Litchfield County Post and Litchfield Enquirer Now Online!

The CT Digital Newspaper Project (CDNP) is excited to share that two more historic Connecticut newspapers are available on Chronicling America – the Litchfield County Post and the Litchfield Enquirer! We have digitized Litchfield County Post issues covering 1826-1829 as well as issues of the Litchfield Enquirer, the successor of the County Post. Currently Enquirer issues covering 1829-1866 are available, with additional issues through 1881 to follow later this summer.

The Litchfield County Post was founded in 1826 by Stephan Sanford Smith, who both owned and edited the paper. The name of the paper was changed to the Litchfield Enquirer in 1829 by new owner Henry Adams. Despite changes in owners and editors over the years, the paper always offered political news and commentary, as well as coverage of laws passed at the state and national level, major events and happenings, and eventually local sections on nearby towns. Throughout the 19th century the Litchfield Enquirer was consistently a four page paper, and its growth in coverage can be seen from the increase in column numbers, starting with five columns in 1826 and increasing to eight columns by 1871. 

According to Connecticut State Historian Walter W. Woodward, the Litchfield Enquirer was, in many ways, the paper of record in western Connecticut during one of the most significant state transitions, the period in which Connecticut moved from being an agrarian-based society suffering severe outmigration to the time when it was one of the nation’s most formidable industrial giants. CDNP is excited to make such a valuable and rich resource available through Chronicling America, which allows for greater searchability and free access to all users.

To view issues of the Litchfield County Post, click here.

To view issues of the Litchfield Enquirer, click here.