The Poughkeepsie Journal is a newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...

 based in Poughkeepsie, New York

Poughkeepsie (city), New York

Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...

 owned by the Gannett Company

Gannett Company

Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...

, who bought the paper in 1977. Founded in 1785 (though not a daily newspaper until 1860), the Journal is the oldest paper in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 state, and is the third-oldest in the nation. The Journal's primary coverage area is Dutchess County

Dutchess County, New York

Dutchess County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York, in the state's Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley. The 2010 census lists the population as 297,488...

, though the entire Mid-Hudson Valley

Hudson Valley

The Hudson Valley comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in New York State, United States, from northern Westchester County northward to the cities of Albany and Troy.-History:...

 is covered in some form, along with some coverage of points south via the White Plains-based Journal News

The Journal News

The Journal News is a newspaper in New York serving the suburban New York City counties of Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam, a region known as the Lower Hudson Valley. It is owned by the Gannett Company, Inc. The Journal News was created through a merger of several daily community newspapers...

.

Throughout its existence, the Journal has been a paper of historical significance given the various events that have happened in the Poughkeepsie area. For example, in 1788, the editor of the Journal was the official reporter of the ratification of the United States Constitution

United States Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...

 by New York in that year. The paper also served as a launching point of stories during the Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 administration when the then-President was at his estate in nearby Hyde Park. In the book My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain

My Side of the Mountain is a 1959 children's novel by Jean Craighead George about a boy who learns about nature and himself. The book won the Newbery Honor Award in 1960 and was loosely adapted into a movie in 1969....

, the Journal was mentioned under its name at the time, the Poughkeepsie New Yorker.
The Journals main office

Poughkeepsie Journal Building

The Poughkeepsie Journal Building is the main office of that newspaper, in the city of Poughkeepsie, New York, USA. It is located at Civic Center Plaza, the north end of Market Street....

 is a fieldstone

Fieldstone

Fieldstone is a building construction material. Strictly speaking, it is stone collected from the surface of fields where it occurs naturally...

 Colonial Revival building on Civic Center Plaza, the north end of Market Street in downtown Poughkeepsie. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Evolution of Name

Though the Journal has been published for over 220 years, it has not published under the Journal nameplate for the whole of its existence. The evolution of the names of the paper is as follows. http://library.vassar.edu/research/guides/general/micronewsalpha.html

• Poughkeepsie Journal (1785-1844)
  • Poughkeepsie Journal and Country Journal (1785-95, summarized version sent to outlying areas)

1840: Poughkeepsie Journal merges with Poughkeepsie Eagle

• Poughkeepsie Journal & Eagle (1844-1850)
• Poughkeepsie Eagle (1850-53)
• Poughkeepsie Weekly Eagle (1854-57)
• Poughkeepsie Eagle (1857-60)
• Poughkeepsie Eagle Weekly (1860)
• Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle (1860-80)
  • Poughkeepsie Eagle Weekly & Sunday Courier (1872-76)

1880: Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle merges with The Poughkeepsie News

• Poughkeepsie Daily Eagle News (1880-1914)
• Poughkeepsie Eagle News (1915-42)
• Poughkeepsie New Yorker (1942-60)

1960: Poughkeepsie New Yorker returns to the "Journal" name to commemorate the paper's 175th anniversary.

• Poughkeepsie Journal (1960-80)
• Poughkeepsie Journal A.M. Edition (1980-82, temporary name after move to mornings)
• Poughkeepsie Journal (1982-present)

External links

• Poughkeepsie Journal official site
• Official mobile website
• Poughkeepsie Journal Newspaper Archive - Search from 1785 - 2008