THE PRESS OF HANCOCK COUNTY, Maine I . ..................... .................... CASTINE. BY N. K. SAWYER, EDITOR OF THE ELLSWORTH AMERICAN. JOURNAL. By a copy of the Castine Journal and Advertiser in my pos- session, published in 1800 by David J. Waters, it appears that this paper was commenced in 1799. Its publication was continued in Castine about two years, when the establishment was removed to Hampden. Mr. Waters was the son of William Waters, of Boston, and learned his trade of Messrs. Adams and Rhodes, of that city. When he commenced business in Castine, the Journal sustained.what was called the Federal side in politics; but grad- ually it changed its politics and became a supporter of Jefferson. This was much against the prevailing sentiment of the people, and it may account for its early removal to Hampden. Mr. Waters' connection with the Journal ceased in about a year after its removal. He then went to Richmond, Va., where lie died in a few months, at an early age. He was a member of the Masonic ............................................................................. "In 1793 the Castine Gazette was established at Castine by Daniel S. Waters. lsaac Story, a young lawyer of promise in that town, was a principal contributor." So says William Willis, in his History of Portland. Not hearing from Mr. Sawyer on this point, it is presumed he has no knowledge of such a paper. He says - "There are a few bound volume of the first paper printed in the county, but I can learn of none that followed the Castine Journal, until that of the Ellsworth Herald in 1863." Mr. Sawyer, it is evident, has bestowed much labor in his researches. Few are living, he says, who can -give any information in regard to papers printed sixty years ago, and the written record is, therefore, all that we have for our guide. - Ed. HANCOCK COUNTY. 113 Fraternity. The Journal is a sheet about 22 by 18 inches, printed on English paper. A large portion of its columns were devoted to foreign news. But little attention appears to have been given to local affairs. EAGLE. A correspondent at Castine wrote a few years since as follows: "The second newspaper published in Castine was the Castine Eagle, published by Samuel Hall, at $2.00 a year -the first num- ber dated Nov. 14, 1809. I do not know how long the paper lived, but have never. seen a number except of vol. I. The next paper was the AMERICAN, Afterwards called the Eastern American, the first number of which was issued Jan. 20, 1827; terms, $2.00 a year; A. H. Haynes and Co., publishers -afterward by Benj. Franklin Bond. This journal was issued only about one year. I have seen num- ber 1. vol. I. of a small literary paper called the CRESCENT, which was issued from the office of the American, Feb. 15, 1828. The American appears to have advocated the re-election of President Adams. The Eagle was neutral in politics." BLUEHILL. A Bluehill correspondent says-,,In 1830 a paper was pub- lished here called the BLUEHILL BEACON AND HANCOCK COUNTY JOURNAL, edited and published by B. F. Bond. It continued nearly two years. It was neutral in politics at first, but became I National Republican."' BUCKSPORT. From a Bucksport correspondent we gather the following - In July, 1805, W. W. Clapp came here from Boston, and issued the first newspaper, called the MAINE GAZETTE. The paper was well conducted for the time. Mr. Clapp being a very strong Federalist, and his correspondents also, the Gazette exerted a pow- erful influence in favor of that party throughout the county, re- ceiving a very liberal support for six years. In 1811 Clapp sold 15 III THE NEWS PRESS OF MAINE. out to Anthony Holland, who continued the paper about a year, when be packed up all the materials of the office and moved into New Brunswick." ELLSWORTH. INDEPENDENT COURIER. The Independent Courier was launched upon the turbulent sea of newspaper life in Ellsworth, Nov. 29, 1826. In his Pros- pectus to this paper, the late Charles Lowell, of Ellsworth, indulges in the following bright anticipations: - "The fact that there is no paper published within 40 miles of Ellsworth, on the west, and 100 miles on the east, together with the increasing prosperity of this section of the country and the liberality of its inhabitants, all combine to produce a belief that there is not, at this time, in the State of Maine, a place which holds out so many inducements to establish a newspaper, as at Ellsworth." Mr. Lowell entered upon his work with much zeal, and with great courage and faith in his success; but he continued in the business less than three years. In his valedictory to the readers of the NORTHERN STATESMAN of November, 1838, which was commenced by him, and expired on reaching its cycle of 52 num- bers, vol. 1., he says: - "In the autumn of 1826 we commenced the publication of the Independent Courier, which was the first newspaper published in Ellsworth. It advocated the re-election of Mr. Adams. In 1829 we disposed of our interest in the establishment to the Messrs. Hale, who published a neutral paper for a few months. An anti- Jackson paper, called the HANCOCK ADVERTISER, was published several years afterward, from the same office, by Robert Grant, and afterward by Grant and Moor. In 1834 it ceased to exist. In 1835 the RADICAL, a Jackson paper, with a new office, was established by 1). T. Pike and Co. In 1836 it fell into the hands of others, and was converted into a wbig paper. It was published by a Mr. Washburn some six or eight months. In the spring of HANCOCK COUNTY. 