The Western Star was a weekly newspaper published for 206 years, from February 13, 1807 to January 17, 2013. It had been the oldest weekly newspaper in Ohio, second oldest of any sort in Ohio after the daily Chillicothe Gazette, and the oldest paper bearing its original name published west of the Appalachian Mountains until it ceased publication with its January 17, 2013 printed edition. It had been published on Thursdays by Cox Media Group Ohio, the communications company founded by former Ohio Governor James Middleton Cox. Its coverage area was primarily Lebanon and southern Warren County.[1][2]
The Western Star for most of its history was a paid-circulation paper and became a free saturation paper in the early 2000s. The paper, based in Lebanon, Ohio for more than 200 years, closed its Lebanon office in 2010 as part of a consolidation of Cox Media Group Ohio's weekly newspaper facilities to Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio.[3][4]
In November, 2012, Cox Media Group announced in a letter to advertisers that the paper would be combined with other Cox weeklies the Pulse-Journal and the Fairfield Echo into "The Pulse of Warren County" and "The Pulse of Butler County" beginning with the January 20, 2013 print editions. According to CMG, these are "two brand new weekly newspapers delivered to communities currently served by The Western Star, Fairfield Echo, and The Pulse-Journal" and "The Pulse county news editions will replace The Western Star." Subsequently, company representatives announced that the papers would be branded "Today's Pulse of Warren County, a product of The Western Star" and "Today's Pulse of Butler County, a product of the Fairfield Echo." An article (FAQ) on the Cox weeklies' websites during the week of January 13, 2013 stated, "The final issues of The Western Star, Fairfield Echo and the Pulse-Journal editions was on Thursday, January 17, 2013."[5][6]
McLean sold the paper in 1810 to his brother, Nathaniel McLean. Over the next four years, Nathaniel partnered successively with the Rev. Adjet McGuire, Samuel H. Hale, Henry Lazier, Joseph Henderson, and William Blackburn. In 1814, Nathaniel sold his interest to his brother William McLean (1794-1863) who published it with Blackburn until 1816, when Blackburn departed.
In 1817, William McLean sold to Abram Van Vleet, a justice of the peace, and John Eddy (1762-1824). Later that year they took on William A. Camron (died 1838) as a partner. Eddy left that year, replaced by a man named Cunningham who did not last the year. In 1825, Van Vleet and Eddy sold to Anthony Howard Dunlavy, an attorney who served in the Ohio General Assembly and as Warren County prosecutor, and William A. Sellers, a member of the General Assembly in 1838. In 1827, they sold the paper to Camron and Jacob Morris, who was married to Dunlavy's sister and later was Warren County treasurer. In 1828, Camron sold to Dunlavy, who was partners with his brother-in-law until 1829 when Morris assumed sole control. Morris took on an apprentice circa 1830, William H. P. Denny. He became Morris's partner, and in 1834, sole owner.
Location of Lebanon
In 1858, Denny sold his interest and left town. The new owner was Dr. James Scott, who served in the Ohio General Assembly, followed by William H. Corwin, son of the founder of Lebanon, and, by the late 1860s, Seth W. Brown, an attorney who later served as Warren County prosecutor. The paper at this time was a Republican journal.
On January 19, 1871, Brown sold to William C. McClintock (born 1845) and Clements Hardy. McClintock assumed sole ownership on January 16, 1873. He published the paper, then a seven-column quarto, and introduced steam printing presses. He owned the paper until circa 1893 when ownership was assumed by a corporation, the Western Star Publishing Company, which was controlled by McClintock until 1907, when John M. Mulford took over and owned it until 1921. In May 1902, a linotype machine to set type was introduced. On September 6, 1923, the Brown Publishing Company, the company owned by Congressman Clarence J. Brown, bought the paper and owned it until 1998.
Brown's first act was to appoint as editor and publisher Gardner H. Townsley (circa 1897-1967), whose claim to fame was having been the Rev. Norman Vincent Peale's college roommate. He expanded the paper from twelve to sixteen pages. He subsequently served as publisher over a succession of editors: Warren Nelson, Ed Thompson, Jamyes Myers, and David Schneider. Townsley served as publisher until his death.
His son Robert N. Townsley (died April 17, 1994) replaced him as publisher, with Schneider continuing as editor. In October 1968, Townsley was replaced by William Kreeger, who had the title "general manager" until March 1970 when he was named publisher. Janet Goode became editor in January 1970 and served until October of that year when she was replaced by John Nichols. Nichols served until August 1971 when Joe Falter became editor. Falter served until he retired in 1994. Thomas Barr served as Western Star editor from 1994 until 2008. In 1990, Fred Gibson became publisher and served until the paper's sale in 1998. Under both Falter and Barr, through 2007 the paper earned many first or second place honors in General Excellence in the Ohio Newspaper Association Hooper Awards, and in 2007 the paper earned third place nationwide in the Best Non-Daily contest by the national Suburban Newspapers of America.
