Concord, Massachusetts Newspapers

The Concord Free Public Library holds close-to-complete runs of all Concord newspapers from 1816 to the present time.  Over a dozen newspaper titles published through 2005 are now available digitally and keyword searchable! 

The Massachusetts State Prison at Concord opened in 1878. In 1884, Concord’s institution became a men’s reformatory, and in 1955, the reformatory’s name changed to Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Concord (MCI-Concord). Starting in 1885 and continuing into the early 1990s, incarcerated individuals at the Concord prison published their newspaper. Five titles held in its collection are now available to view online.

For all practical purposes, printing was introduced in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1816, when Bettis and Peters set up shop on the Mill Dam, established the Middlesex Gazette as Concord’s first newspaper, and assumed responsibility for printing as well. Between 1816 and 1852, newspaper publishing in Concord was characterized by frequent changes of title and management. Between 1852 and 1875, Concord information appeared in the Lowell newspapers. 

Titles published through 2005 are now available digitally and keyword-searchable! 

Concord Reformatory/MCI Concord Prison Newspapers - 1885-1991, published as part of Reveal Digital’s American Prison Newspapers Collection