Its type was set by hand. Nine hundred copies of the Daily Dispatch, predecessor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, were published that first day, Oct. 19, 1850. It is the first attempt at the penny newspaper which Richmond has seen, and if merit be a certificate of success, The Daily Dispatch will flourish like a bay tree. But advertisers did not flock to the fledgling paper. One of the original partners, William H. Davis, was so discouraged by the dismal patronage of advertisers that he quit after a few weeks and returned to the coal business, leaving James Andrew Cowardin, a printer by trade, to go it alone.
Newspapers change names occasionally.
In our stories and information boxes, we have tried to reflect the names in use at the time. Here are some names, with the years they appeared. On Oct. 19 The Daily Dispatch publishes first edition. Richmond's first penny newspaper. Dispatch moves from Governor Street to 13th and Main streets.