Published by The Evansville Courier

Democrat James Polk had just won the presidency over Henry Clay, a Whig, when a local lawyer named William Newton "caught up the torch of democracy" with the first edition of The Courier on Jan. 7, 1845.

Newton set type by hand for the weekly, four-page newspaper. The earliest existing copy of The Courier (dated Aug. 19, 1845) holds only one local news item: The announcement of a ball to be held by Dr. Drew at the Exchange Hotel.

Without telegraph or telephone, the editor depended on the mail, word from incoming steamboats and other distant newspapers for the "latest" national happenings. Perhaps that is why the earliest Couriers were long on advertising and short on news.

For many years, headlines tucked here and there only hinted at news events - such as an impending war with Mexico - while prominent display ads pitched stoves and tin ware, hats and clothing, and a range of other offerings. The front pages of early Couriers were dominated by ads, which often consumed more than three-fourths of the page. Headlines for the advertisements were much larger than those for news.

Classified ads made interesting reading. Some announced auctions and items for sale, but others - such as the following - contained more gripping information: "My wife, Elizabeth Obut, left my bed and board on the 28th of February without any just cause or provocation; this is to forewarn all persons from harboring her or trusting her on my account." The ad was signed by Anthony Obut. Truth in advertising apparently was not a requirement during this era. Bold headlines promised cures for husbands who drank too much, mothers' nervous ailments, stomach disorders, liver distress and the like. The ads rarely disclosed the ingredient or drug that provided the remarkable cure, but personal testimonies were convincing.

One ad in an 1884 edition carried the large headline: "Opium Habit." The copy read: "Dr. H.H. Kane of the DeQunicy Opium Home now offers a remedy whereby one can cure himself at home quickly and painlessly. For testimonies and a full description of treatment, write" a New York address. Another ad guaranteed that a product called Radical Cure remedied coughs and pains in the chest, restored hearing, taste and smell, and cured the wasting of strength and flesh. Radical Cure sold for $1.

By mid-1846, news on the war with Mexico overshadowed all other events. The Courier reported President Polk's appeal for volunteer soldiers and informed local men (and boys) that Evansville's regiment should report by steamship to New Albany, Ind. The paper's reports on the war were largely secondhand.

News resources improved in 1850 when telegraph lines were extended to Evansville from Louisville, Ky. Several citizens donated money to incorporate the lines, and the city finally found itself in direct communication with the outside world. By 1856 several telegraph lines connected Evansville to other points in Indiana.