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About The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977
Somerset, Ohio (1873-1977)

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Title:
The Somerset press. [volume] : (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977
Place of publication:
Somerset, Ohio
Geographic coverage:
  • Somerset, Perry, Ohio  |  View more titles from this: City County, State
Publisher:
[publisher not identified]
Dates of publication:
1873-1977
Description:
  • -v. 105, no. 22 (Sept. 8, 1977).
  • Began with Apr. 18, 1873 issue.
Frequency:
Weekly
Language:
  • English
Subjects:
  • Ohio--Perry County.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01222016
  • Ohio--Somerset.--fast--(OCoLC)fst01290893
  • Perry County (Ohio)--Newspapers.
  • Somerset (Ohio)--Newspapers.
Notes:
  • Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • Description based on: Vol. 1, no. 9 (Jun. 13, 1873).
LCCN:
sn 85038088
OCLC:
11701574
ISSN:
2379-3112
Succeeding Titles:
Related Links:
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The Somerset press. [volume] October 10, 1873 , Image 1

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The Somerset Press

Somerset, located in Perry County, Ohio, may no longer enjoy the title of "County Seat", but it does have the distinction of being the home to the oldest Catholic church in Ohio, Saint Joseph's, built in 1843. It was also home to a unique political point of view in the 1870s during a time of rebuilding for the United States.

In 1873, the Somerset Tribune uprooted and moved to New Lexington, the newly established seat of Perry County, leaving Somerset without a paper. Seeing a need to fill, M.G. Maine started the Somerset Press, which initially ran as an Independent paper, showing no partiality to any political party. The pages of the Press were filled with the standard local, national, and international news, but it also printed articles appealing to farmers, on such topics as livestock, market prices, and crop reports.

In the spring of 1877, Maine sold the Somerset Press to W.P. Magruder, who later that year decided to support the interests of the Greenback Party, then at the height of its popularity. In this agricultural region, Magruder could count on many who favored a system based on non-gold backed paper money that would boost market prices and allow farmers to pay off their loans faster. Aside from the political news, the Press continued to report on matters both domestic and foreign and printed a regular column titled "Topics of the Day" that covered major news from around the world in a concise, easy-to-read format.

Although the Greenback Party proved short-lived, the Somerset Press continued to thrive in the years that followed and went on to become the longest running newspaper in the town's history, ultimately ending in 1977.

Provided by: Ohio History Connection, Columbus, OH