THE PRESS OF YORK COUNTY. KENNEBUNK. ANNALS OF THE TIMES. In 1803 the Annals of the Times was commenced and contin- ued two years in Kennebunk. On March 20,1805, the first num- ber of the KENNEBUNK GAZETTE appeared. It was published until about 1842, by Jas. L. Remick, who died at Kennebunk, Sept. 3, 1863, aged 80 years. The Gazette was continued by his son, Daniel Remick, for a few years. SACO AND BIDDEFORD. FREEMAN'S FRIEND. A paper by the name of the Freeman's Friend was published in Saco in 1805, by Wm. Weeks; for how long a time, we do not learn. There appears in the first number of the paper an adver- tisement of a wool-carding machine in operation, by John Mayall, at Jefford's mills in Kennebunk. Timothy Keazer advertises for sale an oration, delivered at Saco, July 4,1806, by Joseph Bartlett. MAINE PALLADIUM. The Maine Palladium was published at -Saco as early as the autumn of 1820, by Putnam and Blake, and as late as July 21, 1830. YORK COUNTY. 125 MAINE DEMOCRAT. The Maine Democrat was commenced in Saco, Jan. 6, 1828, by Messrs. Wm. and John Condon, who continued to publish it for several years, and then gold it to T. Maxwell and Michael Beek, Esq. of Portsmouth. Mr. Beek in a short time purchased Maxwell's interest in the paper and continued its publication until the time of his death, in 1843. It was then purchased by Alpheus A. Ran- :seem, who continued as its editor and publisher until May, 1864. Wm. Noyes with his son then purchased the Democrat. The ,son, Isaac B. Noyes, was editor until he died, a few months after- ward.* A second son was received into partnership, and the pa- per continued under the firm of Wm. Noyes 'and Co., for about three years. In Oct., 1867 it was sold to Charles A. Shaw, Esq. of Biddeford; but the Messrs. Noyes continued its publication till near the first of January following. Mr. Shaw then removed to Biddeford, where he erected a new building for the reception of the office, and there immediately commenced, in connection with the Democrat, a daily, called the Daily Times. He expended several thousand dollars on the establishment ; but finding that a daily could not be sustained he lost his interest in the undertak- ing, discontinued the daily, and soon afterward (Oct., 1868) sold his apparatus, with the Democrat, to E. K. Smart, of Camden. Mr. Smart continued to publish the Democrat until May, 1869, when it 'was purchased by the Watson Brothers, its present pub- lishers and. proprietors ; since which it has been under the edito- rial management of Geo. K. Shaw, Esq. ISAAC BADGER NOYES, at the breaking out of the Rebellion in 1861, immediate- ly gave up the practice of Law, and recruited the first company of soldiers that joined the army from Saco, of which he was chosen Captain as soon as his company joined the 5th Maine Regiment. He at once proceeded to the front in Virginia; but his health being poor, having a disease of the heart which afterward terminated his life, he resigned his commission in the fall of 1861. With the hope of regaining his health he spent the two following years in South America. Returning early in 1864 he im- mediately assumed the editorial management of the Maine Democrat, which he con- tinued to conduct till the time of his death in December, 1863. 126 THE NEWS PRESS OF MAINE. UNION. The Union commenced in Jan., 1845, with Wm. Noyes as pro- prietor, and Louis 0. Cowan as editor. The Union immediately took rank as the leading organ of the whigs in York county. It was continued by Noyes and Cowan until Feb., 1848, when Mr. Cowan purchased the interest of Mr. Noyes, and continued its publication in Saco until the office was destroyed by fire in 1856; he then moved to Biddeford, and purchased the EASTERN HERALD and MERCANTILE ADVERISER, and consolidated the two papers under the name of the UNION AND JOURNAL, which he continued to publish until the time of his death, in 1863. His widow sold the establishment to its present proprietor, J. E. Butler. BIDDEFORD HERALD. The Biddeford Herald was commenced in 1848 by Reed and Cole. It was a paper devoted principally to local news; - con- tinued under the conduct of its originators some eight months; then, to its close, about nine months, under W. F. Scammon. Mr. Scammon then commenced the publication of the BIDDEFORD TOWNSMAN, which lived only three months. MERCANTILE ADVERTISER. In April, 1849, the Mercantile Advertiser was issued by Marcus Watson, now of the Maine Democrat. It was moved to Bidde- ford in 1850, and sold to Daniel E. Somes, who published it un- der the name of EASTERN JOURNAL about a year and a half. It ,was then sold to Mr. Cowan, and merged in the present Union and Journal. GAZETTE. Jan. 5, 1857, the Gazette made its appearance in Biddeford; Marcus Watson, prop rietor; Chas. H. Granger, editor-; and contin- ued until 1861. Marcus Watson and Co. then commenced the publication of the Eastern Herald, which was published one year. YORK COUNTY INDEPENDENT. The York County Independent first appeared May 18, 1869, by William Noyes and his son, Wm. S. Noyes, now the firm of W. S. Noyes & Co., who still continue its publication, in connec- tion with their job-printing office. [The Messrs. Noyes, on leav- YORK COUNTY. 127 ing the Maine Democrat, Jan. 1, 1868, removed to Rockland, and there commenced the publication of the KNOX AND LINCOLN PATRIOT, which they continued to publish, as per contract, just one year; on the expiration of which time they removed their office back to Saco. This city of 6,000 inhabitants, during the year of their absence, had been without a paper or printing press of any kind.] At the present time, the York County Independent is the only paper published in Saco. The Maine Democrat, and Union and Journal, are published in Biddeford. These three are, at this time, the only papers published in York county. A paper in the interests of the Free-will Baptist denomination was published for a time, by James M. Buzzell, at Saco, and after- ward removed to Limerick. For particulars see Appendix. ALFRED. A paper by the name of the COLUMBIAN STAR was published at Alfred, in 1824, by James Dickman of Augusta, in support of W. H. Crawford for the Presidency. Mr. Dickman was in the printing-office of the editor, in 1820 to 1823, as an apprentice,- in 'which capacity he was ever faithful. He died at Boston in 1870, WELLS AND KENNEBUNK. [Extracts from a manuscript History of Wells and Kennebunk, by E. E. Bourne, Esq.] "In 1803 Stephen Sewall commenced the publication of the ANNALS OF THE TIMES. It seems to have been started under very favorable auspices, so far as regarded the patronage of advertisers. Many persons in Ports- mouth advertised their goods in its columns, and also a respectable number in Wells and other towns in the county. But the subscription patronage was insufficient to sustain it, and the paper was continued but one year. Occasionally the paper contained respectable communications on political questions and things of local interest. Sewall wrote the ode for the Fourth of July, 1803, which was sung with effect on that occasion. His position as ,publisher of this paper not meeting his aspirations, he abandoned it in 1804, moved to Scarboro', and there established himself as a Thompsonian physician. "In the beginning of 1805 another attempt was made to establish a newspaper in Kennebunk by William Weeks. This enterprise was not as successful as the former. The paper was denominated the KENNEBUNK 'GAZETTE. We have a single copy of it, dated July 24. From this specimen we are of the opinion that the people took but little interest in sustaining it. Though this was the 19th number, beside the post master's notice of letters remaining in the office, it contains but a single advertisement. The paper is made up entirely of collections, containing nothing editorial and no original communications. It was continued but a little while, when the publisher moved to Saco ; thence to Portland; then to Portsmouth, where in 1809 he became the publisher of the New Hampshire Gazette. 279 APPENDIX. " Another paper was attempted soon after, of which we have been un- able to ascertain the name or the publisher. We believe it was called the EAGLE OF MAINE ; but no relics of it have been found, so that we know nothing of its character or of the length of its days. "A fourth paper, denominated the WEEKLY VISITOR, was started in 1809 by James K. Remick. The publisher seems to have bad more sym- pathy from the public than his predecessors. The advertising support of a newspaper we suppose to be very essential to its success. This was very- liberally given to the Visitor. A great deal of original matter was also fur- nished. Previous failures probably moved the people to a more active in- terest in its success than they manifested in the previous enterprises. The paper soon acquired a satisfactory footing, and maintained its position be- tween thirty and forty years, though its name was changed to Kennebunk Gazette, July 7, 1821. By a wise and prudent management of the financial. concerns of the establishment, the publisher acquired a very comfortable independence, which be transmitted to his son. "All the publishers of these papers, in addition to the work of their profession, kept a book-store, supplying the public with stationery, school- books, etc. "THE COLUMBIAN STAR, at Alfred, was continued but a short time. Its establishment was designed for two objects -to aid in the election of Crawford, and in the location of all the courts at Alfred. These two ques- tions being removed from the public mind, no interest in it was strong enough for its support." [All but one of Lae papers were briefly noticed with the papers of York county. - Ed.] ECHO, OR NORTH STAR. - It having been reported to us that there were files of papers in the Antiquarian Rooms at Worcester, Mass., printed at Fryeburg between 1792 and 1795, we have obtained, through the favor of the Librarian, a copy of what proves to be from the earliest volume printed - No. 7, vol. 1. - dated Fryeburg, Me., Aug. 19, 1798, which; agrees with our notice, p. 118. The type is very much worn. The paper contains a sensible communication calculated to calm the war spirit of the. day, caused by the depredations of French war vessels upon our commerce. There is also a double column, giving a list of revenue Stamp duties. An advertisement of land for sale in Farmington, Me., appears over the signa- ture of our former neighbor, Jacob Abbot, senior, then of Concord, N. H.,, referred to p. 237. The terms of the Echo axe given - "Pay in any thing, 280 THE PRESS OF MAINE. or cash." In our young days we expected only the "any thing." The es- tablishment of the Echo by Russell two years after the first paper at Wis- casset, leads to the supposition that this publisher, with the Russell of that paper, was a brother of Benj. Russell of the Boston Centinel. The type was probably the same as had been used on the Centinel. THE MORNING STAR. - The Morning Star, a Free-will Baptist paper, was established at Limerick, May, 1826. Elders Buzzell and Burbank were the first editors; William Burr, a native of Hingham, who served an apprenticeship in Boston, printer. "Mr. Burr, when he came to Limerick, though less than twenty years of age, was an accomplished gentleman, of pleasing manners and most amiable disposition." In May, 1832, Hobbs, Woodman, and Co. disposed of its property to a new firm, known as Hobbs, Burr, and Co. In October following, the paper was sold to the Free-will denomination. Mr. Burr subsequently became principal editor and a very efficient business manager, which station he retained nearly forty years and until his death, by apoplexy, which occurred on the morning of Nov. 5, 1866. An interesting memoir of his life has been published in a volume of 208 pp. 18mo. The Star was removed to Dover, N. H., Nov., 1833. Its extensive cir- culation speaks for itself. .......................... ............... *********************************************** 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. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * * The USGenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.