Jeffersonian Democrat

The Jeffersonian Democrat is a weekly newspaper published in Brookville, Pennsylvania, with circulation about 3,000.^[1] The paper is owned by Community Media Group.^[2] Pat Patterson is the publisher and Joy Norwood is the editor.^[3]

Jeffersonian Democrat

Type	Weekly newspaper
Owner(s)	Community Media Group
Founder(s)	Thomas Hastings
Publisher	Pat Patterson
Editor	Joy Norwood
Founded	1839
Headquarters	113 Main Street, Brookville, Pennsylvania, United States
Circulation	3,000
OCLC number	13379014
Website	www.thecourierexpress.com/jeffersonian_democrat/

History

The paper was started in 1839 or earlier by Thomas Hastings and was called the Backwoodsman.^[4] His son John Hastings, at age 18, was the editor. The paper remained a Democratic weekly after the American Civil War, and it was later merged with the Jeffersonian and the Democrat and the Graphic and renamed the Jeffersonian Democrat.^[5]

Major John McMurray purchased the Jeffersonian Democrat in 1878;^[6] his co-owner was William Leader.^[7] McMurray owned the paper and was its editor for over 30 years.^[8] When he died, in 1920, Major McMurray passed the Jeffersonian Democrat down to his son, Harry McMurray. Harry died just a few months later and the paper was passed down to his sons H.E. McMurray and John J.^[6]

The Jeffersonian Democrat was purchased in 1990 by Independent Publications (then McLean Publishing Co.) ^[9] At the time it had a circulation of 3,000 papers.^[10] In 1993 Independent Publications launched the Tri-County Sunday which served as a combined Sunday issue for three of its papers including the Jeffersonian Democrat.^[11]

Community Media Group of Frankfort, Illinois bought the Jeffersonian Democrat in 2013 as part of a multi-paper deal.^[2][12] The newspaper closed its office in September 2024.^[13]

References

1. "Brookville Jeffersonian Democrat". Mondo Times. Mondo Times.
2. "Community Media Buys W. Pa. Newspapers". Editor & Publisher. 6 March 2013.
3. "Contact Jeffersonian Democrat". TheCourierExpress.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
4. Angie Fitzgerald. "Prominent Men and Civil, Edited this Paper". www.pa-roots.com. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
5. McKnight, William James; Pennsylvania, Troy Genealogical Research Associates, Summerville (1917). Genealogy. J. H. Beers.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. "John J. and H. Eugene McMurray Purchase Interest cf A. J. McMurray". The Brookville American. 10 March 1921. p. 1. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
7. Jordan, John Woolf (1913). Genealogical and Personal History of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. Lewis Historical Publishing Company.
8. "Personal". Editor and Publisher. 3 July 1909.
9. "Community Media Buys W. Pa. Newspapers". Editor & Publisher. 6 March 2013.
10. "Newspaper Publisher to Retire". The Sentinel. 20 December 1999.
11. "Sunday paper to serve three counties". The Sentinel. 11 February 1993.
12. "Community Media buys Pa. newspapers". The Sentinel. 5 Mar 2013.
13. Norwood, Joy (2024-09-12). "Jeffersonian Democrat office to close but newspaper will continue to be published". The Courier Express. Retrieved 2024-09-14.