USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Amherst > The history of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, pt 1 > Part 41
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& PROMINENT 2 BUSINESS MEN.
IJSADAMS.
S.HOL
AND.
1
.11
LUKE
SWEETSER.
--
DAVID
MACK.
SAMUEL.E.MACK.
339
THE FIRST NEWSPAPER.
The first business engaged in by the Adams brothers and S. C. Carter was a general line of printing and book-binding, Mr. Carter paying partic- ular attention to the bindery. The first book printed by them was a volume of sermons by Rev. Daniel A. Clark, who had recently been dismissed from the pastorate of the First Congregational church. At that time the nearest place where printing paper could be procured was Boston. It was shipped from there by water, carried by boat through Long Island Sound and up the Connecticut river to the wharf in Hadley. the trip occupying from 10 to 14 days. Sometimes it was brought overland from Boston by six-horse teams, the trip occupying from six to seven days. Paper was expensive in those earlier days ; good rag stock was the basis of its composition and wood-pulp, grass and straw were unknown as adulterants: The first periodical issued from the press of Carter & Adams was the "Chemist and Meteorological Journal." The first number of the first, and only, volume bears date of July 8, 1826. Its price was $4 per annum, "half ad.," the interpretation of the latter phrase being that one- half of the price was payable in advance. Its editor was John R. Cotting, a gentleman of considerable scientific lore, who was engaged as a lecturer on chemistry at Amherst Academy. The " Chemist " was issued weekly, contained 16 pages of printed matter, of octavo size, the matter, set in two narrow columns on the page, being devoted exclusively to scientific subjects. As concerned any reference to the town of Amherst or its people, it might as well have been printed in Siberia. Its pages were illustrated with wood- cuts of scientific apparatus, and each number contained a meteorological table compiled at some well-known institution of learning.
NEW ENGLAND INQUIRER.
PUBLISHED BY 2005 5. AND CHARLES ADANS. FOR THE PROPRIETORS, ASUGEST. MASSACHUSETTS
VOL IL
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1021
No. 1
The above is a reproduction of the heading on the first page of the first newspaper printed in the town of Amherst. In October, 1826, Carter &' Adams issued in the form of a prospectus " Proposals for publishing a Weekly Newspaper, at Amherst, Mass., to be called the New England Inquirer." This document stated that in the new publication it was proposed to devote considerable space to national politics, " trammeled by no party prejudices and influenced by no sectional interests." There would be inserted in its columns such correspondence and articles of intel- ligence as should seem to be important to the moral interests of the community. Its literary character would be " worthy of the intelligent population on whose patronage it must subsist." Particular efforts would
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340
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
be made to collect matter which would illustrate our colonial and revolu- tionary history. Attention would also be paid to improvements and inven- tions in agriculture and the mechanic arts, "with which this age so much abounds," as well as to all interesting news, foreign and domestic. From this prospectus may readily be gained an idea of the character and the accepted mission of the weekly newspaper published seventy years ago. National politics, foreign intelligence, literature, history, these were the essentials, to which were subordinated and relegated almost into nothing- ness, the gathering and chronicling of purely local news.
Number one of volume one of the Inquirer bears date Dec. 1, 1826. Carter & Adams were the publishers and Hon. Osmyn Baker the editor, but the latter's name does not appear in the paper at all. The Inquirer was printed and published every Friday morning. Its subscription price was $2 per year when paid within six months of the date of subscription, or $1.75 if paid on receipt of the first issue. No subscription was received for less than one year. Post-riders were supplied with the paper "on good terms." It was a four-page paper with five columns on a page. The publishers announced that " Advertisements will be conspicuously inserted at the usual terms." A summary of the contents of the first issue is of interest at this time. On the first page was printed a story entitled " A Border Tradition," copied, in condensed form, from the United States Review and Literary Gazette, and a report of the cattle-show of the Merrimack Agricultural society, at Concord, N. H. The last page was devoted to religious news and Revolutionary war papers. The foreign news, on the inside pages, consisted of reprints from the New York Mercury of Nov. 14 and the New York Enquirer. The one item of local intelligence related to the sending up of a balloon. 12 or 15 feet in diameter, from College hill. There were three columns of advertising in the issue and of this space nearly one-half was occupied by the announcements of Luke Sweetser and Graves & Field. Both these parties kept "general " stores, where they sold dry-goods, groceries, hardware, liquor, etc.
