

MISSION STATEMENT--
We will be the leader in providing accurate and comprehensive information for the people of Greater Lafayette and surrounding communities.
We will continue to emphasize quality, service and value to our customers.

Contact

Journal and Courier
217 North Sixth St., Lafayette, IN 47901
(765) 423-5511
www.jconline.com

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