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Chronicling America
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Newspaper Belding Banner (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918

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About Belding Banner (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918

The Belding Banner of Belding, Michigan, was a weekly paper that began publication in 1889. Embrie P. Lapham and Charles R. Cowden founded it as a Republican newspaper by. In 1904, Lapham purchased Cowden’s interest and became sole owner. Lapham sold the Banner in 1913, but remained in Belding running a job printing house in a partnership with the men who owned the city’s other newspaper, the Democratic Belding News. Lapham remained connected to the newspaper business. In 1915, he bought back the Banner from the men to whom he had sold the paper, although he now co-owned it with James M. Langston. In 1918, the Banner merged with the Belding News to form Belding Banner News, the name under which it published until 1974, when it was combined with the Greenville Daily News.

Belding was first was known as Broas Rapids (after Levi Broas, who settled the area in 1838). Later, it was called Patterson Mills and, during logging days, Hog Wallow. The name Belding was chosen in 1871 to honor the family that made the town one of America’s major silk manufacturing centers. The foundation of the silk industry was laid in 1860 with the arrival of Hiram H. and Alvah N. Belding, who had moved to the town several years before. As their business prospered and grew, the brothers expanded their silk industry operations to a total of four states and Canada, but Belding became the company’s hub. The Belding name first appeared on a mill in 1890; the firm eventually operated four mills in the town.

Most of the company’s employees were young, single women. To house them, the Beldings built three dormitories, handsome, well-appointed buildings with all the “modern conveniences” including steam heat, hot and cold water, baths, and electric lights. The dormitories were comfortably furnished, and each had a free library. They were presided over by a matron who enforced rules and regulations similar to those of contemporary college dormitories

In 1925, Belding Brothers & Company merged with Heminway Silk Company. Silk production in Belding ended with the Great Depression. In partnership with Joshua Hall, the Belding brothers also pioneered the production of ice boxes, which before the invention of mechanical refrigeration, were well-insulated, wooden storage boxes which housed a regularly replaced block of ice and which kept food or beverages cold. Some of Belding’s former silk mills were later repurposed to accommodate refrigeration production.

Provided By: Central Michigan University, Clark Historical Library

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Belding Banner (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918

Dates of Publication

  • 1889-1918

Created / Published

  • Belding, Mich. : Cowdin & Lapham

Headings

  • -  Belding (Mich.)--Newspapers
  • -  Ionia County (Mich.)--Newspapers
  • -  Michigan--Belding
  • -  Michigan--Ionia County
  • -  United States--Michigan--Ionia--Belding

Genre

  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Began in 1889. Cf. Belding banner-news, 29th yr., no. 52 (May 22, 1918).
  • -  -29th yr., no. 51 (May 15, 1918).
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Merged with: Belding news, to form: Belding banner-news.
  • -  Description based on: 6th yr., no. 49 (May 2, 1895) = Whole no. 309.
  • -  Belding news (DLC)sn 96076643 (OCoLC)34774064
  • -  Belding banner-news 2475-0077 (DLC)sn 96076642 (OCoLC)34774136

Medium

  • v.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn96076641

OCLC Number

  • 34773812

ISSN Number

  • 2475-0107

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:

Belding Banner Belding, Mich. -1918. (Belding, MI), Jan. 1 1889. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn96076641/.

APA citation style:

(1889, January 1) Belding Banner Belding, Mich. -1918. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn96076641/.

MLA citation style:

Belding Banner Belding, Mich. -1918. (Belding, MI) 1 Jan. 1889. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn96076641/.