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:

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Preferred citation:

Prince William County historic newspapers collection, C0301, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Summary

Extent:
3 Linear Feet 9 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, C0301, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

Several newspapers from Prince William County, VA and other Virginia areas such as the Manassas Journal, Manassas Messenger, Potomac News, the Prince William News, and the Journal Messenger. Also included are issues from the Alexandria Gazette, the Richmond News Leader, Richmond Times-Dispatch, and other 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 two publications merged into 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 issues from other Virginia newspapers, such as 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.

Acquisition information:
Donated by the Prince William Public Libraries in November 2016.
Processing information:

Processing completed by Brittney Falter in February 2017. EAD markup completed by Brittney Falter in February 2017. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2023.

Arrangement:
Series
  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)
Physical location:
OS R 2, C 2, S 6 OS R 2, C 5, S 7 OS R 3, C 1, S 7
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard