The Mount Vernon Republican is one of the two main newspapers documenting the events of Knox County throughout much of its history. Its counterpart, The Mount Vernon Democratic Banner, is also in the process of being digitized, and can be found here.
The Mount Vernon Republican was a weekly periodical T.F. Withrow first published in November 1854. For two dollars per year, paid in advance, subscribers would receive information relating to “politics, farming interests, local news, literature, markets, and general intelligence.” Digital Kenyon's collection begins in 1875, when the Republican was owned by J.H. Hamilton and published/edited by E.C. Hamilton. Wilkinson and Knabenshue then took over in December 1876, and while Knabenshue left in August 1879, Wilkinson continued as proprietor until the following year. The next proprietors were Armstrong and Co.. Baldwin and Taylor acted as editors and proprietors from February 1881 until the end of this collection in 1883. Upon taking up their responsibilities, these two vowed to strengthen the political organ of the Republican and keep it “marching straight forward in the direction of justice and right.” This political affiliation is in contrast to that of the Mount Vernon Democratic Banner; its allegiance was firmly with the Banner's rival party and published news and opinions reflecting a more sympathetic view on Republican political and social priorities especially as they related to racial issues.
In addition to the customary newspaper elements — reports of marriage, death, and delinquent tax sales — other features of this collection’s issues include advertisements of sure-fire opium-habit cures, a critique of poet Oscar Wilde, a witty advice column named “Pebbles,” and visits from renowned ringleader P.T. Barnum. While the paper was tailored to the local man — the “farmer, businessman, mechanic, and general reader” specifically living in Mount Vernon — it did occasionally widen its scope outside the city. National politics were especially of interest, for instance, when Ohio Republicans saw their former three-term governor Rutherford B. Hayes ascend to the presidency in 1877. Supplemental papers also provided more insight into the broader happenings of the day, including presidential speeches and congressional reports. Today, it stands as a valuable record of the issues, perspectives, and lives of people living in Knox County over the course of many years.
The collection of hard copy editions of The Mount Vernon Republican is kept by the Mount Vernon Historical Society, https://www.knoxhistory.org.
***These newspapers have been made full-text searchable using OCR software. However, because of the age and fonts used in this publication, it should not be assumed that all content will appear in search results correctly.***
Browse by year: