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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921 Statesman-democrat

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About Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921

Under different titles and various publishers, the Martinsburg Statesman and Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat provided Democratic-leaning residents of Martinsburg, West Virginia in Berkeley County with weekly local, national, and international news in coverage bent through the prism of a post-Civil War Democratic perspective. In the aftermath of the Civil War Confederate veteran David Smith Eichelberger and his family moved to Martinsburg, West Virginia in the state’s northeastern panhandle, and in 1869, Eichelberger and his son Robert founded the Valley Star newspaper before changing its name to the Martinsburg Statesman. In 1883 Robert sold the paper to another Confederate veteran W.B. Colston under whose name the paper ran until 1889 when Colston sold it to Westhaver and Boyer Proprietors. C.W. Boyer took over as editor of the self-proclaimed “only Democratic and Conservative Paper in Berkeley County” (January 20, 1874).

In September 1906, Westhaver and Boyer changed the paper’s title to the Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat, a change in name only as it did not alter the paper’s contents or political perspective. Finally, in May 1912, Westhaver and Boyer made the last known sale of the paper to a new publishing conglomerate called the World Publishing Company. This transition put the Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat under the editorial review of W.E. Hoffeins, former editor of the Evening World and primary editor for the new World Publishing Company. The World Publishing Company promised that the Statesman-Democrat would “continue as the Democratic organ” of the county, affirming that even though the paper fell under new management, its readership could rely on the same political coverage (May 3, 1912). While the Statesman-Democrat ran until 1921, the archived record of the paper only extends to December 26, 1913.

From its earliest days, the Martinsburg Statesman provided a platform for the publication of niche local news events, like the travel and social lives of local elites, alongside pointed political commentary. For example, an issue from January 1, 1905, berates local youth for New Year’s Eve celebrations alongside a discussion of the evil of tariffs and the abundant possibilities of “absolute free trade” based on the Democratic party’s economic platform (January 1, 1905). The coverage of these local and national news events provides researchers a window into the ways in which Democratic political and social culture emerged and was articulated at the turn of the century.

Under its new title and, in 1912, its new publisher, the Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat maintained its political tradition with outgoing editor C.W. Boyer boasting that the paper had “never been neutral” and had “caught the spirit of progressiveness” as it emerged in the early years of the twentieth century (April 26, 1912). The paper’s new publishers dedicated abundant space to the critique of President Teddy Roosevelt, especially as the end of his second term loomed and he sought “an honest man to lead the Republican party,” a task the paper suggested was analogous to the work of “Diogenes with his lantern” (September 21, 1906). As in its earlier days, the Statesman-Democrat printed pointed commentary on national politics alongside local news about prayer meetings, deacon elections, and arrest and sentencing records.

Beyond news coverage, the shifting nature of the Statesman and Statesman-Democrat‘s advertisements might be of particular note for researchers. The newspaper spans a crucial period of industrialization from the years immediately following the Civil War to consumption patterns on the brink of the World War I. The paper’s shift from advertising dry goods and rye whiskey, to listing the sale of washing machines and leisure excursions to Niagara Falls offers a window into consumer history among the paper’s readership in northeastern West Virginia.

Provided By: West Virginia University

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1906-1921

Other Title

  • Statesman-democrat

Dates of Publication

  • 1906-1921

Created / Published

  • Martinsburg, W. Va. : C.W. Boyer, 1906-

Headings

  • -  Martinsburg (W. Va.)--Newspapers
  • -  West Virginia--Martinsburg
  • -  United States--West Virginia--Berkeley--Martinsburg

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 39, no. 51 (Sept. 21, 1906)-
  • -  Ceased in the early 1920's.
  • -  The title is not listed in the W. Va. Legislative Handbook after 1921.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn85059542

OCLC Number

  • 12689034

ISSN Number

  • 2832-2436

Preceding 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:

Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat Martinsburg, W. Va. -1921. (Martinsburg, WV), Jan. 1 1906. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85059542/.

APA citation style:

(1906, January 1) Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat Martinsburg, W. Va. -1921. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85059542/.

MLA citation style:

Martinsburg Statesman-Democrat Martinsburg, W. Va. -1921. (Martinsburg, WV) 1 Jan. 1906. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn85059542/.