View source for Johnstown Independent

''The Johnstown Independent'' was a long-running, weekly newspaper in the Licking County community of Johnstown from June 1884 until around 2010.  

The founding owner and editor of the paper was E.N Gunsaulus.  Gunsaulus owned the paper for less than a year, however, and would later pursue a career in the U.S. consular service.<ref> ''The Johnstown Weekly Independent'', Jun. 14, 1884, 2; Brister, E., ''Centennial History of the City of Newark and Licking County, Ohio'' vol. 1 (1911), 396 </ref>  The paper was sold by Gunsaulus to B.G. Ashbrook in February 1885, but the new owner grew sick shortly after its purchase and died a few months later on May 5th, 1885.  The operation and ownership of the ''Independent'' then fell upon B.G.'s sixteen-year-old brother, William A. Ashbrook.   The odds might have been against the ''Independent'''s third owner in less than a year, yet Ashbrook displayed a rare gift for the newspaper business.  He gained a partial owner, A.Q. Beem, in the ''Independent'' and founded a second paper with Beem, the [[Pataskala Standard]], in 1886.  When Ashbrook entered politics, the paper, despite its name,  supported the Democratic party, fitting with Ashbrook's rise as a Democrat in local and national politics.  This did not prevent the ''Independent'' from fulfilling its primary duty as a local paper focused on the interests of the people of Johnstown. <ref> Brister, E., ''Centennial History'', vol. 1, (1911), 396. </ref> The politics of the paper would change as the politics of the Ashbrook family drifted towards the Republican party; John M. Ashbrook, son of William, succeeded his father in both his congressional seat and ownership of the ''Independent''.  The younger Ashbrook would run on the Republican ticket and changed the political stance of the ''Independent'' accordingly.  John Ashbrook died unexpectedly in 1982 at the age of 53, collapsing in the Johnstown office of the paper his family had owned for almost a hundred years. <ref> "Ashbrook death triggers wave of shock, mourning," ''The Advocate'', Apr. 26, 1982, 1 </ref>  At the time of Ashbrook's death his estate owned not only the ''Johnstown Independent'' but also ''The Centerburg Gazette'', and the ''Licking Countian''.  The three local papers were sold to Columbus attorney Elliot Geller in 1984. <ref>  "Judge OKs Ashbrook papers' sale," ''The Advocate'', Dec. 16, 1984 </ref> The ''Independent'' was then published by Charles Fenton until March 1988 when Fenton sold the paper to Gary Hirt.  A subsidiary the Dispatch Printing Company began printing the ''Independent'' sometime around 1989 and the relationship continued as part of the ThisWeek news service until about 2010.  ThisWeek news service continues operations in 2021, but no longer lists the ''Independent'' as one of its papers. <ref> https://www.thisweeknews.com/ </ref> 

Some of the paper's slogans included: "An Independent Local News Journal, Devoted to the Interests of its Patrons," "The Old Hometown Paper," "Serving the Johnstown Area Since 1884" 

 

A digital version of the Johnstown Independent can be found on through the Licking County Library's website[https://johnstown.advantage-preservation.com/ website].  

'''J.G.'''


Return to [[Newspapers]] main page.

==References==