Although Simcoe County can thus claim an early adventurer in Canadian Journalism it was not till August 6th, 1847, that the county produced a newspaper of its own. The first journal published north of Toronto was issued in Barrie on that date under the proprietorship and editorial management of Thomas Fox Davies. Mr. Davies' partner was Wm. R. Robertson, but the partnership was discontinued after three months, and Mr. Davies assumed control. This pioneer representative of the press was called the Magnet. At first it was neutral in politics, but afterward gave a support to the Baldwin Reform Party. Up to this time great inconvenience had been experienced by the District officials and the business men, owing to the want of a local press, each one feeling that the settlement of this northern country was retarded thereby. Efforts were made to induce some enterprising "typo" to locate in the county town and supply the want; but without a guarantee of 500 subscribers to start with, none would risk his time and means in a district so sparsely settled, so little known, and so unfavorably spoken of by those on the frontier. The Magnet, soon after it was established, did good service in advocating the first railway through the county, as it has already been shown in the chapter on the Northern Railway, and in other ways it promoted the development of the new district. In 1852 Mr. Davies changed the name of his paper to the Northern Advance, and under this name it continues to flourish at the present day. Two years later (in 1854) Richard J. Oliver became proprietor of the Advance plant, and added thereto a book bindery. He owned it for several years, until he was appointed locating agent for the free grant lands in Muskoka.

To offset the Reform influence of the Magnet, a Conservative journal, called the Herald was established in 1851 by the Hon. James Patton in conjunction with Dr. Pass, Hewett Bernard, Capt. E. A. Walker, and others. After an existence of three of four years the Herald expired, leaving the Advance alone in the field. But the Conservative party soon became tired of its milk and water policy, and after the Herald had been dead for about a year, the plant of the Herald expired, leaving the Advance alone in the field. But the Constock company consisting of D'Arcy Boulton, D'Alton McCarthy, sr., Dr. Pass, Daniel Bell, H. R. A. Boys, his Honor Judge Boys, and others. This company established in 1857 a new paper,--The Spirit of the Age, which was placed under the management of Mr. Davies, who conducted it in the interests of out-and-out Conservatism and Orangeism. After an existence of about five years, The Spirit of the Age expired. During the two last years of its issue it was the property and under the control of Messrs. Hunt & Parks, of Toronto.

The person, who has been referred to so frequently in the foregoing remarks, viz., Thomas Fox Davies, the pioneer publisher of this county, and in fact, one of the pioneers of Provincial journalism in Ontario, was born in the City of Manchester, Eng., in September, 1819, and began his career as a printer at the age of fifteen in the office of the Manchester and Salford Advertiser. In 1837, when the Advertiser added to its plant the first cylinder or power press out of London, Mr. Davies, than a young man, was appointed its first pressman. After the close of his seven years' apprenticeship, he sailed to America, landing in New York, Sept. 9, 1843. He spent a short period in New Orleans and Cincinnati, afterward settling in Toronto, where he operated the first cylinder press in Canada for Peter Brown of the Globe, in the year 1845. A sketch appeared in the Toronto Globe, Feb. 9, 1901, giving the career of the veteran printer, Mr. Davies, whose death occurred Nov. 10, 1903, at the age of 84 years.

William Manley Nicholson established the Barrie Examiner in February, 1864. Mann & Richardson established the Northern Gazette in 1868, and soon afterward it became the property of Nathaniel King.

At Bradford, R. Goldie started a newspaper called the Bradford Chronicle about the time of the opening of the Northern Railway in 1853. It lived for five or six years. William Donaldson started another newspaper at Bradford in 1855, called the Times, a Liberal journal, which had an existence of about ten years. In 1866, Porter & Broughton purchased the plant of the defunct Times and started the South Simcoe News, which one of the firm, H. S. Broughton, conducted for more than a quarter of a century and then sold it to Edmund Garrett of the Witness, whose office and plant had been completely destroyed in the fire that visited Bradford early in 1892. The last number of the News appeared on April 7, 1892.

At Collingwood, John Hogg started the Enterprise in the beginning of January, 1857. He retained some connection with the newspaper throughout his whole life, and took a prominent part in the public affairs of the town and county, as it has been shown in another chapter. At a later time, George Foreman started a paper called the Review, but it did not exist for any length of time. David Robson started the Bulletin in 1871, which at a later time was purchased by Wm. Williams.

George P. Hughes started at Keenansville in 1865 the Simcoe Observer, and after the first three years called it the Sentinel. He moved the plant to Tottenham in 1882, where it has since been issued.

The first newspaper published in Orillia was the Times, which made its appearance, May 2, 1867, under the cumbersome title of "The Orillia Expositor and North Simcoe Journal of the Times," or briefly, the Expositor, as it was called at first. To establish this newspaper. C Blackett Robinson, then proprietor of the Lindsay Post, sent Peter Murray, and provided him with a press and plant, forwarded by waggon along the Atherley Road. After 26 years' connection with the Times, Mr. Murray sold it to the present proprietor, H. T. Blackstone, in the beginning of Sept. 1893. About 1872, Robert Ramsay had a newspaper at Orillia for a while, called the Northern Light. The Orillia Packet was established in 1870 by W. Hale, and is still published by Hale Brothers. John Curran started the Orillia News-Letter in 1883.

At Alliston, M. C. McCarthy established the Star about the year 1871, and E. A. Newton, the Herald, at a later period.

Paul H. Stewart established the Cookstown Advocate in July, 1874, and it carried on for a few years, afterward being appointed the Assistant County Treasurer, which office he filled until his death. At a later time another journal having the same name appeared in Cookstown.