The Yarmouth Herald and Western Advertiser

A Young Printer with Big Ambitions in a Growing Seaport Town

Scottish-born Alexander Lawson (1815 – 1895) arrived in Nova Scotia as an infant and grew up in New Glasgow. At 13 he was apprenticed to the Colonial Patriot in Pictou, one of the most radical newspapers in the province. Jotham Blanchard had served as its anonymous editor from the 1820s until 1830.

Lawson finished his apprenticeship early and, at just 18, moved to Yarmouth to launch a paper of his own. The first issue of the Yarmouth Herald and Western Advertiser appeared on Friday, August 9, 1833. It was a single sheet, 18 × 24 inches, printed semi-weekly and filled with a mix of editorials, essays, and reports on world affairs, including an impassioned piece on a ‘Great West India Meeting.’ The paper quickly established itself as the voice of a port town that was growing in wealth, population, and confidence.

In the first issue of the paper was an ‘address to the public’ which laid out what the paper would and would not publish. Special attention would be given to agriculture, commerce and business and to the advancement of the ‘mechanical arts’. The term ‘mechanical arts’ was, at that time, a term often used to describe the skills and processes involved in manufacturing and production. Lawson was particularly interested in the technology of the day and closely followed any changes that he might bring to his paper.

Also in the first issue was a statement alluding to the fact that a report had already been laid against the paper alleging it was controlled by outside influences. Lawson refuted this claim stating the Herald would always remain independent while at the same time respecting and honouring the papers subscribers and readers.

By the 1880s, the Herald had grown into a diversified printing business. Lawson added a box factory, ruling and numbering machines, a bookbindery, and, in 1885, a weekly supplement called the Yarmouth Telegram. What began as an ambitious one-page paper in 1833 had become a stable and prosperous local institution.

Lawson was also deeply involved in the civic life of Yarmouth. He served for a time as postmaster and, from 1852 to 1882, managed the town’s first telegraph office.

The Yarmouth Herald continued to evolve with the times and remained in publication until 1966, making it one of the longest-running newspapers in Canadian history.

Alexander Lawson died in Yarmouth on 3 March 1895, at the age of 80, following an acute asthma attack. At the time of his death, he was believed to be the oldest newspaper editor in Canada.