A tradition more than 160 years in the making has come to an end with the closure of the Fergus-Elora News Express.
It was a sad day for the Centre Wellington community and the Newspaper industry in general on Dec. 21, when Metroland Media Group announced last week’s News Express would be the final print edition of the paper.
“The decision to suspend the publication was a very difficult one, but made necessary by changes in the local market and broader media industry,” the announcement read.
The statement was almost identical to one issued on Aug. 1, 2015, when Metroland announced the final edition of the Elmira Independent.
History
The paper most recently known as the Fergus-Elora News Express had a long and interesting history.
The British Constitution was founded in 1854. It joined another publication to become the British Constitution and Fergus Freeholder and was later renamed the Fergus News Record.
In the early 1900s the News Record came into the possession of Hugh Templin, who was known nationwide and “whose place as the most distinguished of Wellington’s Newspapermen is undisputed,” according to late historian Stephen Thorning.
The Elora News first appeared in 1872. It was later sold and combined with the Fergus Express under the title Elora Lightning Express (simplified to the Elora Express in 1881).
In 1972 the Fergus News Record amalgamated with the Elora Express to form the Fergus-Elora News Express.
The Newspaper was taken over by J.W. Eedy Publishing in the late 1990s and several years later by Metroland.
