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Newspaper Herald of the Valley (Fincastle, Va.) 1820-1823

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About Herald of the Valley (Fincastle, Va.) 1820-1823

In 1819, Joseph Franklin Caldwell, proprietor of Fincastle’s Herald of the Valley, began his publishing career in Winchester as publisher of the weekly Virginia Reformer and Herald of the Valley. In April 1820, Caldwell sold the Virginia Reformer to George McGlassin, proprietor of the competing Winchester Republican, who announced the acquisition on April 29, 1820. Shortly after selling his newspaper, Caldwell took the opportunity to start a weekly paper in Fincastle, 162 miles southwest of Winchester, realizing the revenue potential of publishing the only paper in a town.

Settled in Fincastle by the summer of 1820, Caldwell placed announcements in both the Central Gazette of Charlottesville and Leesburg’s Genius of Liberty that he was starting a newspaper and stated his hope to exchange newspapers with other editors as he had in Winchester. “The subscriber being about to publish a paper at Fincastle, Botetourt county, Va. To be called The Herald of the Valley,” read Caldwell’s message in the Central Gazette of July 14, 1820, “requests his brother editors generally to exchange with him, and those in particular who exchanged with him when he published the Virginia Reformer and Herald of the Valley, Winchester, Va.”

The Herald of the Valley was not Fincastle’s first newspaper. That distinction went to the Fincastle Weekly Advertiser, which began in 1801, but, lacking financial support, ceased after two years. By the time the Herald of the Valley’s inaugural issue appeared on July 8, 1820, the region had experienced significant growth, creating the perfect environment for the success of the small town’s only newspaper.

After two years of publishing solo, Caldwell took on Edgar W. Robinson as a partner at the Herald of the Valley until he transferred the paper to Robinson, making him sole owner in 1823. In a parting message printed on May 23, 1823, Caldwell wrote he “would be acting with ingratitude towards the citizens of this county . . . if he did not acknowledge the many favours he had received from them” and that his patrons would “long be remembered by him with gratitude.” Caldwell moved on to Lewisburg, West Virginia, where he published the Palladium of Virginia and the Pacific Monitor.

Not long after attaining exclusive control of the Herald of the Valley, Robinson changed the title and restarted the volume and issue numbering. In volume one, number one of the newly named Fincastle Mirror, published on July 4, 1823, Robinson explained, “This paper commences the first Volume of the ‘Mirror.’ In conducting this paper the Editor has determined to use every exertion to render it useful and interesting.”

The Herald of the Valley, and later the Fincastle Mirror, contained a good deal of foreign and domestic news, mostly borrowed from other newspapers like Charlottesville’s Central Gazette, Lynchburg’s Virginian, the Norfolk Herald, and the Philadelphia Gazette. It also advertised land and livestock for sale, printed poetry, listed Richmond market prices for crops, and recorded local marriages and deaths. It often carried state lottery information and advertised where patrons could find dry goods, groceries, medicines, and the services of various local artisans. When Robinson announced the journal’s title change on July 4, 1823, he also noted that he would begin including a “priestly” section devoted to the discussion of religion.

Sometime in 1825, the word “Fincastle” was removed from the newspaper’s title, and it became simply the Mirror. On Dec. 26, 1829, the name changed to the Virginia Patriot and lived on in various guises until 1858.

Provided By: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Herald of the Valley (Fincastle, Va.) 1820-1823

Dates of Publication

  • 1820-1823

Created / Published

  • Fincastle, Va. : J.F. Caldwell, 1820-1823.

Headings

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (July 8, 1820)-v. 3, no. 52 (July 4, 1823).
  • -  Publishers varies: Caldwell & Robinson, Sept. 7, 1822-May 17, 1823; E.W. Robinson, May 30-July 4, 1823.
  • -  Brigham, C.S. Amer. newspapers p. 1113
  • -  Available on microfilm from the Library of Virginia and on microopaque from the Readex Microprint Corp.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Fincastle mirror 2998-5765 (DLC)sn 86071587 (OCoLC)13711637

Medium

  • 3 volumes ; 46 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn83026162

OCLC Number

  • 4633493

ISSN Number

  • 2998-5803

Succeeding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Herald of the Valley Fincastle, Va. -1823. (Fincastle, VA), Jan. 1 1820. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83026162/.

APA citation style:

(1820, January 1) Herald of the Valley Fincastle, Va. -1823. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83026162/.

MLA citation style:

Herald of the Valley Fincastle, Va. -1823. (Fincastle, VA) 1 Jan. 1820. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn83026162/.