Greenbrier Independent (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.])
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
397 issues from 1860 to 1922, published in Lewisburg, West Virginia, digitised for Chronicling America.
Founded in 1859 by Joseph Granville Alderson, member of a prominent local family, the Greenbrier Independent in Lewisburg, Virginia (later West Virginia) positioned itself as a moderate Democratic newspaper in the months prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. In the divisive election of 1860, the Independent offered its “cordial support” for John Bell and the Constitutional Union party, which hoped to avert secession through compromise. Compromise failed, however, and the Greenbrier Independent ceased publication in May 1861.
In 1866, with the clouds of war dissipating, the Greenbrier Independent was resurrected by John Alderson (a relation of Joseph’s) and Archibald Folk. Wartime connections within the Confederate army seem to have shaped the ownership of the Independent; both Alderson and Folk served together during the Civil War in the 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion. After several years, they sold the paper to another Confederate veteran, Benjamin F. Harlow, previously of the 14th Virginia Cavalry. Harlow possessed a background in printing and editorial work, having served as the editor for the Greenbrier Weekly Era for several years prior to the Civil War. Harlow ran the paper for over two decades and stamped it with his staunch Democratic politics. Harlow proved deeply critical of the state Republican Party and of Reconstruction at large. He was active within the Democratic Party, and he later served as the mayor of Lewisburg. In 1871, George Agrabrite joined…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Lewisburg, West Virginia, United States
- Language
- English
- Collection
- Chronicling America
- Licence or status
- None stated by the archive
- Rights
- The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety.
- Credit
- Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities
- Who can read it
- Teens profiles and older (placed by Invisible Network from what the archive says; archives give no ratings)
- Archive
- Library of Congress