About The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923
Frederick City, Md. (1895-1923)

Frederick Citizen and The Citizen

Several generations of the Baughman family of Frederick County, Maryland were associated with the weekly Frederick Citizen (1890-1895) and later The Citizen (1895-1923) newspaper beginning with John W. Baughman (1815-1872), who acquired it in 1844. Sons J. William Baughman (1846-1914) and Louis Victor Baughman (1845-1906) took over as editors and publishers of The Citizen in 1872. A third brother, Charles H. Baughman and his son C. Francis Baughman assumed control of The Citizen in 1906 and continued operations until it ceased publication in 1923.

During the Civil War, John W. Baughman's insistent pro-Confederate editorial stance displeased military authorities who banned the paper and forced the Baughman family into southern exile from Frederick. Their situation was made even more precarious by the service of Louis Victor Baughman in the Confederate cavalry. Frederick literally paid a heavy price during the war when local leaders saved the town from destruction in 1864 by raising $200,000 in cash and supplies after the invading Confederate General Jubal Early demanded that sum as ransom. After the Baughman family returned in 1865, and despite its location in a Republican Party stronghold, The Citizen resumed publication and continued its support for the Democratic Party. Louis Victor Baughman became a leader in both the state and national party organizations and was elected to two terms as the Maryland State Comptroller of the Treasury. He also served as president of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, and was president of the Frederick, Northern & Gettysburg Electric Railway Company. Baughman married Helen Abell, the daughter of Arunah S. Abell and founder of the Baltimore's The Sun newspaper, in 1881.

The Frederick Citizen was typical of weekly papers in rural Maryland with coverage that appealed to farmers while also documenting events in a provincial town. Settled primarily by German immigrants in the mid-eighteenth century, Frederick prospered due to its location in a rich agricultural region. It also was home to two notable educational institutions, the Maryland School for the Deaf established in 1868, and Hood College, which opened its doors as a women's college in 1893. The Citizen chronicled the growth of these institutions, and kept its readers abreast of developments in a business community of small manufacturers and retail establishments. This was supplemented with rural advice, local news, serialized fiction, and ads for farming products. The colorful Louis Victor Baughman provided content for his newspaper through his various sporting interests. His Poplar Terrace estate outside of town has its own casino and horse track, and beginning in the 1880s, he indulged his interest in bicycling by hosting races.

In light of its regressive stand on racial equality, The Citizen did not report on Frederick's Black community, except within the crime reports section. Information about thriving businesses and institutions catering to the religious, social, and cultural interests of African Americans was supplied by its competitors, the Frederick Post and Afro-American Speaker, a short-lived weekly.

Provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD