The first issue of the Gambier Observer was published May 28th, 1830, in response to an 1824 Episcopal Address delivered to the Convention of the Diocese of Ohio calling for “a periodical paper, devoted to religious objects...” The Gambier Observer, an Episcopal periodical published by the Acland Press of Kenyon College, included material such as essays on the doctrines of religion, the proceedings of Bible schools, selected news, poetry, etc. Starting in 1837, the periodical was published at a larger size and titled the Gambier Observer and Western Church Journal in an effort to expand its distribution and audience. Issues were then briefly issued under the title of the Western Episcopal Observer from 1841 to 1842. The periodical’s legacy was then picked up by the Western Episcopalian, which ran from 1843-1857 and again from 1860 to 1868.
The collection of hard copy editions is kept in the College Archives and available to researchers.