St. Charles Herald

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Digitizing Louisiana Newspapers Project (DLNP)

St. Charles Parish

The St. Charles Herald was established in 1873 by Michael Hahn (1830-1886). Born in Germany but raised and educated in Louisiana, Hahn left the Democratic Party and became a Republican during the Civil War. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1862 and then governor of Union-occupied Louisiana in 1864. Between terms, he acquired the New Orleans Daily True Delta [LCCN: sn83016490] and used it to support Abraham Lincoln’s plans for emancipation and reconstruction. Although elected to the Senate in 1865, Hahn never took office because of factional struggles within the Republican Party and delays in Louisiana being readmitted to the Union. From 1867 to 1871, he published another newspaper, the New Orleans Republican [LCCN: sn83016555].

In 1872, Hahn moved to nearby St. Charles Parish, bought a sugar plantation, founded the town of Hahnville, and soon embarked on a third newspaper-publishing venture, the St. Charles Herald. Claiming to be “independent of politicians, rings or cliques,” it was published by Hahn until his death in 1886. The paper was then acquired by J. C. Triche & Co.

The Herald carried miscellaneous news on local, national, and international topics, general-interest essays, agricultural and commercial news, public notices, announcements of sales, domestic advice, and a large amount of fiction (including regular “condensed classics”). By the early 20th century, it had expanded from four to eight pages. In 1993, the paper was consolidated with the River Parishes Guide [LCCN: sn84009659] to form the St. Charles Herald-Guide [LCCN: sn97001565].