Eastern Argus

Eastern Argus
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
Founded1803 (1803)
Ceased publicationJanuary 1921
HeadquartersPortland, Maine, United States
OCLC number2260559

The Eastern Argus was a newspaper published in Portland, Maine, United States from 1803 to January 1921. In early 1921, it was succeeded by the Portland Press Herald.

History[edit]

The newspaper was founded by Calvin Day and Nathaniel Willis. Its offices, along with the offices of all the newspapers in the city, were destroyed on July 4, 1866 in the Great Fire of 1866.[1] At the time of its closure, it was the "oldest newspaper in Maine published continuously without change of name." Among those with a business interest in the paper at that time were Don Carlos Seitz and Ernest C. Bowler. It was owned by the Independent Publishing Company.[2]

Journalists[edit]

Prominent editors and journalists employed by the Eastern Argus included John Adams, Thomas Haskell, and Seba Smith.

Editorial positions[edit]

In 1803 “gentlemen of the Republican party” invited Nathaniel P. Willis, father of the widely acclaimed journalist Nathaniel Parker Willis, to move from Boston to Portland to establish the Eastern Argus “in opposition to the Federalists.”[3] The paper was friendly to the French Revolution and opposed the Federalist Party.[4] Later, it was friendly to the Democratic Party. It was strongly in favor of separation of Maine from Massachusetts and the formation of the U.S. state of Maine, which was accomplished in 1820.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ pressherald.com. "The Night Portland Burned". Portland Press Herald. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  2. ^ "MAINE PAPER DISCONTINUES.; Eastern Argus Will Be Succeeded by The Portland Herald". The New York Times. 22 January 1921. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  3. ^ "Newspapers | Maine: An Encyclopedia". 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2022-03-26.
  4. ^ Griffin, Joseph (1819). History of the Press of Maine. The Press. p. 51. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
  5. ^ Hanchett Jr, Leland J. (2017). Connecting Maine's Capitals by Stagecoach. Pine Rim Publishing LLC. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-692-94135-5. Retrieved 21 April 2020.