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Earliest Asheville Newspaper Now Available On DigitalNC

Early issues of the Highland Messenger, the first newspaper to be published in Asheville, are now available in the North Carolina Newspapers project.  The Messenger began publication in 1840, when there were just a few thousand people living in Buncombe County.  The initial goals of the paper were quite lofty.  Here they are, as stated in the first issue:

“Our paper shall be devoted to Religion, Morality, Science, Politics and General Intelligence, having for its leading object the instruction and advantage of the people, wherever it shall be attentively read.”

Like most papers published in this period, much of the content relates to national news and politics interspersed with a wide variety of features and short pieces, with little space given to local reports.  However, it is possible, through the many advertisements, court notices, letters, and editorials to get a sense of the issues and concerns of the village that would, by the early 20th century, grow into what another paper would come to call the “mountain metropolis.”

The Highland Messenger was nominated for digitization by the Buncombe County Public Libraries.

Newspapers Selected for Digitization, 2011-2012

The following newspapers were digitized from microfilm in 2011 and 2012.

Title Years Nominating Institution
The Mebane Leader 1911-1915 Alamance County Public Library
Highland Messenger (Asheville) 1840-1851 Buncombe County Public Library
The Standard (Concord) 1888-1898 Cabarrus County Public Library
Daily Concord Standard 1895-1899 Cabarrus County Public Library
Mecklenburg Jeffersonian (Charlotte) 1841-1849 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Miners’ and Farmers’ Journal (Charlotte) 1830-1834 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Catawba Journal (Charlotte) 1824-1828 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Western Democrat (Charlotte) 1856-1868 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
North Carolina Whig (Charlotte) 1852-1863 Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Fayetteville Observer 1851-1865 Cumberland County Public Library
The Carolina Times (Durham) 1951-1964 Durham County Library
The Lincoln Republican (Lincolnton) 1840-1842 Gaston County Public Library
The Lincoln Courier (Lincolnton) 1845-1895 Gaston County Public Library
The Roanoke News (Weldon) 1878-1922 Halifax County Public Library
The Marion Progress 1916, 1929, 1940 McDowell County Public Library
Marion Record 1894-1895 McDowell County Public Library
Marion Messenger 1896-1898 McDowell County Public Library
The Pilot (Southern Pines) 1920-1945 Southern Pines Public Library
Sylvan Valley News 1900-1911 Transylvania County Library
The Pinehurst Outlook 1897-1923 The Tufts Archives
The Goldsboro Headlight 1887-1903 Wayne County Public Library
The Elm City Elevator 1902 Wilson County Public Library
The Wilson Advance 1874-1899 Wilson County Public Library

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