It’s moving day at the American Press.

The publisher, editor, reporters and other staff are moving into a relocated newsroom at the corner of Pujo and Hodges streets — the site of the old Sweet Lake Land & Oil offices and just steps away from Lake Charles City Hall.  The roughly 4,300-square-foot, two-story office is a pivotal move for Southwest Louisiana’s newspaper of record, which left its longtime offices downtown nearly 30 years ago to be closer to its print plant on U.S. 90, just on the outskirts of the city limits. The paper has been leasing an office on Ryan Street the past three years.

The newspaper — which will be celebrating its 130th birthday in 2025 — is the oldest member of the Southwest Louisiana Chamber of Commerce. Its earliest roots can be traced to August of 1893 when Joseph F. Reed created a weekly publication in Lake Charles. He would form a partnership with Guy Beatty the next year, creating Press Publishing Co. In that partnership, Reed oversaw the editorial department of the publication and Beatty handled business management.

Two years later, on Feb. 4, 1895, the Weekly Press became the Daily Press and the organization purchased a new printing press.

“With the exception of the large publishing houses of New Orleans, there is nowhere, in all the state of Louisiana, or the adjacent South, a printing establishment that will compare, in point of costly and efficient equipment, with the plant of the daily and weekly Press,” reads an 1895 article in the Lake Charles Daily Press announcing the purchase.

In 1910, the Daily Press merged with the Daily American, which Beatty was also publishing at the time, to form the Lake Charles Daily American-Press. By 1912, the newspaper shortened its name, removing “Daily” and the hyphen from its masthead. Eight years later, Beatty moved the paper to a brick building on the 300 block of Broad Street — which was most recently the site of the Lake Charles Children’s Museum — where it was headquartered for the next 34 years.

It was in the midst of World War II that Thomas B. Shearman Sr., on Dec. 21, 1943, purchased the newspaper, four months after Beatty’s death. Shearman, who was a Chicago-based national advertising salesman at the Inland Newspaper Representatives firm, had represented the Lake Charles American Press in national advertising for about 12 years and had formed a friendship with Beatty. Shearman bought the business from Beatty’s heirs for $300,000.

Nearly 55 years after Shearman purchased the paper, the organization shortened its name once more to the American Press. The Shearman family continued to own the publication until 2021 when Carpenter Media Group purchased the publication.

“Communities with effective journalists, newspapers, and digital news organizations tend to be strong communities,” Todd Carpenter, chairman of Carpenter Media Group, said. “Without local journalism, communities decline, become divisive and stagnate. With good local journalism, they are equipped to communicate, work together, grow and thrive.”

With an eye on giving the reader of today a more improved publication tomor­row, the mission of the American Press continues to be service to the community. Focusing on creating high-quality products that contribute to and uplift the community it serves, the newspaper’s commitment to quality encompasses not just its content but also its people and facilities. Exceptional products and sustainable profits result from a dedicated team working in a collaborative environment.

“Our journalists work to be trusted guides to readers, providing factual, informative and entertaining news and information to enhance the public conversation,” Carpenter said. “Readers deserve to be informed so they can be actively involved in the improvement of the places they live. Moreover, our role is to hold the institutions of communities served accountable to the public trust.”

The newspaper invites the community to drop by the new offices as we settle in and say hello.

In the new offices, visitors will get the chance to see preserved historic front pages that capture significant events in our community and our country. Among the treasures now matted and framed for all to enjoy is the front page the American Press produced after the 1910 fire, Toni Jo Henry’s death, D-Day, the end of World War II, Richard Nixon’s resignation, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death, John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and others.

The team always welcomes calls and visits from readers who wish to express their ideas about what’s important to them and to their community.

Community journalism and the people joining this noble cause have a bright future. The American Press will continue to investigate, challenge, report, reflect, document, and always be blunt but constructive, and when merited, be the community’s loudest cheerleaders. Each of you and the communities demand this of it and deserve no less.