The second issue of the paper contains the announcement that the steamboat " Barnet," the first that had ever ascended the Connecticut river above Hartford, had arrived at Northampton the Friday preceding. The issue of Jan. 26 contains the following interesting notice to correspondents :
" We have been favored this week with no less than three articles of original poetry. Our taste in these matters has been said to be somewhat fastidious, and perhaps it is well that it is so, for if we were to publish indiscriminately whatever we receive of that commodity, we might be as nearly overwhelmed by moon-struck ballad-mongers as we have been by writers on education. which Heaven forbid. But luckily for our readers, Hotspur himself did not more heartily detest mincing
HAMPSHIRE AND FRANKLIN EXPRESS.
341
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poetry than we do. We are the humble slaves of the true worshipers of the Muses whom the Nine acknowledge, but for those whom both Rhyme and Reason have repudiated, we have little affection."
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May 22, 1827, the firm of Carter & Adams was dissolved, being succeed by the firm of J. S. & C. Adams. Mr. Carter on retiring from the printing business devoted his attention to the work of book-binding. In the Inquirer's issue for Nov. 16, 1827, announcement was made that the property in the establishment had been "purchased of the present proprietors by a number of gentlemen, who have determined on carrying forward the publication on an improved and extended plan." The size of the paper was to be increased about one-fifth and its appearance improved in many respects. No name was signed to this announcement. Under the new management, the Inquirer was edited by Prof. Samuel M. Wor- cester of Amherst College. The paper was enlarged by the addition of one column to each page, and the publication day was changed from Fri- day to Thursday. The pages were numbered consecutively from week to week, that an index for the volume might be made at the end of the year. The publication was continued about a year under its new management and then was given up. In 1839, the Amherst Gasette was published for a few months by James B. Yerrington, but the enterprise proving unprofit- able, was promptly abandoned. Its venerable namesake, the Hampshire Gazette, alluded thus unfeelingly to its demise : "The Amherst Gasette, a neutral bantling, after a short existence of thirteen weeks, has retired to the peaceful shades of non-existence."
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HAMPSHIRE AND FRANKLIN EXPRESS.
. S & C. ADAMS. PROPRIETORS
OFFICE No. 3, PRENIX ROW
SAMUEL NASH, EDITOR
VOL :
AKWEEAT. RANS., FRIDAY MORNING, #41 23. 1945.
NO 37
Of more enduring qualities than its predecessors was the paper whose title-page bore the heading faithfully portrayed above. Under different titles and different owners the publication has been continued down to the present time. The Hampshire and Franklin Express gained a more extended circulation and exerted a wider influence than any other paper ever printed in Amherst. Its field was broad; from Greenfield on the north to Springfield on the south, 'from Northampton on the west to Wor- cester on the east, it had no competitor. The daily newspaper had not yet begun its deadly inroads on the field of weekly journalism ; the few magazines published in America were still in their infancy and had not begun to dispute the field of literature with the weekly press. The first issue of the Express bears date of Sept. 13, 1844. On the first page is
342
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
printed the publishers' prospectus. From this it is learned that the proprie- tors had been repeatedly urged to publish a paper on the east side of the Connecticut river, and had concluded to do so. Its object would be the diffusion of such news as might be expected to find a place in a family newspaper, and the advancement of such plans and measures as the proprietors believed were calculated to promote the general welfare and pros- perity and moral and intellectual improvement of the community. It would advocate the principles of the Whig party in politics, including a protective tariff and opposition to territorial expansion. The interests of religion and agriculture would be properly cared for. The editorial department would be in care of Samuel Nash, while J. S. & C. Adams were the pro- prietors and publishers. The terms of subscription were: To those who paid on receipt of the fourth number, $1.50; to those who paid before the end of six months, $1.75, to all others, $2. No subscriptions were received for less than six months.
