Prince William County Historic Newspapers Collection

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Prince William Historic Newspaper collection must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Preferred citation:

Prince William County Historic Newspapers collection, C301, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
9.0 boxes
Creator:
Prince William County Library.
Abstract:
Prince William County newspapers dating from 1851 to 1992.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Prince William County Historic Newspapers collection, C301, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

Several newspapers from Prince William County and other Virginia papers such as the "Manassas Journal," "Manassas Messenger," "Potomac News," the "Prince William News," and the "Journal Messenger." SCRC also has a few issues from the "Alexandria Gazette," the "Richmond News Leader," "Richmond Times-Dispatch" and news clippings. The papers in this collection date roughly from 1861 to 1992.

Biographical / historical:

The "Manassas Journal" began under W.H.W. Moran & Co. in 1895. In 1945, the "Manassas Messenger" was created, and on November 22, 1951, the "Manassas Journal" and the "Manassas Messenger" merged to from the "Journal Messenger." The "Journal Messenger" existed until 1997 and leaned Democratic. The "Prince William News," published under Clarence W. Wagener, was a weekly paper from 1921 to 1923. "Potomac News" began in 1959 in Dumfries, VA and in 1979 moved to Woodbridge, VA until it ended in 2008.

The miscellaneous series contains a few issues from newspapers like the "Richmond News Leader" (circa 1896-1992), "Richmond Times-Dispatch" (circa 1903-1992), the "Fauquier Democrat" (1905-1989), and the "Alexandria Gazette" (1834-1974) among others. The "Richmond News Leader" and "Richmond Times-Dispatch" became the two main papers in Richmond in the early 20th century.

Acquisition information:
Donated by the Prince William County Library in November 2016.
Processing information:

Processing completed by Brittney Falter in February 2017. EAD markup completed by Brittney Falter in February 2017.

Arrangement:
  1. Series 1: The Manassas Journal, 1904-1951 (Oversize Box 1)
  2. Series 2: The Prince William News, 1921-1923 (Oversize Box 2)
  3. Series 3: The Manassas Messenger, 1945-1951 (Oversize Box 3)
  4. Series 4: The Journal Messenger, 1951-1986 (Oversize Boxes 4-7)
  5. Series 5: Potomac News, 1972-1988 (Oversize Box 8)
  6. Series 6: Miscellaneous, 1851-1992 (Oversize Box 9)
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard