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The Morgantown Weekly Post

The Morgantown Weekly Post was established by Henry M. Morgan and Nimrod Nelson Hoffman in 1864. A daily edition, the Morgantown Evening Post, was published from 1899 to 1904. The Morgantown Chronicle, founded in 1904 and edited by Hu Maxwell, published daily and weekly editions. The Post and the Chronicle merged in 1908.

The resulting Morgantown Post-Chronicle, a Republican newspaper, was renamed the Morgantown Post in 1918. Herbert Chester Greer (1878–1948) became publisher in 1923, and his family still controls the Morgantown paper. His wife, Agnes Reeves Greer (1880–1972), was publisher after Greer’s death. John Brooks Cottle (1897–1967) was editor from 1929 until his death.

Meanwhile, the New Dominion was established as a Democratic weekly by Julian Fleming and William Jacobs in 1876. It was named in counterpoint to Virginia’s nickname, the Old Dominion. The Morgantown News, published 1900–05, merged with the New Dominion to form the New Dominion-News in 1906. The Morgantown Republican merged with the New Dominion-News in 1909. The name was changed to the Weekly New Dominion in 1911. The weekly ceased publication about 1918.

The New Dominion’s daily edition was Morgantown’s first daily newspaper. Edited by Justin M. Kunkle, the Daily New Dominion appeared September 7, 1897. The name was shortened to the New Dominion in 1906. In 1930, the New Dominion and the Morgantown Post began sharing plant facilities but retained separate editorial offices. The name of the New Dominion was changed to the Dominion-News in 1930. Walter L. ‘‘Bill’’ Hart (1902–72) became editor in 1935. Hart retired in 1966 but continued to write a column until shortly before his death.

The initial issue of Morgantown’s first Sunday newspaper, the Sunday Dominion-Post, with Brooks Cottle as the first editor, appeared on October 31, 1965. The Morgantown Post and the Dominion-News moved into the newly constructed Greer Building in March 1968. During a 1973 strike of the Newspaper Guild, a combined edition was published daily. The two papers were then merged into the Dominion Post, with morning, afternoon, and Sunday editions.

When a rival morning newspaper appeared in 1976, the Dominion Post began publishing only once a day. When the rival ceased publication in 1978, the Dominion Post continued daily publication. Herbert and Agnes Greer’s grandson, David A. Raese, became publisher in 1987. In 2016, the circulation was 20,246; by 2023, circulation had remained steady at just over 20,000.

Written by Harold Malcolm Forbes

Sources

1. Core, Earl L. The Monongalia Story 5 vols. Parsons: McClain, 1974-84.

2. Forbes, Harold M. West Virginia Newspapers, 1790-1990: A Union List. Morgantown: West Virginia University Library, 1989.