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Chronicling America is a searchable digital collection of historic newspaper pages through 1963 sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress.
Follow ChronAm by subscribing to email alerts and RSS feeds.
Also, see the Directory of U.S. Newspapers in American Libraries, a searchable index to newspapers published in the United States since 1690, which helps researchers identify what titles exist for a specific place and time, and how to access them.
To commemorate the centennial of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty, the dedication ceremonies for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, also known as the St. Louis World's Fair, were held April 30, 1903. One year later, the Fair was officially opened by President Theodore Roosevelt. Among other things, the Fair showcased technological innovation as well as some of the first 'ethnographic displays,' in which people from other countries were placed on view for Fair visitors. Read more about it!
The information in this guide focuses on primary source materials found in the digitized historic newspapers from the digital collection Chronicling America.
The timeline below highlights important dates related to this topic and a section of this guide provides some suggested search strategies for further research in the collection.
| 1901 | Planning and construction for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition begins. President McKinley issues a proclamation inviting the international community to participate. |
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| 1902 | Although Exposition organizers had planned for a 1903 opening, it is delayed to 1904 to complete the preparations for what would be the largest ever World’s Fair. |
| April 30, 1903 | The dedication ceremonies commemorating the centennial of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty are held, though the Exposition will not officially open for another year. |
| April 30, 1904 | The official opening day of the Fair – both President Roosevelt and Secretary of War William Howard Taft participated in the opening ceremonies. |
| December 1, 1904 | Closing night of the Fair. |
