The Mountain Statesman is a thrice-weekly newspaper serving the Grafton, West Virginia area.[3] Its 2016 circulation was 1,710.[4]
| Type | Thrice-weekly newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | NCWV Media |
| Publisher | Nicki Skinner |
| Founded | 1870[1] |
| Headquarters | 914 West Main St Grafton, Taylor County, WV 26354 |
| Circulation | 1,710 (as of 2016)[2] |
| Website | mountainstatesman |
History
editThe Statesman began its life as the Grafton Sentinel, a publication that was only weeks old when editor and publisher James W. Holt took it over in 1870.[1] Holt, a 21 year old who had previously worked at the Preston County Journal, went through a series of partners but, aside from a short period of divestment from the paper in 1875, remained editor and publisher of the paper until 1893,[5] and returned to the management of the paper after a short tenure as the county's postmaster.[5]
As a staunchly Republican paper in a majority Democratic county, Holt's publication found surprising success. In 1903 Holt introduced the Daily Sentinel, an eight-page six column evening paper, to serve the growing city of Grafton.[1][6] Holt continued as publisher and editor until three years before his death, handing control of the paper to his son Howard H. Holt in 1915.[7][8] The younger son in turn passed it to his son, James F. Holt, on his death in 1936. James left the paper in 1948, selling it to Joseph Abey, a Pennsylvania publisher, after deciding to embark on a career in law.[8]
In 1946, at the age of just 20, Eldora Nuzum became editor of the Sentinel. At the time of her death, multiple local sources identified her as the first female editor of a daily newspaper in West Virginia.[9]
In the 1960s, the paper (and one of its reporters) were known for the Grafton Monster sighting.[10]
In 1975 the Sentinel ceased its daily publication schedule, changed its name to the Mountain Statesman, and moved to the three times a week schedule it uses today.[11] The newspaper was bought by News Media Corporation in the early 1970s.[12] The company sold the newspaper in 2022 to NCWV Media.[13]
Resources
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Men of West Virginia ... Biographical publishing Company. 1903.
- ^ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
- ^ "Newspapers Currently Received in the West Virginia Archives and History Library" (PDF). West Virginia Division of Culture and History. State of West Virginia. December 2016.
- ^ 2016 West Virginia Press Association Newspaper Directory (PDF). West Virginia Press Association. 2016.
- ^ a b Murphy, Robert E. (1905). Progressive West Virginians. Wheeling News. p. 291.
James W. Holt Grafton Sentinel Kingwood.
- ^ "Items". The Weekly Register. 25 March 1903.
- ^ "James W. Holt Dies". The Fairmont West Virginian. 16 January 1918.
- ^ a b "Reading Man Buys Grafton Sentinel". Cumberland Evening Times. 17 November 1948.
- ^ Associated Press (24 August 2004). "Longtime editor dies at 78 Nuzum was first woman to serve as editor for daily W.Va. newspaper". Charleston Daily Mail.
- ^ Coleman, Loren (2001-12-01). Mothman and Other Curious Encounters. Cosimo, Inc. ISBN 9781616406110.
- ^ Taylor County. Arcadia Publishing. 2000. ISBN 9780738505886.
- ^ "Fire damages Grafton newspaper office office". Charleston Gazette. 5 September 2000.
- ^ Smith, Don (2022-12-01). "WV News purchases Buckhannon-based Record Delta and Grafton-based Mountain Statesman". West Virginia Press Association. Retrieved 2024-09-14.