115 1837 it passed into the hands of Joseph H. Jordan, who published' a neutral paper for about eight months, called the LABORER'S JOURNAL. In November, 1837, the writer (Charles Lowell) took the office, united it with another, and commenced the publication of the Northern Statesman. During the twelve years which have elapsed since the estab- lishment of the Courier in 1826, there have been issued from the press various other sheets purporting to be newspapers printed in Ellsworth, which, in fact, were only hand-bills, issued in that form to avoid postage, etc. In reality all the papers ever published in town up to this time, are the Courier, Advertiser, Radical, Jour- nal, and Statesman -five in all." The history of newspaper publishing in this county from Nov., 1838, when the Statesman was discontinued, is one of sad mor- tality. Next after the Statesman was the BEE, published by Jos. H. Jordan. This paper was issued in the autumn of 1839, and continued in existence less than two years. The HANCOCK DEM- OCRAT was started by the same gentleman in June, 1847, and lived for about three years. He then commenced anotber journal called the EASTERN FREEMAN, in 1853, and continued it one or two years. ELLSWORTH HERALD. In October, 1851, Messrs. Couliard and Hilton came to Ells- worth from Bangor, and commenced the Ellsworth Herald. Mr. Hilton closed his connnection with the paper in about six months. Mr. Couliard continued the paper until the fall of 1854 as a neu- tral paper. Its publication was then discontinued, and the press and material passed into other hands -that of Wm. H. Chaney, who, in November or December of 1854, started the ELLSWORTH AMERICAN. Subsequently Mr. Chaney associated with him Chas. W. Moor, of Ellsworth, and this firm published the American until Dec., 1855; not quite 52 numbers were issued by them. N. K. Sawyer then became the purchaser, three weeks before it had reached its 52d number. The American is now printed on paper 42 by 28. 116 THE NEWS PRESS OF MAINE. It is the only paper printed in the county. None but a weekly was ever attempted here. Wm. P. Burr was connected with the American from 1861 to 1865. He -was a practical printer, and a good partner. His interest was purchased, at his own request, in 1865, and he removed to Brewer to engage in other business. From that time the present publisher assumed the ownership end editorship. In 1869, new presses and type were purchased to the value of $2,000. Its present circulation is 2,400. In April, 1860, Messrs. Wasson and Moor started an agricul- tural paper called the EASTERN FARMER, which they continued until the fall of 1861, when they suspended its publication. Last fall a paper was started in Bucksport, called the RIVERSIDE Echo. It is printed in Portland, and is in some sense the organ of the several temperance organizations of the county. We learn it is not a source of pecuniary profit to the enterprising publisher. In Jan., 1866, Col. Z. A. Smith started the HANCOCK JOURNAL. It was Union in politics, but after reaching its 38th number it was discontinued for want of support. The number of newspapers which we have enumerated in our brief sketch, amounts to nearly twenty in number; and yet, so far as we can learn, no two, just the opposite in politics, have ever been published at the same time. Mr. Washburn at one time, but for a few weeks only, started the novel idea of making his paper the advocate of both parties; not that he was a "fence man," quite, but he tried the experiment of having his paper the expo- nent of two parties -one side of the paper being devoted to the interests of the Jackson party, and the other was equally zealous for the Adams party. Mr. Lowell, however -good authority - says that Mr. Washburn's paper was an anti-Jackson paper. The paper soon changed hands. The experiment was not fully tested. Mr. Bond who figured in this county for so many years in the newspaper business, was a Hallowell man. He emigrated to Bos- ton from this county. Mr. Grant, the publisher of the Hancock HANCOCK COUNTY. 117 Advertiser, was a native of this town. He, many years since, went to New York, and has spent his time in scientific pursuits. He was engaged several years in experimenting with the calcium light, and government employed him for a time during the war to test it. We have one number of the Advertiser now before us, and we fail to find in it any terms of publication, or any statement as to who is the publisher. It is dated April 2, 1834. Mr. Joseph H. Jordan, who started so many papers in this town, was a genial, true-hearted man; at one time he represented the town in the Legislature, and was for a few years collector of this port. He subsequently obtained a clerkship at Washington, and removed his family there. He died in that city some years ago. He was a practical printer. . Charles Lowell was a merchant in this town (Ellsworth) be- fore going into the newspaper business. He subsequently read law, was admitted to the bar, and practiced his profession until his death a few years since. He was never a practical printer. He was a most prolific political writer. Mr. Couliard is residing, we learn, in Massachusetts, and continues to work at his business. Mr. Hilton is, or was, in New York City; so, also, of Mr. Chaney. We have already spoken of Mr. Waters. Of the Messrs. Hale we can learn nothing in particular, only that the flrm was composed of Alden S. and John M. Hale. Alden S. was a practical printer, learning his trade in Brooklyn, New York. He published a paper at Walpole, N. H., before coming to Ellsworth. Ile died sometime since in Rutland, Vt. J. M. Hale, the partner, still lives in Ellsworth. On inquiry, he asserts posi- tively that he did not gather up his present competence in the business. D. T. Pike, of Angusta, who published the Radical, made the ablest paper yet published in the county, it is said. It was what its name indicated, and it represented the views of the Jarvis branch of the Democratic party. Samuel Hall, who published the Castine Eagle in 1810, was from Boston. He advertised to do job-printing, and no doubt was a practical printer. The fact that no newspaper, except the one now published, has 118 THE NEWS PRESS OF MAINE ever been published continuously for more than seven years, since the establishment of the Castine Journal in 1799, tells its own :story. As purely money making enterprises, they have been fail- ures; as means to reach political position and promotion, they have also been failures. But that these publications have exerted .a good influence on the public, is true. *********************************************** Source for the above: "The Press of Maine" by Joseph Griffin 1872 Brunswick, Maine *********************************************** Courtesy of the New England Old Newspaper Index Project of Maine (R) and the Androscoggin Historical Society ] PO Box 152 Danville, Maine 04223 ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. 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