The Georgetown Herald
The Georgetown Herald was a weekly newspaper published in Georgetown, Ontario from 1867 to 1992.[1]
| “The Voice of Halton Hills since 1866” | |
| Founder(s) | Isaac Hunter |
|---|---|
| Founded | March 14, 1867 |
| Ceased publication | February 19, 1992 |
History
Isaac Hunter, the son of John Hunter, Postmaster of nearby Ashgrove, established the newspaper in 1866[2]. Isaac launched the paper for the 1400 strong village on May 3, 1866 after dissolving his 18 month partnership with Robert Matheson, the two having worked on the Canadian Champion and County of Halton Intelligencer. This was not an amicable split, with the Herald attacking the Reform politics of the Champion in its early days, until financier of the Herald William Barber stepped in. Isaac had launched the paper as one aligned with Colonel George King Chisholm and the Conservatives, the Colonel being the son of Oakville’s founder, its first mayor, and recently elected to the seat for County of Halton.
It was not the first newspaper founded in Georgetown and not without its own share of troubles. During the first three decades, the paper passed through a number of different editors/proprietors, including Mr. Hunter until 1869, Joseph & Richard Craig, Nelson Burns (1871), Thomas Starret (1874), and two of its longer overseers, Robert D. Warren for fifteen years (1876) and Walter Biehn for thirty-three (1940)[3], before he sold it to the Thompson Newspaper Chain. A fire in 1871 did only minor damage to the paper’s offices, though destroyed much of Main Street. In April 1918 the Herald could not escape another fire, which gutted the offices destroying its records and presses, the press itself crashing through the top floor into the basement. Thanks to their connection to the Acton Free Press [4] and editor Henry P. Moore they did not miss an issue.
The paper itself was four pages, printed on one side, with a Thursday morning publishing originally before moving to Wednesdays. An annual subscription was $1 pre-1916, $1.50 afterwards, up to $7.50 by the 1970s. Being a paper-making town, the early advertisements concerned the mills and their products, such as the Barber brothers’ industries. Local news was refer to as “Local Intelligence” and County Council proceedings would be transcribed with crowd reactions, or an advertisement for a marriage license by the paper’s founder, Isaac Hunter.
The paper’s acquisition in 1886 by Robert D. Warren saw it move to 103 Main Street South in 1890 to share a building with the Georgetown branch of the Bank of Hamilton. Warren had been born near Acton on April 28th, 1863, an active member of the Baptist denomination. He married Clara E. Bessey of Esquesing Township in 1901, and before his career as a publisher had been a schoolteacher and clerk. During his life he served as Warden of Halton County and Reeve for Georgetown. He also operated Herald Steam Printing House, which opened in 1888. Aside from the Herald, Warren bought out the Halton Conservator, which ran from 1901 until 1906.
Joseph M. Moore, likely connected to the Moores of the Acton Free Press, became foreman in 1891, bringing in a linotype machine in 1928, and partner and owner until his passing in 1939.
Walter Biehn (1915-2005) owned the paper starting in 1940, through the 50s and 60s, with his wife Mary writing the local events column, “Chatting”. Mary ran the business while Walter fought in the Second World War. Walter also found time to be a town councillor, Chairman of Georgetown Board of Education, and Lion’s Club member.
The paper came to an end after the February 19th, 1992 edition, with publisher Robert Malcomson and editor Colin Gibson at the helm. After 125 years of serving the Halton Hills communities, the Thompson Newspapers chain cited “poor financial result and limited prospect for improvement” as reason why.
See also
References
- "Georgetown Herald". Halton Hills Newspaper. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- "Georgetown History". Downtown Georgetown. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- "Walter Biehn". Windsor Star. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- "Action Free Press". INK-ODW Newspaper Collection. Retrieved 2019-03-19.