Ceredo Advance Archive

The Ceredo Advance began publication in October 1885. Published weekly, it was originally owned and operated by Col. Thomas Theodore (T. T.) McDougal and W. I. Mansfield; however, by December 1885, McDougal was the sole proprietor of the paper. McDougal was a career newspaper operator, starting around 1882, when he bought Lee C. Salyes’s interest in the Ceredo Enterprise. He published that paper for a while, then went on to launch the Ceredo Advance in 1885 and the Kenova Reporter around 1892. Ceredo, a suburb of Huntington, West Virginia, is situated just beneath the Ohio border and also right next to the Kentucky border. Due to this close proximity, many stories and advertisements within the paper are from other states, and thus speak to the connection that Ceredo had with Ohio and Kentucky in addition to West Virginia

The Advance's slogan made a clear political stance: "A Republican Newspaper that has a large circulation in the Big Sandy and Twelve Pole Valleys—an excellent advertising medium." The paper's advertisement of itself as a Republican paper shines through on several occasions, making it obvious that this was not a paper afraid of voicing its opinion. For example, in its February 7, 1906 issue, the paper takes a stance on moving the Wayne County seat from Wayne to Ceredo: "Let us enjoin on you the great importance of getting out the vote in favor of removal on next Tuesday." This editorial established the Advance's willingness to speak its opinion as a distinctly Republican platform, and to use that voice to sway its readers to vote Republican as well.

While the paper advertised itself as "devoted to home interests, local and general news," it printed many local advertisements, often filling up half the front page with adverts for local stores and businesses, including businesses as far as Columbus, Ohio. The paper often ran advertisements for other companies that McDougal was involved in, such as his fire and life insurance company. Eventually, around the turn of the century, it became less focused on advertising and more recognizable as a newspaper that published local, national, and international news.

Often, general interest stories were run for the benefit of its readers. The Ceredo Advance would commonly cover such topics as "types of poisonous plants to avoid" and "how not to get pneumonia," which served to educate the general public. Throughout its run, the Advance drew upon national sources, such as the Associated Press, when local sources ran out. It pulled stories from cities like Charleston, Cleveland, Chicago, and New York in order to fill its pages. The Advance also often drew from international settings, places like the United Kingdom and Japan. These stories tended to be general interest stories about those places that anyone would understand.

The Ceredo Advance would remain in publication for 54 years, ending its run in 1939, ten years after the death of Col. Thomas Theodore McDougal. His widow sold the paper to their nephew in 1936; however he was not up to the task, and the paper went out of business three years later. McDougal is still remembered to this day as "the grand old man of Ceredo and Wayne County," having served as the mayor of Ceredo in 1896.