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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Pawtucket Record (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1886-1890

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About Pawtucket Record (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1886-1890

The Pawtucket and Central Falls Real Estate Record was specifically “devoted to the interests of real estate owners.” Accordingly, advertisements are for construction materials and supplies like paint. Launched on April 1, 1886, 1,500 copies were reportedly distributed for free in the bustling mill cities of Pawtucket and neighboring Central Falls. Henry Herbert Sheldon (1834-1905), listed as “H.H. Sheldon”, was editor and proprietor while Sibley and Lee were the printers located at 29 North Main Street in Pawtucket.

Sheldon was a real estate and mortgage broker and ran listings about his construction projects such as the new Sheldon Building, which boasted “the largest show windows in the city.”  He formed the Sheldon Building Co. This company purchased various buildings; made improvements and alterations; and created a successful business by either selling or sub-leasing the properties. General real estate transactions were listed; such information commonly appears  in modern newspapers but was novel at the time. Apartments and available rental properties were also featured.

An expanded version in a new format entitled the Pawtucket Record appeared in June 1886. It featured poetry, fiction, and a “fashion plate” section, but it too was “devoted to the interests of builders, merchants and real estate owners.” The initial circulation was 2,000 copies, which were still freely distributed. In September of that year, it was announced that Sheldon had contracted to print 5,000 copies of the Pawtucket Record monthly beginning in October.  The office was now located in the Sheldon Building in Trinity Square, Pawtucket.

The staff expanded the next year with Henry H. Sheldon now listed as General Manager, David J. White as Secretary, Philip C. Sheldon as Treasurer, and L.A. Kearns as Editor. To show his availability, on the masthead Sheldon included the telephone numbers for both the office and his personal residence. New advertisers had a special listing each week. In January of 1889, it finally began to charge: two cents a copy, but by June the price had dropped to one cent.

Outside of real estate and publishing, Sheldon was known for his other accomplishments. He was a member of the Rhode Island First Light Infantry from 1854 to 1876, and he raised a company called the Burnside Zouaves, of which he was lieutenant colonel. In 1863, during the American Civil War, he was appointed to a position in the United States Treasury Department, a position he held until 1865. In 1882, he invented the Sheldon Gas Stove, which he manufactured until 1885. He was associated with the Providence Cable Tramway Company, the charter of which he obtained in 1883, and the Pawtucket Cable Tramway Company.

Provided By: Rhode Island Digital Newspaper Project

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Pawtucket Record (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1886-1890

Dates of Publication

  • 1886-1890

Created / Published

  • Pawtucket, R.I. : H.H. Sheldon

Headings

  • -  Pawtucket (R.I.)--Newspapers
  • -  Central Falls (R.I.)--Newspapers
  • -  United States--Rhode Island--Providence--Pawtucket

Notes

  • -  Weekly, Jan. 1, 1887-Dec. 30, 1890
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 3 (June 1886)-v. 5, no. 52 (Dec. 30, 1890).
  • -  Daily eds.: Pawtucket evening record, Feb. 26, 1889, and: Pawtucket morning record, Feb. 27, 1889.
  • -  Weekly visitor (Central Falls, R.I.) (DLC)sn 83021113 (OCoLC)9820149
  • -  Record-visitor (DLC)sn 92064065 (OCoLC)25882481

Medium

  • v.

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn92064062

OCLC Number

  • 25882125

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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:

Pawtucket Record Pawtucket, R.I. -1890. (Pawtucket, RI), Jan. 1 1886. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn92064062/.

APA citation style:

(1886, January 1) Pawtucket Record Pawtucket, R.I. -1890. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn92064062/.

MLA citation style:

Pawtucket Record Pawtucket, R.I. -1890. (Pawtucket, RI) 1 Jan. 1886. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn92064062/.