The Olneyville Times Archive

The Olneyville Times was first published in 1887 and ran until 1917, after which time its name was changed to the Providence County Times; however, the Olneyville Times' numbering system was retained. In January 1925, the paper's name was again changed to the Providence County Times and Olneyville Times.

Olneyville Square, a busy business district at the crossroads of Westminster Street, Broadway, Manton Avenue and Plainfield Street in western Providence, was gateway to many of the towns and villages of northwestern Providence County. As such, the Olneyville Times' masthead contained the following wording: "Covering a Field which includes West Providence, Johnston, Scituate, Smithfield and North Providence." Over time the wording changed to include other towns.

The Olneyville Times was first published weekly on Saturday, but after less than two years of its inaugural issue, the day of publication was changed to Friday. As a local newspaper, it provided news of local interest that often would not be covered in the larger and more cosmopolitan newspapers. The editors, Sibley and Johnson, shied away from political matters as noted in the paper's first issue, "Neither is the Times started as a political organ as we are not ambitious of making it a meddlesome factor in local issues or disagreeably partisan in State or national affairs."