The Milan Exchange (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.)
Historic newspapers carry the language, views and graphic reporting of their time, including racist content. They are shown to teen and adult profiles.
701 issues from 1874 to 1887, published in Milan, Tennessee, digitised for Chronicling America.
William A. Wade established the Milan Exchange in March 1874. Wade grew up in Lebanon in Middle Tennessee and learned the printer’s trade in Nashville, where he worked until the outbreak of the Civil War. Wade enlisted in the Confederate Army, was captured at the battle of Gettysburg, and held in Federal prisons until the end of the war. Upon returning home, Wade edited and published the Lebanon Herald. Wade remained in Lebanon until 1871, when he moved to Nashville and became secretary and treasurer of the Southern Newspaper Union. Wade also served for many years as treasurer of the Tennessee Press Association.
In the late 19th century, the town of Milan was prospering. Located at the crossing of the Illinois Central and the Louisville and Nashville railroads, Milan was the center of the fruit-growing and stock-raising area of West Tennessee. In the inaugural editorial of the Exchange, Wade assured the paper’s readers, “our columns shall be devoted specially to advertising and building up Milan and West Tennessee.” And indeed, the majority of the paper’s ads were for the railroads and local businesses. The front page of the first issue of the Exchange contained stories drawn primarily from other press sources, as well as a poem and humorous quips. Unusually, the date was not printed on the front page of the paper until the third issue. In the opening edition, Wade stated that he would “pay little attention to politics until the [presidential election] campaign opens, then…
- Genres
- News
- Published in
- Milan, Tennessee, 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