In the 1998, Brown traded The Western Star along with the Star Press in Springboro, Today's Express in Morrow, the Monroe Times, and the Miamisburg-West Carrollton News to The Thomson Corporation, a Canadian newspaper company known for the poor quality of its publications, in exchange for three daily papers, the Piqua Daily Call, the Xenia Daily Gazette, and the Greenville Daily Advocate. When the company decided to exit the newspaper business, Thomson sold The Western Star to Cox on September 1, 2000, though only after Thomson's original plans to sell the paper to Gannett, owner of The Cincinnati Enquirer, fell apart. From late 1991 to January 13, 2013, the paper issued a free Sunday edition, although for its last few years it contained exclusively advertising. Under Cox it surrendered its second class mailing permit, ceased its distribution in the southern part of Warren County, and began to be distributed free to homes in Lebanon and Turtlecreek Township.
Publication history
The paper was first published on Friday, February 13, 1807, under the name The Western Star and continued to Saturday, August 10, 1822, when it merged with another weekly, The Lebanon Gazette. Effective with the issue of Saturday, August 17, 1822 it assumed the name The Western Star and Lebanon Gazette, continuing under that name until Saturday, June 12, 1824. With the issue of Saturday, June 19, 1824, it shortened its name to the Star and Gazette, continuing under that name until the issue of Monday, September 5, 1825.
With the issue of Monday, September 13, 1825, it went back to the old name, The Western Star and Lebanon Gazette and published under that title until the issue of Saturday, July 26, 1828. Effective Saturday, August 2, 1828, the name was shortened back to The Western Star and continued until Thursday, October 27, 1859. With the issue of Thursday, November 3, 1859, the titled changed to The Weekly Western Star. By 1866, the word weekly was dropped but with the issue of Thursday, January 26, 1871, it was once more The Weekly Western Star until Thursday, December 26, 1872. Weekly was once more dropped with the Thursday, January 2, 1873, issue.
It continued under this name until Thursday, February 16, 1893, the paper that week merging with another paper called The Lebanon Gazette. As of Thursday, February 23, 1893, the paper appeared as The Western Star and Lebanon Gazette until Thursday, January 12, 1899. The title was shortened back to The Western Star effective with the issue of Thursday, January 19, 1899 and continued as a weekly until the issue of Thursday, August 29, 1935. The following Monday, September 2, 1935, the paper began a brief existence as a daily, publishing every day except Sundays. This continued to Thursday, December 31, 1936. The following week it resumed its existence as a weekly with the issue of Thursday, January 7, 1937. That issue also marked a change in the name of the paper to The Western Star and Lebanon Patriot with its absorption of another weekly, The Lebanon Patriot. The title went back to The Western Star with the issue of Thursday, July 7, 1938.
The paper then switched its publication day to Wednesday but returned to Thursdays circa 2002.
Related Research Articles
Warren County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 242,337. Its county seat is Lebanon. The county is one of Ohio’s most affluent, with the county median income the highest of Ohio’s 88 counties. The county was created on May 1, 1803 from Hamilton County; it is named for Dr. Joseph Warren, a hero of the Revolution who sent Paul Revere and the overlooked William Dawes on their famous rides and who died at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Warren County is part of the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Turtlecreek Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States. It is in the central part of the county and surrounds the county seat of Lebanon. Turtlecreek is the largest township in the county, originally containing sixty-three whole and seven fractional sections. It had a population of 12,617 in 2000, up from 10,383 in 1990. Of those, 12,114 lived in the unincorporated part of the township, 456 in Middletown, and 47 in Monroe.
Clearcreek Township is one of the eleven townships of Warren County, Ohio, United States, located in the north central portion of the county. It had a population of 20,974 in 2000, up from 13,344 in 1990; of this total, 8,747 lived in the unincorporated portions of the township. It was originally about forty-two square miles in area. The highest point in the county is in Clearcreek Township, near the community of Five Points. Statewide, the only other Clearcreek Townships are located in Fairfield County and in Ashland County.
The Dayton Daily News (DDN) is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately 55,000 employees and $21 billion in total revenue. Its major operating subsidiaries are Cox Communications, Cox Automotive, and Ohio Newspapers.
The Cincinnati Enquirer is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the Enquirer is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, although the daily Journal-News competes with the Enquirer in the northern suburbs. The Enquirer has the highest circulation of any print publication in the Cincinnati metropolitan area. A daily local edition for Northern Kentucky is published as The Kentucky Enquirer.
The Lebanon Gazette, now defunct, was the name of two weekly newspapers published in Lebanon, Ohio, both of which were absorbed by The Western Star.
William H. P. Denny was an American newspaper editor and publisher, and politician, in Ohio.