The paper comprised four pages with six broad columns on a page. At the head of the editorial column in the first issue were the names of Henry Clay, candidate for president, and Theodore Frelinghuysen, candi- date for vice-president, on the Whig ticket. In an editorial paragraph an apology was made for the delay in issuing the first number, which was caused by the time taken up in securing a larger press. The paper contained an interesting selection of foreign and domestic news, including election returns from Maine and Vermont and a letter from Henry Clay on tariff matters. The only item which by any stretch of imagination could be accounted Amherst news was a meteorological record for the month of August, compiled by Prof. E. S. Snell. Liberal abstracts were published of probate notices for Hampshire and Franklin counties, a feature to which the publishers called particular attention. There was the customary long list of marriages and deaths, covering a wide extent of territory. Especial attention was paid to railroad matters from the first, the affairs of the Vermont and Massachusetts road receiving extended consideration. At the time of the first issue of the Express the residents of Amherst were beginning to realize the desirability, if not the absolute necessity, of securing railway communication with the outer world. It was generally understood at the time that one principal reason for establishing the paper was to aid the railway project.
The first issue contained but two and one-half columns of advertising matter, but in subsequent issues this space was greatly increased. Sweetser & Cutler were the principal advertisers in the Express, as Luke Sweetser had been in the Inquirer seventeen years before. But in the years that intervened between the two publications a new line of advertising had been developed and had forced its way into prominence. The "patent
343
READING MATTER AND ADVERTISEMENTS.
medicine adv.," the origin of which has ever been veiled in obscurity, first assumed prominence in the weekly newspapers published in New England in the decade beginning with 1830. The Express secured its full share of this advertising, and its columns were illuminated with the praises of " Sherman's Worm Lozenges," "Magical Pain Extractor," "Celestial Balm of China " and " Resurrection Pills." Generous advertising patron- age was also secured from many of the valley towns on the east side of the Connecticut river, the merchants of Hadley, South Hadley Falls, Montague, Palmer, Springfield and Hartford finding the Express a valuable medium for communicating with their customers. Nearly all the Amherst news of interest found place, if anywhere, in the advertising columns. From these it is learned that the headquarters of Amherst Democracy were located at Baggs' tavern in East Amherst, while the Whigs generally gathered at Howe's tavern at the center. In common with its Whig con- temporaries the Express mourned over the election of Polk and Dallas, but its editor was optimistic, trusting that what seemed a national misfor- tune would be overruled by Providence for good. The doings of the national Congress and the state Legislature occupied a conspicuous place in its columns, and from time to time state laws of importance were published. Unlike the editor of the Inquirer, the first editor of the Express welcomed and printed much original poetry, and an occasional original story was printed on the first page. Most of the literary matter was quoted from well-known publications.
In the issue for June 20, 1845, announcement was made that on July 1 the new postal law would go into operation, by which editors and publishers were allowed to send papers through the mails free of cost within a circle of fifty miles. The circulation of the Express was prin- cipally through the agency of carriers, and its publishers declared their intention of continuing this service as it was more convenient for them and for the subscribers as well. Should the papers be sent by mail to villages near post-offices then forming parts of the routes of carriers, the best part of their business would be taken away and, in consequence, the routes would be abandoned. Those residing at a distance from the post-offices would discontinue their paper. Besides the additional expense of mailing papers to individual subscribers, the keeping of an account with each and the additional risk and expense of 'collecting to the publishers would forbid a reduction from the advertised rates to mail subscribers. The circulation of the Express was limited mostly to towns on the east side of the Con- necticut river.
Following is a list of the editors of the Express, together with the dates when they began their service : September, 1844. Samuel Nash ; May. 1848, Homer A. Cook ; July, 1849, J. R. Trumbull ; March 1, 1856,
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344
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
Homer Bliss ; June 13, 1856, John H. Brewster ; Aug. 21, 1857, Pliny H. White; April 30, 1858, John H. Brewster ; March 25, 1859, J. H. M. Leland ; Aug. 25, 1859, Henry A. Marsh ; June 20, 1867, J. L. Skin- ner. From time to time changes were made in the size and appearance of the paper. These were generally in the direction of enlargement of the sheet, as the amount of advertising matter increased. The news relating to Amherst and surrounding towns was always set in the smallest type and given the least conspicuous position in the columns. It was not until the '6os, when H. A. Marsh was editor, that anything like prominence was given to matter of purely local interest. With the issue of March 16, 1860, the paper attained its largest size, eight columns, 24 inches in length. being printed on each page. In 1862, the introduction of the electric telegraph in town and the public thirst for war news brought into being the Daily Express. Its first issue bears date of April 20, and it was continued through the greater part of the year .. It was a small four-page paper, printed at first with three columns on a page but this was afterwards increased to four. It was devoted almost exclusively to the publication of war news, which was printed with imposing headlines and was generally optimistic for the Union cause to a marked degree. It is interesting to learn from these despatches how for many months the rebellion was in daily and hourly danger of being crushed and annihilated by one brilliant move of the Union armies. This move, for reasons which history has recorded, was delayed for more than two years. While the war was in progress two reductions were made in the size of the weekly Express.
Hampshire A
Express.
Vol. XXI. AMHERST, FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1965. No.37
With the issue of Jan. 27, 1865, the artistic heading printed above made its first appearance. One column was added to each page of the paper and the columns at the same time were lengthened. No reason was assigned by editors or publishers for the change of name. In May. 1866. the paper was still further enlarged. The issue of May 3 contains the following announcement : "We have long felt that our advertisements are crowding too much upon our news and miscellaneous columns, but the extreme high price of paper has deterred us from making any enlargement until the present time." The editor would inflict no long-winded article
345
THE AMHERST RECORD.
upon his readers, but would aim to make the paper a medium of commu- nication of facts and valuable intelligence. From this time on more attention was paid to the gathering and publication of news of purely local interest. The introduction of the telegraph and the multiplication of daily papers had detracted greatly from the value of the weeklies in the publication of foreign and general news.
Che Amherst Record.
VOL LIII
WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 16. 1895
NO 28
The first issue of the Amherst Record bears date of May 7, 1868. In changing its title, the proprietors intended to signify as well a change in the character of the paper. Amherst was growing rapidly, and it was believed that the town should support a larger and better paper than before. To quote from the announcement made in the first issue printed under the new heading : "The educational institutions established here, the class of people that are being and will continue to be drawn here, the reputation of the town as foremost in educational matters and for beauty of natural scenery, all demand that a paper be published here that shall not only give local news but shall to a certain extent represent the educational interests of the town." Special attention would be paid to the interests of the Agricultural College. For a long time after this announcement was made a special department was sustained in the paper under the Agricultural College heading. At this time, J. L. Skinner and H. M. McCloud were the owners of the paper and J. L. Skinner its editor. In 1868, Mr. Skinner disposed of his interest to C. L. Storrs, and the firm name was changed to Storrs & McCloud, editors and proprietors. March 8, 1871, Mr. Storrs was compelled on account of continued ill health to give up his connection with the paper, and H. M. McCloud became sole editor and proprietor. In assuming editorial management, Mr. McCloud made the announcement that he should aim especially to make a newspaper of local interest, indispensable to every family in the vicinity. In this effort he was eminently successful, the paper gaining largely in circulation and attracting a large and lucrative line of advertising. 'It was found necessary, at frequent intervals, to issue supplements on account of the large amount of advertis- ing matter. About Aug. 1, 1871, the paper was altered from the old-style " blanket-sheet" of four large pages to an eight-page form of smaller size. In June, 1877. John E. Williams purchased an interest in the business, which was conducted under the firm name of MeCloud & Williams until Aug. 27, 1879, when Mr. Williams became editor and proprietor. He
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346
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
continued in charge until his death in January, 1890. In April, 1890, the Record property was purchased by E. W. Carpenter and C. F. Morehouse. who have since conducted the paper along the lines marked out by their immediate predecessors, seeking to make of it an interesting and valuable record of local events. When the Express was first established in 1844. the publication office was at No. 3 Phoenix Row. In 1870, it was removed to Holland's block, and in 1876 to Union block on Main street. Here it remained until ISS2, when it was removed to a new building erected by Mr. Williams in the rear of the American house block where it is now located.
