Top of page

Chronicling America
National Endowment for the Humanities
BETA

Newspaper Narragansett Herald (Narragansett Pier, R.I.) 1877-1??? Narragansett herald, Hopkinton gazette, and North Kingstown courier

View All Front Pages

About Narragansett Herald (Narragansett Pier, R.I.) 1877-1???

Narragansett Pier was a popular summer resort that developed after the American Civil War. Between 1866 and 1871, ten new hotels sprang up. In 1876, the Narragansett Pier Railroad was built and linked the town to the urban centers of Providence to the north and New York to the south. The Narragansett Pier Casino, erected in 1883, next to the original pier, was designed by McKim, Mead & White, the most prominent American architectural firm of the era, and landscaped by the famous Frederick Law Olmstead. At its height, Narragansett Pier rivaled Newport as a social summer capital.

The Narragansett Herald, Hopkinton Gazette and North Kingstown Courier was the short lived first title of a newspaper edited by Dr. Irving Watson. Formerly of Detroit, Michigan, Watson saw the opportunity to provide entertainment while connecting advertisers with their target market of increasingly wealthy tourists. Narragansett Press Company published the paper for an initial price of two dollars a year in advance or five cents a copy. The first issue of 1,200 copies reportedly sold out fast. The second issue ran 1,500 copies, and its news column ridiculed the high price of summer cucumbers in the capital city of Providence.

The editor of the Narragansett Herald, Hopkinton Gazette and North Kingstown Courier described it as “A wide awake Family Newspaper, devoted to the public and national Interest of Washington County, Rhode Island. Lively, Fearless and Faithful. Neutral in politics and religion.” Equally prominent on the front-page header was: “the best country advertising medium in Rhode Island, as it circulates to no less than sixty villages weekly.”

Readers could find society notes about who was renting houses in Rhode Island for the summer; illustrated reports on the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia; local, national, and international news; and even the annual report of the Treasurer of the United States. Content also included morality tales and local crime announcements. There were “Farm Matters” and a “Ladies Department.” Importantly for a tourist destination, there were the extensive transportation schedules and news for railroads and steamboats.

The last known issue–vol. 1, no. 52, Friday April 13, 1877—states that it is published on Fridays at their office in Narragansett Pier, located at the Taylor Block, nearly opposite the Delavan with an additional “branch” at Wakefield at the editor’s residence on Main Street. In fact, Watson was just about to expand his operation.

On April 20, the shortened title of the Narragansett Herald appeared as vol. II no. 53 with Watson still as the editor. The cost was now six cents per copy or two dollars and fifty cents per year. The newspaper ran support notices from as far away as The Detroit Commercial. Similar kudos came from several Providence newspapers.

Watson continued with his winning strategy. While he published international news and local notices like the Public Laws of Rhode Island, the content was usually light, entertaining, and full of gossip.  It added a front-page “Narragansett Pier Hotel Directory” for the many local tourist hotels including Mount Hope House, Whaley House, and the Delavan Hotel.

The editorial staff was joined by Frank Watson as Managing Editor and Frank A. Nye as Local Editor. But eventually Irving Watson was back alone on the masthead again. More graphics were added to both stories and advertisements as the printing technology advanced. By 1897, the hotel directory was joined by a “Cottage Directory” of summer residents and their addresses. The last known issue was December 31, 1898.

Provided By: Rhode Island Digital Newspaper Project

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Narragansett Herald (Narragansett Pier, R.I.) 1877-1???

Other Title

  • Narragansett herald, Hopkinton gazette, and North Kingstown courier

Dates of Publication

  • 1877-1???

Created / Published

  • Narragansett Pier, R.I. : Narragansett Press Co.

Headings

  • -  Narragansett (R.I. : Town)--Newspapers
  • -  Hopkinton (R.I. : Town)--Newspapers
  • -  North Kingstown (R.I. : Town)--Newspapers
  • -  United States--Rhode Island--Washington--Narragansett Pier

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 2, no. 53 (Apr. 20, 1877)-
  • -  Additional issues published during the agricultural fair in September, 1877-1881.

Medium

  • v.

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn92063989

OCLC Number

  • 25479355

ISSN Number

  • 2996-5802

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:

Narragansett Herald Narragansett Pier, R.I. -1???. (Narragansett Pier, RI), Jan. 1 1877. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn92063989/.

APA citation style:

(1877, January 1) Narragansett Herald Narragansett Pier, R.I. -1???. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn92063989/.

MLA citation style:

Narragansett Herald Narragansett Pier, R.I. -1???. (Narragansett Pier, RI) 1 Jan. 1877. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/sn92063989/.