Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1908-09-17
SIXTY NEWSPAPERS
over 100 YEARS old.
OF the Centenarian Publications
in the United States, But One
Is West of the Mississippi.

From the ST. Louis Republic.
Obtainable records, reviews and official
publications of all kinds. as we'll as the
personal communications received by the
Republic, used In the compilation of this
list of newspapers in the United States
that are 10O years old and over. present
many curious facts aud circumstances.
According to the best information avail
able. there are 90 newspapers, daily or
weekly. in this country that Gre at least
100 years old. This is out of u total of
ISIS daily and weekly papers in publ!-
cation this year, not counting trade or
special publications.
Scrutiny of the list reveals the fact
that there are at least five newspapers
In the country that are $50 Years old.
Naturally, when the age of a publication
is under consideration, or where there Is
some question as to the line of descent
original issue or outgrowth, the claims
of the publisher as to the facts are ac-
copied The five newspapers referred 10
as being $50 years old or over are the
Annapolis Gazette, founded in l1i5: Ports
mouth Chronicle. founded in l756 New
port Or. ID Mercury, founded in 1853;
Charleston IS. CO News aud Courier.
founded in 1882, and Philadelphia North
American. founded In 112S
Not less than half Il dozen papers have
celebrated anniversaries Officially sub
Stimulating claims of age in excess of 10
years. AS a matter of fact, more than
one-half of all the papers now in exist
ence that are leo wears old or over Mere
founded previous to 1890
From an examination of the list of pa
pers that are centenarians it will be seen
that six of them were established in the
same year as was the Republic 1905.
These are the I.ynchburg (Va) News,
Washington (Pa.) Reporter. Lancaster
Pa) Nolksfreund Dayton tOhio) Jour
nal, Lisbon (Ohio,) Patriot, West Chester
(Pa.) Village Record
A weekly paper, the Gazette, printed at
Annapolis Md, is something more than
curiosity from the fact that it is 169
years old. and there is no record of its
ever having had any other name or lav-
ing been published at any other interval
than weekly.
Toe oldest newspaper published. daily
or weekly, having either or both issues
now or in the past. is said by Its pub
fishers to be the Philadelphia North Am
erican. which was founded as the Gazette
by Benjamin Franklin in 1925
The claim made by the owners and edi-
| tors of the Hartford Courant of being the
oldest newspaper in the country is made
| evidently. on account of the fact that the
original publication was called the Con
necticut Courant and that it has been III
1 continuous weekly publication from the
/, time of its founding in 1894 to the pres
emit time This would make the Courant
| 144 years oldE in continuous and uninter
| rupted publication under the same name
This claim has not been disputed in so fll
| as the records or Investigations show Il
1 this time
| In connection with the statistics show
| ing the length of time that any one news
| paper has been under the same OWNERSHIP
and editorshp, considering lfneal descen
in the same family, the Gazette of Alex
andria, Va. puts forth very stront
claim. That paper has been in the Snow
| den family 10s years, ownership and edi
| torship descending from father to son an,
to grandson.
The claim of the baltimore America
as to it's being the Oldest daily paper ii
| the country has no disputants. The Am
| erican, SO far as the weekly edition
which was Its foundation, is concerned
| has very few competitors in the race TO
/ age. But the daily edition, established Ii
1913, carries off the palm for age anon,
| the dailies.
A fact which stands out prominentl
after a review of the list is one whic
! goes to show that this country Is still
| young--vcry young That fact is that tn
| Republic is the only paper west of tn
Mississippi river that is 100 years old. Il
fact, it is the first newspaper that wa
4 established west of the great water divide
/ Many of the states east OF the Misss
| sippi river have no papers now nor eve
had one that was 100 years old. Missoui
i is the only state west of the Mississipr
that has one the Republic The othe
five states of the union that have one pa
per each that is 100 years old or over ar
1 South Carolina, kentucky. Georgia. Ind
| ana and Rhode Island
4 AS to the number of papers 100 Yea,
4 old or over in the various states, Penn
4 sylvania has the greatest with H. Ne,
York is next In line with seven Masse
chusetts and Ohio rank third each hay
ing five. Connecticut, New Ilampsh!l
and New Jersey follow with four cael
while Maryland, Vermont aud Virginia al
credited with three each The state q
Maine has two.
III is n notable fact that the Year Isl
was prolific in tho production of ncwsj).
pers in this country the Republic bnin
among them. In that year, of all tina
were started, seven. including the RepliI
lie, have survived. Previous to the yea
1900 the biggest years for the establish
ment of newspapers in this country WEI
four in the year 1893 and four in III
year 1892.