Old Bristol Historical Society is thrilled to announce the Pemaquid Messenger, the only newspaper to be published in Bristol, is now available to view online.
The first issue of the Pemaquid Messenger was published on June 1, 1886 under the editorship of Benjamin T. Cox, who was also the publisher and editor of the Boothbay Register. However, Cox remained editor for only three issues. On July 28, 1886 the fourth issue of the Messenger listed 25-year-old William E. Lewis of Bristol, the son of Allen Lewis and Helen Fossett, as the paper’s editor and proprietor.
In his first editorial, Lewis disclosed that the idea of starting a paper in Bristol had been his, but the original plan was for him to work under Cox for a period of time in order to learn the trade before eventually taking over the paper. Apparently, after the first three issues the additional work proved too much for Cox and Lewis was prematurely compelled to assume full responsibility for the paper.
By the end of July, Lewis had both a building and a printing press set up in Pemaquid Falls. Lewis continued as editor and publisher of the Messenger, promoting the interests of Bristol, until 1897 when he sold the paper’s subscription list to the Damariscotta Herald.
The Messenger was much like the other Maine newspapers of the time. It was eight pages long and featured news from Augusta and other parts of Maine, news from Boston and Washington, D.C., religious sermons, human-interest stories from around the world, travelogues, a ladies’ page filled with fashion and homemaking articles, works of poetry and fiction, and of course advertisements, some for businesses located as far away as Chicago.
Of special interest, however, are the two pages of local news and occasional articles on other pages which preserve information about Bristol not found in any other historical source. Please note that at that time, South Bristol was part of Bristol.
By searching the now digitized Messenger, visitors can learn about issues facing the town during that period, follow the decline and rise of various Bristol industries, see how people entertained themselves before radios and televisions, and even search for the names of individuals.
The project, funded by an anonymous donor, was a collaboration between Old Bristol Historical Society and the Maine Historical Society. The South Bristol Historical Society also participated by loaning a number of issues for the project. Of the 544 issues that were originally published, a total of 467 were sent off to Advantage Archives in Iowa for digitization.
Access a link to the Pemaquid Messengers by going to the Resources page on the society’s website, oldbristolhistoricalsociety.org, or by going directly to the online site at oldbristol.historyarchives.online.
