Top of page

Notice
Special holiday hours in effect, December 2025 through January 2026. More information.
Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities

Newspaper Mount Vernon Signal (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-Current Mt. Vernon signal

View All Front Pages

About Mount Vernon Signal (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-Current

The publication of the Mountain Signal on November 3, 1887, brought the first newspaper to the small town of Mount Vernon in Rockcastle County at the junction of Kentucky’s Bluegrass, Pennyrile, and Eastern Coal Field regions. A four-page Democratic weekly, the Signal was one of several accomplishments of its first editor and co-owner, “Colonel” James Maret (1855-1936). Born in neighboring Garrard County, Maret had lived in Texas before returning to Kentucky in 1876. The following year he worked as a telegrapher in Mount Vernon, where he later owned a furniture factory and operated a sawmill. Maret’s fascination with innovation led him to press for civic, regional, and state development throughout his life, and to own the county’s first telephone and typewriter. He gained statewide fame as the irrepressible force behind creation of the Boone Way Highway, a 96-mile route joining Crab Orchard in Lincoln County and Cumberland Gap in Bell County, later to become U.S. 25.

Maret edited the Mountain Signal for three years before selling his stake to Edward Smith. Smith, who apparently kept a caged eagle in his office, renamed the newspaper the Mountain Eagle. In October 1896, however, Maret repurchased Smith’s share, and became the paper’s sole owner. The paper again became known as the Mount Vernon Signal. Maret’s second tenure as owner ended two years later when Edward S. Albright assumed ownership; however, Maret continued his “Notes & Clips” column until his death in 1936, providing an invaluable source for town, county, and regional history. The weekly newspaper that Maret founded continues in publication today.

Provided By: University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Mount Vernon Signal (Mt. Vernon, Ky.) 18??-Current

Other Title

  • Mt. Vernon signal

Dates of Publication

  • 18??-current

Created / Published

  • Mt. Vernon, Ky. : James Maret

Headings

  • -  Mount Vernon (Ky.)--Newspapers
  • -  Rockcastle County (Ky.)--Newspapers
  • -  Kentucky--Mount Vernon
  • -  Kentucky--Rockcastle County
  • -  United States--Kentucky--Rockcastle--Mount Vernon

Genre

  • Periodicals
  • Newspapers

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format as part of the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  Description based on: Vol. 8, no. 14 (Dec. 11, 1896).

Medium

  • v. : ill.

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn86069561

OCLC Number

  • 14252933

ISSN Number

  • 1941-2940

Preceding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

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. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

The NEH awardee responsible for producing each digital object is presented in the Chronicling America page display, below the page image – e.g. Image produced by the Library of Congress. For more information on current NDNP awardees, see https://www.loc.gov/ndnp/listawardees.html.

For more information on Library of Congress policies and disclaimers regarding rights and reproductions, see https://www.loc.gov/homepage/legal.html

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Mount Vernon Signal Mt. Vernon, Ky. 18??-Current. (Mount Vernon, KY), 18??. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86069561/.

APA citation style:

(18??) Mount Vernon Signal Mt. Vernon, Ky. 18??-Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn86069561/.

MLA citation style:

Mount Vernon Signal Mt. Vernon, Ky. 18??-Current. (Mount Vernon, KY) 18??. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn86069561/.