The CA at 175

Sunday’s edition of The Commercial Appeal will feature a special magazine commemorating the newspaper’s 175th anniversary.

“175 Moments” dips deeply into the newspaper’s archives to republish photographs and excerpts of coverage since we began publishing as The Appeal on April 21, 1841. It’s a broad, unfiltered look at how our reporters and photographers viewed the history they witnessed, beginning in preCivil War Memphis through the horrors and heroics of yellow fever and the civil rights movement, to the explosion of Memphis music onto the world stage. It’s a buffet of the odd and unusual that makes Memphis, Memphis.

Here’s a taste:

March 7, 1857

When the subject of an appropriation for adorning Court Square was broached in city council Thursday evening, the mayor stated the lamentable fact that there was no money in the city treasury. If the treasury is depleted, it would be far better to place even a common board fence around the square than to let it remain in its present condition, as the board fence would at least keep out the cattle.

Staffers who covered major historical events provide their recollections as part of this retrospective. Here’s a brief glimpse from reporter Thomas Fox who stood nearby as a mortally wounded Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was wheeled into the ER at St. Joseph Hospital on April 4, 1968.

“Not sure exactly how to put this but the room seemed oddly drained of emotion, as

if everyone knew the worst but still dared to hope.”

This commemorative publication will be included with the April 17 edition and sold separately at bookstores and other retailers beginning April 18. We’ll also offer a special digital presentation of “175 Moments” with many more photos, the actual historic pages, and full excerpts.

You’ll find that at commercialappeal.com or our mobile apps beginning Sunday.