The Athol Daily News is a small, six-day daily (Monday through Saturday) newspaper in north central Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. Based in the town of Athol

Athol, Massachusetts

Athol is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,584 at the 2010 census.-History:Originally called Pequoiag, the area was first settled by five families in September 1735. When the township was incorporated in 1762, the name was changed to Athol...

, the newspaper also covers the rural towns of Erving

Erving, Massachusetts

Erving is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,467 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statistical area.-History:...

, New Salem

New Salem, Massachusetts

New Salem is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, Orange

Orange, Massachusetts

Orange is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,839 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.Part of the town is included in the census-designated place of Orange....

, Petersham

Petersham, Massachusetts

Petersham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,234 at the 2010 census. Petersham is home to a considerable amount of conservation land, including the Quabbin Reservation, Harvard Forest, the Swift River Reservation, and Federated Women's Club State...

, Phillipston

Phillipston, Massachusetts

Phillipston is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,682 at the 2010 census.- History :Phillipston was first settled in 1751, and incorporated as the town of Gerry in 1786...

, Royalston

Royalston, Massachusetts

Royalston is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,258 at the 2010 census.-History:Royalston is a small town in the North Quabbin area of northwestern-central Massachusetts. It was named after Isaac Royal, a landowner. It is very large in land area—about...

, Templeton

Templeton, Massachusetts

Templeton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,013 at the 2010 census. The town comprises four main villages: Templeton Center, East Templeton, Baldwinville, and Otter River...

, Warwick

Warwick, Massachusetts

Warwick is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 750 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

, and Wendell, Massachusetts

Wendell, Massachusetts

Wendell is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 986 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...

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History

There have been four owners in the history of the Athol Daily News, the last three representing generations of the same family.

The Athol Daily News was founded in 1934 when Lincoln O'Brien merged two weeklies, the Athol Chronicle and Athol Transcript. O'Brien sold the paper to Edward T. Fairchild in 1940. On January 1, 1982, Richard J. Chase bought the newspaper from Fairchild, his father-in-law. The Boston Globe reported at the time that the Daily News' circulation was 5,500.

Richard J. Chase Jr., Fairchild's grandson, took over Athol Press Inc. September 29, 1989. Circulation of the family-owned newspaper at that time was given as 5,700.