Newspaper Archive of
The Courier-Leader
The Courier-Leader’s roots can be traced back to 1845, when the Paw Paw Free Press began publishing by Gieger & Samuel N. Gantt. After a disagreement between them, Gantt threw the screw of the press into the river and left for Detroit. Later the newspaper was renamed the Van Buren County Free Press in 1859. In 1876 it reverted back to the Paw Paw Free Press name, only to merge with the Paw Paw Courier, one year later, and be renamed the Paw Paw Free Press and Courier. In 1920, the newspaper merged with the True-Northerner to become the Courier-Northerner. In 1957, the Courier-Northerner was sold to Felix Racette. That same year he purchased the Lawrence Times, and merged it into the Courier-Northerner. In November 1968, he and the publisher of the Lawton Leader decided to combine operations and form the Courier-Leader. In October 2020, the Courier-Leader was sold by the Racette Family to Mike Wilcox.
Today, The Courier-Leader carries on the legacy of its predecessors and provides news and advertising to several thousand readers in Paw Paw, Lawton, Lawrence, Mattawan, and Gobles.
A more in-depth history of the Courier-Leader can be found here.
We welcome you to browse our archive and see our rich history for yourself
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