The Tiffin Tribune Archive

George L. Wharton founded the Tiffin Tribune as the Whig Standard in 1845 and maintained the weekly newspaper in Tiffin, the seat of Seneca County, Ohio, until 1848. Several other editors managed the paper, now called the Tiffin Tribune, until 1855 when William C. Gray became its editor. During this time, the Whig Party merged with the Republican Party, and the Tribune followed suit, becoming the organ of the Republican Party of Seneca County. Gray changed the paper's name again in 1859 to the Tiffin Weekly Tribune. Gray left the paper in 1861, and editorship changed hands multiple times, before Charles N. Locke and Otis T. Locke purchased the franchise in 1868. In that year, the paper's name was changed back to the Tiffin Tribune, and for several years the paper continued to be published under the name of Locke & Brother.

Widely circulated across the county, the Tribune gained popularity as the population of Tiffin grew rapidly in the 1850s. From 728 inhabitants in 1840, with two newspaper offices in 1846, Tiffin expanded to about 8,000 people in 1880 and six newspaper offices by 1888. Thanks to its location next to the Sandusky River and three large railroads, the town became a center of trade which led to the development of numerous manufacturing establishments. With a motto that read "Devoted to Union Principles-Agriculture, Moral and Religious Reading-General News, and the Interests of the People of Seneca County," the Tribune not only provided politically charged articles, but also included local and miscellaneous news. From politics to poetry, from recipes to articles about the weather, the Tribune catered to everyone's interest.

When Charles N. Locke passed away in 1874, Otis T. Locke managed and edited the Tribune. In 1891, his son, John P. Locke, purchased interest in the paper which was published under the name of Otis T. Locke & Son. The Tribune also produced a successful daily edition titled the Daily Tribune and Herald, which appeared in 1887 and was published every day except Sunday. The weekly edition ended in 1919, but the daily edition merged with the Daily Advertiser in 1933 to become the Advertiser-Tribune which continues to be published today.