St. Croix Avis (Christiansted, St. Croix [V.I.]) 1844-Current
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
16,308 issues from 1865 to 1963, published in Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, digitised for Chronicling America.
The St. Croix Avis began publication in 1844 under the direction of editor and publisher Richard Hatchett in Christiansted, St. Croix. It is a successor of The Royal Danish American Gazette, the first known newspaper published in the Virgin Islands. Richard Hatchett published the Avis until the 1860s, under the authority of the Danish West Indian Government. The first digitized issue confirms that on January 3, 1865 the newspaper was edited by Hans Hatchett, and that it “published every Tuesday and Friday for the proprietress.” The masthead includes a printed note in Danish during this time: “Udgiver: Hans Hatchett–Trykt I Enken Harriet Hatchett’s Bogtrykerri” (“Publisher: Hans Hatchett–Printed in the widow Harriet Hatchett’s printing house”).
Throughout its publication, the Avis was formatted into three columns and were typically four pages in length, with an occasional addition of a fifth or sixth “supplemental” page. From its inception until 1917, the Avis published a considerable amount of its content in Danish, indicative of the island’s Danish-speaking population of the time. Common Danish-language sections included Bekendtgorelse (Announcement), Proklama (Proclamation), Auktion (Auction), and Ansaettelser (Appointments). The shift to a primarily English-language publication began after the US purchased the Virgin Islands from Denmark in 1917.
The St. Croix Avis reported on local weather and natural disasters. It frequently printed records of rainfall on the island.…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, United States
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- 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.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress