Thibodaux Minerva

Lafourche Parish

The Thibodaux Minerva, originally known simply as the Minerva, was published in Thibodaux, Louisiana, a small sugar-farming community in Lafourche Parish, from the late 1840s to 1858 by Jonathan Church White, John D. Leary, and Louis F. Anderson. Its elaborate banner depicts Minerva, Roman goddess of the arts and trade.

Published weekly, each four-page issue carried a short editorial, usually related to politics or commerce. In 1855-56, the Minerva supported the American or "Know Nothing" Party and carried news of nativist meetings in and around Thibodaux as well as numerous articles discussing party philosophy.

Other common topics of reporting included agriculture (particularly sugar) and the construction of local roads, railroads, and levees. The first page usually included a town directory. Also of interest are articles on or advertisements for local celebrations, concerts, and other entertainments, such Van Amburgh's Menagerie, a traveling animal show and daredevil act that toured the Mississippi Valley on a steamboat in 1854. The bulk of the paper consisted of advertisements and general interest essays copied from other publications. Although primarily English, the Minerva often had one or two columns of French-language ads and notices.

Publication appears to have ceased in 1858.