The '' Alexandria Gazette'' was a succession of newspapers based in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, United States. The newspaper offers an important source of information for events in Alexandria, particularly in the nineteenth century. The newspaper served as the dominant newspaper in Alexandria from 1834 to 1974. It served as a voice to the Whig Party and later the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. The predecessor to the ''Gazette'' was established on February 5, 1784, by George Richards & Company as the ''Virginia Journal''. The Alexandria Gazette building on Prince Street was burned during the Civil War by rioting federal troops. It was rebuilt by the publisher and editor Edgar Snowden after the war. The newspaper was subsequently located at 317 King Street. A successor to the earlier iterations ran as a daily newspaper from 1834 to 1974. Its first publisher was

Edgar Snowden Edgar Snowden Sr. (December 21, 1810 – September 24, 1875) was a Virginia politician who served as mayor of Alexandria D.C. and represented Alexandria in the Virginia House of Delegates. Early life and family Edgar Snowden was born on D ...

(1810–1875), who represented Alexandria in the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

several times as well as unsuccessfully run for Governor of Virginia (losing to Extra-Billy Smith). Snowden was pro-slavery and threatened abolitionist publishers

William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December , 1805 – May 24, 1879) was a prominent American Christian, abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and social reformer. He is best known for his widely read antislavery newspaper '' The Liberator'', which he found ...

and

Arthur Tappan Arthur Tappan (May 22, 1786 – July 23, 1865) was an American businessman, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was the brother of Ohio Senator Benjamin Tappan and abolitionist Lewis Tappan, and nephew of Harvard Divinity School theologian ...

with lynching should they visit Alexandria. During the first half of the 20th century U.S. Representative

Charles Creighton Carlin Charles Creighton Carlin (April 8, 1866 – October 14, 1938) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher and Democratic politician who served in the United States House of Representatives representing Virginia's 8th congressional district. Ea ...

and his son Charles Creighton Carlin Jr. edited the paper.

In popular culture

The paper is prominently shown in

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...

's 1969 film ''

Topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can mak ...

''.

References

External links

A-Z of obituaries in the Alexandria Gazette

''Alexandria Gazette'' at ''Chronicling America''
Defunct newspapers published in Virginia History of Alexandria, Virginia Publications disestablished in 1974 Publications established in 1784 1784 establishments in Virginia 1974 disestablishments in Virginia {{Virginia-newspaper-stub