The Lebanon Patriot, now defunct, was an American newspaper published weekly at Lebanon, Ohio, the seat of Warren County. The paper was founded by General Durbin Ward as a Democratic paper and first published on January 16, 1868. Warren County being ardently Republican, the paper was to take the place of the previous Democratic paper in the county, the Democratic Citizen, which was destroyed by a mob at the outbreak of the Civil War. Ward sold the paper to Edward Warwick who sold it to A. A. Roland in April 1878. Circa 1883 it was owned and edited by Mary V. Proctor Wilson. The paper was last issued in December 1936 when it merged with The Western Star, another weekly in Lebanon. The combined paper was published as The Western Star and Lebanon Patriot from January 7, 1937, to June 30, 1938.
The Middletown Journal was a morning newspaper published in Middletown, Ohio, United States seven days a week by Cox Media Group. The paper was printed at Cox's plant in Franklin, Ohio, and distributed in Butler and Warren Counties. In September 2013, Cox Media Group Ohio announced that The Middletown Journal would cease to exist effective November 1, 2013, when the paper was merged with the Hamilton JournalNews into a new publication, the Journal-News.
The Miller Publishing Company was founded by siblings Donald Miller and Donna (Miller) Reddington in 2002 to purchase four small weekly newspapers in southwestern Ohio from Cox Communications. Two of the papers are in Warren County, the Franklin Chronicle in Franklin and the Star-Press in Springboro. The other two papers are in Montgomery County, the Miamisburg-West Carrollton News in Miamisburg and the Germantown Press in Germantown. The company's headquarters are in Miamisburg.
The Springboro Star Press is a newspaper based in Springboro, Ohio in the United States. Published by Miami Valley Newspapers every Wednesday, it serves Warren County and southwest Ohio.
Thomas A. Raga is an American business executive and former politician of the Republican Party who represented the 67th district in the Ohio House of Representatives. In February 2006, he was named by Ken Blackwell as his running mate in the May 2, 2006, primary for governor of Ohio. Blackwell and Raga won the Republican nomination, but lost the November general election to Ted Strickland and Lee Fisher 60-36%.
Red Lion is an unincorporated community in southwestern Clearcreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States, at the intersection of State Routes 741, 122, and 123. Red Lion is approximately five miles south of Springboro and five miles northwest of Lebanon.
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The Lebanon City School District is a city school district located in Lebanon, Ohio, United States. The school district covers 81.9 square miles (212 km2) primarily in the City of Lebanon and Turtlecreek Township in Warren County. It also includes small portions of Union, Salem, Clearcreek, and Washington townships, as well as some small areas that have been annexed by the cities of Middletown and Mason.
Journal-News Pulse is a defunct weekly newspaper that was last published by Cox Media Group in Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States. It began publishing in the 1960s in Mason and was known as The Pulse-Journal for most of its history. In 2013, it merged with The Western Star of Lebanon and the Fairfield Echo of Fairfield in 2013.
The Fairfield Echo was a weekly broadsheet newspaper founded in Fairfield, Ohio. It was owned by Cox Enterprises until the company ceased publication of the Echo in January, 2013. The paper covered Fairfield and Fairfield Township in Butler County. The Echo was established on September 7, 1956, nearly a year after Fairfield became a city.
The Journal-News is a daily newspaper published by Cox Enterprises in Liberty Township, Butler County, Ohio, United States. It formed in 2013 from the merger of the Hamilton JournalNews in Hamilton and The Middletown Journal in Middletown. Journal-News is intended to be a full-size daily newspaper with minimal coverage of Cincinnati and Dayton. It shares staff and resources with its sister publication, the Dayton Daily News and competes with The Cincinnati Enquirer.
Pekin is an unincorporated community in Clearcreek Township, Warren County, Ohio, United States, at the intersection of State Route 48 and Pekin Road. Pekin is approximately 3 miles south of Springboro and 7 miles northwest of Lebanon.
Much of the information on ownership and publication dates was compiled from the catalog records of the newspaper in the OCLC database with information from the History of Warren County, Ohio (Chicago, Illinois: W.H. Beers, 1883).
Felicity Barringer. "Increased Consolidation in the Newspaper Industry". The New York Times. June 9, 2000. C2.
Jon Bohmer. "Cox acquires papers." Dayton Daily News. September 2, 2000. 1A.
John Eckberg. "134 papers on the block." The Cincinnati Enquirer. February 16, 2000. B10.
John Eckberg. "Enquirer's parent buys Ohio papers." The Cincinnati Enquirer. June 9, 2000. D10.
John Eckberg. "Cox buys 12 area newspapers." The Cincinnati Enquirer. July 15, 2000. 1C.
Lynn Hulsey. "Gannett to buy Thompson newspapers". Dayton Daily News. June 9, 2000. A1.
Lynn Hulsey. "Other papers to join Cox". Dayton Daily News. September 2, 2000. 1E.
1920-1995, Commitment to Community: Warren County.Lebanon, Ohio: Brown Publishing Company, 1995.
Matthew Rose. "Thomson Agrees to Sell 38 of 54 Dailies to Gannett and Community Newspapers". The Wall Street Journal. June 9, 2000. A6.
1Cox Enterprises holds a 29% stake in the Cox Media Group.
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