The Fremont Weekly Journal Archive

The Fremont Journal was established by I. W. Booth on January 27, 1853, in the seat of Sandusky County, Ohio. Said to stand on the side of morality, law, and order, the weekly paper supported Whig interests until 1854 when it began to align itself with the newly organized Republican Party. John Mastin became the proprietor on December 24, 1853, and less than a year later, on May 26, 1854, Isaac M. Keeler purchased one-half interest in the press and paper. The Fremont Journal continued publication under the firm name of Mastin & Keeler until Keeler eventually bought out Mastin's interest on December 1, 1854, to become the sole proprietor and editor.

Keeler was said to have managed the paper carefully and ably in the interest of the city and county. Under his leadership, the paper temporarily produced a daily edition, known as both the Fremont Daily Journal and the Fremont Journal Extra in the spring and summer of 1861, coinciding with the outbreak of the American Civil War. Keeler continued to publish and edit the Journal until September 15, 1865, when he sold it to the Redway Brothers. The Redway Brothers' paper was devoted to the "defense of Union Principles, and to the promotion of all the valuable and legitimate interests of the County, including Agriculture and other Industrial Pursuits, Education, Temperance and General Morality".

On October 5, 1866, the Redway Brothers sold the paper to Alfred Gauld Wilcox and John H. Greene, who changed its name to The Fremont Weekly Journal. Over the next ten years, the ownership of the paper changed several times until Issac M. Keeler resumed control in 1877, renaming the paper as The Fremont Journal.

The frequent changes in ownership did not enhance the popularity or profit of the publication. To be sure, during Keeler's second run as editor-in-chief, the Fremont Journal improved in many respects, including its use of a Wells cylinder power press. The publishing firm's name was changed to I.M. Keeler & Son in 1882, reflecting Keeler's employment of his son Samuel P. Keeler as associate editor. Later, Lucy Elliot Keeler, daughter of Isaac M. Keeler, began to contribute to the paper and was the author of the regular column titled "Pot-pourri," which as its title suggested, discussed a variety of topics from politics to cooking. Her column represented the broad-spectrum of topics covered by the paper since its establishment, which included a mix of international and national political news, stories of local importance, poetry, and items of general entertainment.

In September of 1901, I. M. Keeler & Son sold the Fremont Journal to The Journal Publishing Co., which after two years sold the paper to Wilson Hamilton and Thomas J. Maxwell. Maxwell assumed the role of editor, and the paper remained Republican in politics and was regarded as the central organ of the party. The Fremont Journal is believed to have ceased publication in the year 1927.