In 1850, Lebbeus B. Fifield, a student at Amherst College, published for five months, semi-monthly, The Experiment, a four-page sheet measur- ing 8 1-2 x 12 inches, at a subscription price of 75 cents per year. Need- less to say, the experiment was not a success. In 1854, the Valley Farmer, edited by John A. Nash, was started in Springfield, and removed in December of that year to Amherst, where it passed a brief and not over- profitable existence. In the Amherst Record under date of April 21, 1875. a paragraph was published stating it was rumored that a new agricultural paper was to be issued in Amherst, published by T. G. Huntington and E. H. Libby, the former a practical farmer residing in Hadley, the latter a graduate of the Agricultural College in the class of 1874. A further announcement was issued under date of May 12, to the effect that many subscriptions had been received and 3000 copies would be printed of the first number. June 2, announcement was made that the first number had been issued and had met with great favor. Every department was in charge of an expert. Despite of its flattering prospects, the journal was destined to a brief life. The Amherst Transcript was published by R. A. and Charles Marsh, from Sept. 18, 1877 to Aug. 12, 1879. It was devoted especially to local matters. Since the organization of Amherst College, its students have conducted several periodical publications, beginning, in 1831, with the Sprite. The college at the present time supports two publications, the Amherst Student, a weekly newspaper of college affairs, established in 1867, and the Literary Monthly, established in ISS6, devoted to the literary interests of the college. In 1890 the students of the Agri- cultural College began the publication of Aggie Life, a college paper, issued bi-weekly, which still enjoys a prosperous existence.
While the firm of J. S. & C. Adams was engaged in the printing business it published many works of interest and value. In 1833, they printed an edition of 35,000 copies of the Bible, the printing being done on a hand-press while S. C. Carter did the binding. Probably the most important work in which they engaged was the publication of Webster's Dictionary, they having purchased the copyright of the work from Mr.
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THE FIRST LIBRARY.
Webster's executors. The dictionaries were first printed in Amherst, but latter on the copyright was sold to G. & C. Merriam, who removed the 'work of publication to Springfield. Among the other works published by J. S. & C. Adams were Wilbur's Reference Testament, a small pocket. Bible. Doddridge's Family Expositor, Mrs. Sigourney's Sketches, the Legal Classics, Hitchcock's Geological Survey of Massachusetts, Humphrey's. Domestic Education, and other works by Presidents Humphrey and. Hitchcock.
CHAPTER XLI.
LIBRARIES AND LYCEUMS .- CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS OF THE FIRST' LIBRARY .- AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY .- THE NORTH AMHERST LIBRARY .- THE CENTER . LIBRARY .- THE NORTH AMHERST LYCEUM .- THE SOUTH AMHERST LYCEUM .- LYCEUMS AT THE. CENTER AND AT EAST AMHERST.
The residents of Amherst recognized even in the earlier times the value of the public library as a source of educational improvement. Books. were few and high-priced, so that only the well-to-do could afford to purchase or own them. The Bible, the hymn book, Young's "Night Thoughts," Baxter's "Saints' Rest," and Dr. Cotton Mather's " Magnalia " could be found in many households, but a library was a luxury few could afford. But that which was denied to the individual could be gained by association. As early as 1793, over a century ago, the first library association was. organized in Amherst. Its constitution and by-laws, interesting not alone from age but from the knowledge they impart of library management at that early date, are copied here entire, together with the names of the subscribers:
We the Subscribers do hereby associate and form ourselves into a Company, for the Purpose of procuring and maintaining a common Library in the Town of Amherst under the Conditions and Regulations hereafter expressed .-
That is to say.
Art. 1. Each Individual of the Company shall pay two Dollars to be disposed of. by the Company, or their Committee, for purchasing books, and procuring neces- sary Accommodations for a Library, and shall be incapable of taking out any book until he has paid as above expressed.
2. Each Individual of the Company shall pay eighteen Pence annually for the Term of three years, from the Date hereof, for the Purpose above expressed and to be disposed of accordingly.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF AMHERST, MASS.
3. The Volumes are all to be neatly covered with Paper and kept so covered. at the Expence of the Company.
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