Delaware Gazette Archive

In 1785, Jacob Killian founded Delaware's first successful newspaper, the Delaware Gazette in Wilmington. Similar to other newspapers of the time, it was devoted to foreign news and national politics with some attention also to local politics and advertisements. It continued to be published with varying frequency until 1883.

By 1789, Frederick Craig and Company took over the Delaware Gazette, which now appeared each Wednesday and Saturday.

During 1796-97, the paper was printed by William Smyth on Shipley Street in Wilmington, and it went through multiple owners over the next several decades. In its early years, the Gazette advocated for the Federalist cause. However, support for the Federalist Party in Delaware was declining, as public sentiment shifted toward the Democratic Party. As a result, in 1828, the Delaware Gazette formally supported General Andrew Jackson for President.

Beginning in 1820, the Delaware Gazette moved from weekly to semiweekly publication. In December 1828 and under the leadership of Samuel Harker, the Delaware Gazette absorbed two other Delaware newspapers, the Patriot and the American Watchman. Following the merger, the Delaware Gazette was renamed the Delaware Gazette and American Watchman.

The newspaper again went through several decades of ownership by multiple individuals and partnerships. In 1858, Caleb P. Johnson became the sole owner and remained such for almost thirty years, providing the newspaper with more consistent leadership. Johnson succeeded in making the Delaware Gazette the most influential Democratic newspaper in the state. In fact, its publishing office served as the Democratic Party headquarters, and the Gazette became known as the "Democratic Bible".

Under Johnson's tenure, the paper appeared weekly as the Delaware Gazette; in 1872, it began publishing a daily edition, the Wilmington Daily Gazette. On August 21, 1874, the title of the latter was shortened to the Daily Gazette. At the time of Johnson's retirement in 1882, the Delaware Gazette had been in continuous operation of 97 years as either a weekly, semiweekly, or daily paper.

In 1878, the Daily Gazette joined with the Every Evening to become the Every Evening, Wilmington Daily Commercial. On December 10, 1883, the weekly Delaware Gazette merged with the Every Evening's weekly publication to become the Delaware Gazette and State Journal.