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Holt-Delhi Historical Society
Established 2014
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Newspapers
The Holt Press
The first publisher of The Holt Press in 1900 was P.W. Rogers, the inaugural issue was published on March 29, 1900. By 1901, the publisher of the Press was Robert D. Coger. The paper lasted just a short time and very few issues remain in existence.
The first issue of The Holt Press has been digitized and is offered here for your use. Click on the image at right to explore the digital issue!
The Holt-Delhi Historical Society has the following other issues of The Holt Press:
- The Holt Press - November 22, 1900
- The Holt Press - December 27, 1900
- The Holt Press - March 7, 1901
The Capital Area District Libraries (CADL Local History) has an assorted collection of The Holt Press, including January 1901 through June 1902. These are not microfilmed or digitized.
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The Holt Independent
The Holt Independent was first published in 1927. The weekly paper was edited by Holt civic groups. It may have taken its name from the successful community baseball team the Holt Independents of the 1920s and 1930s. By circa 1934, the Independent was acquired by the Williamston Enterprise, which subsequently published sections on Holt news. Issues of the paper are scarce, very few known to exist, which may partly be attributed to the 1938 Williamston Enterprise fire that likely destroyed the Independent archives.
The Holt-Delhi Historical Society has no copies of the Independent. The Capital Area District Libraries (CADL Local History) has the first issue of The Holt Independent, October 13, 1927.
The Holt Recorder
The Holt Recorder, perhaps the most well known of the community's early papers, was established by Everett A. "Erv" Little, a Lansing businessman, in 1934. Little set up shop in Holt in the old E.L. Mathias Electrical Shop, which was not originally equipped for printing but Little quickly installed printing equipment. The first few issues of the Recorder were free and delivered to every home in Holt. Once the community got a feel for the paper, subscriptions of one dollar were solicited. Holt postmaster, bank president, and former supervisor Herbert E. Gunn was the first subscriber. Classified advertisements could be placed in the paper for one cent per word with a maximum of twenty-five words. By the late 1930s, the Holt Recorder joined the Michigan Press Association and in the early 1940s joined the American Press Association.
In 1944, the Recorder was sold to Fred A. Birchfield. By 1948, Fred and Ila Birchfield moved the paper into a new building at the corner of Cedar Street and Greenwood Avenue (now Veterans Drive). In 1949, Birchfield sold the paper to Donald A. Smith, who subsequently sold it to Richard Daggett, the owner of the Washtenaw Post Tribune in 1950. The Holt Recorder ceased operations around 1952.
The Holt-Delhi Historical Society has the following issues of The Holt Recorder:
- The Holt Recorder - bound volumes, 1934, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951
- The Holt Recorder - individual issues, May 1944 to March 1945 and October 5, 1945
The Library of Michigan has The Holt Recorder on microfilm covering 1936-1937.
Holt Community News
The Holt-Delhi Historical Society has the following issues of the Holt Community News:
- Holt Community News - August 27, 1988 to December 31, 1990 and 1997 (full year)
Ingham County Newspapers
The Ingham County Genealogical Society (ICGS) has microfilmed and digitized the Ingham County News (1869-1969) and Ingham County Democrat (1876-1915), as well as select other historic papers and single early issues. In partnership with the Capital Area District Libraries, the ICGS has made the digitized collection available online. View the collection here.
- Ingham County Herald - June 1, 1944
- Ingham County News - August 30, 1988 to December 31, 1990 and 1997 (full year)
Lansing Newspapers
The Lansing State Journal (1911-present) is available in its entirety on newspapers.com, a subscription based site.