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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Peninsula Enterprise (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965

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About Peninsula Enterprise (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965

In 1880, Virginia’s Eastern Shore–Accomac (until 1940, spelled without the k) and Northampton Counties–had changed little in generations. The region’s population worked as watermen, shipwrights, and farmers. In Accomac County, small towns such as Onancock dotted the peninsula, with boatyards, piers, and docks for shipping seafood and produce. Inland hamlets–such as the county seat, Accomac Court House–offered small businesses attuned to both the Bay and the many agricultural communities.

Because of its distance from Virginia’s main centers of commerce, residents of the Eastern Shore relied on several steamship lines serving Accomac and Northampton. Commerce was centered on Baltimore rather than on Hampton Roads. Despite the relative isolation of the region, newspapers were slow to take hold. For example, the Accomac National Recorder survived only one year, 1862. The expansion of the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk Railroad in the late 1870s and early 1880s helped spur economic growth. New markets opened up for Eastern Shore products, from produce to seafood, and industries as diverse as lumbering and tourism grew. By the early 1900s, the population of Accomac was still small, at 300, but the county had grown to 27,000. The economic boom generated a flowering of newspapers in the region. In Onancock alone, there were: the Eastern Virginian (1873–87), the Tidewater News (1889–90), the Accomack Democrat (1890–93), and the Eastern Shore Press (1893–96).

The Peninsula Enterprise, launched in Drummondtown (re-named Accomac in 1893) on June 30, 1881, was the first of several titles to gain a significant foothold. Founder John W. Edmunds stated in the inaugural issue that the Enterprise would “fill its columns with matter useful, agreeable and entertaining to our readers.” A strong Democrat, Edmunds wrote, “We believe that the party which rescued Virginia from the thraldom of radicalism in 1869 to be the safest custodian of her interests now.” The Enterprise published a four-page edition with a large 20-by-26-inch format. There are few circulation records for the early years of the paper, but in 1897 the American Newspaper Annual reported the Enterprise having a one-dollar subscription and a circulation of 600. While including “Moral Gems” and “Humorous Items,” the front page also displayed a large number of advertisements from Baltimore, a mark of the area’s commercial dependence on the Maryland city.

Edmunds edited the newspaper from 1881 until his death in 1914, at which time it was taken over by his sons Alfred and John W. Edmunds Jr. Such stability at the helm may have helped ensure the survival of the paper in the face of so many other failed attempts. The Peninsula Enterprise was issued until 1965, when it was absorbed by Onancock’s Eastern Shore News.

Provided By: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Peninsula Enterprise (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965

Dates of Publication

  • 1881-1965

Created / Published

  • Accomac, Va. : J.W. Edmonds, 1881-

Headings

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 1, no. 1 (June 30, 1881)-
  • -  Ceased in 1965.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Eastern shore news (Onancock, Va.) (DLC)sn 94060036 (OCoLC)30651083

Medium

  • volumes

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn94060041

OCLC Number

  • 30651096

ISSN Number

  • 2157-6718

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:

Peninsula Enterprise Accomac, Va. -1965. (Accomac, VA), Jan. 1 1881. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn94060041/.

APA citation style:

(1881, January 1) Peninsula Enterprise Accomac, Va. -1965. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn94060041/.

MLA citation style:

Peninsula Enterprise Accomac, Va. -1965. (Accomac, VA) 1 Jan. 1881. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn94060041/.