The Grafton Journal was the first newspaper published in Plymouth. The first number was issued Saturday, January 1, 1825. The publication continued for less than two years. The State Library in Concord has 26 numbers of this paper, the latest being Number 64, dated March 18, 1826. The Grafton Journal was a four-page sheet, each page being thirteen by twenty and a half inches. There were very few items of local interest in any of the available issues.
The White Mountain Bugle began publishing twenty years after the Grafton Journal ceased publication in Plymouth. John Robert French, son-in-law of Nathaniel Peabody Rogers was the founder of the White Mountain Torrent in Concord, a monthly publication dedicated to the cause of temperance. In 1844, while a resident of Concord, Mr. French published, in Plymouth, the White Mountain Bugle. It was a temperance and political publication and it was only published here for about one year.
The Grafton County Journal - After a lapse of thirty years in which a newspaper was not published in Plymouth, this paper was established by John C. Cashman. It was a four-page paper with seven columns and was published on Saturdays. The first number was issued November 14, 1874. Shortly thereafter, the founder sold the paper to John H. Dearborn and from 1872 until 1874, Mr. Cashman was the editor and proprietor of the Weekly Star, which was published at Pittsfield. In 1876, Mr. Dearborn sold the paper to Charles Howard Kimball and O.N. Flanders. Mr. Flanders shortly sold his interest to Rev. J.H. Temple, and in July 1878, Mr. Kimball became the sole owner. In September 1880,, Mr. Kimball established The Republican Star, and in July 1883, he added The Exchange. In September of 1885 he sold the three papers to W.A. Roberts, who purchased a new press and continued the publication until they were merged in the Plymouth Record in 1887. The newspaper office was initially in a small building on Main Street. Later it was moved to the Tufts Block, and finally to the railroad office building, which at that time was in Depot Square.
The Grafton County Democrat was established in January 1878 by William M.
Kendall and was initially printed in Laconia. In 1878 Mr. Kendall sold the paper
to Lewis and Sanborn of Laconia, and in 1880 they sold it to Van N. Bass and
Edward L. Houghton. Mr. Houghton moved to Warren and withdrew from the
enterprise, leaving Mr. Bass as the sole owner until 1883, when he sold The
Democratic Publishing Company. The company continued to publish the paper until
it merged with The Plymouth Record. From 1883 to 1887, Miron W. Haseltine was
the manager, with the office on Main Street. In the early volumes it was a paper
of four pages with eight columns, which was subsequently reduced in size to six
columns.
The Plymouth Record - In 1886, Thomas J. Walker moved to Plymouth. The
conditions under which the two town papers were published left a lot of room for
improvement, so Mr. Walker purchased them both and early in 1887 he established
The Plymouth Record. The paper was printed and published for a few years in the
railroad office building before moving later to the Rollins Block.
Mr. Walker moved to Concord and sold the newspaper and the printing plant to Edward A. Chase and Charles C. Wright, who at that time formed a new partnership and continued the printing business then owned by Mr. Wright. This was in 1894, and in 1901 Mr. Wright sold his interest to Mr. Chase, who continued with the business for several more years.
In politics The Journal was independent and The Democrat was democratic. The Record did not follow the traditions nor did it inherit the politics of its predecessors. In the early days it was a paper leaning more to the Republican persuasion. In 1905 the paper was eight pages with six columns per page.