SALAMANCA — For 150 years The Salamanca Press has reported on local news throughout central and western Cattaraugus County, but the location of its headquarters has moved around the county several times.
In 1867, the weekly Cattaraugus Republican began operation with offices on the second floor at the corner of Washington and Monroe streets in Ellicottville, which was the county seat at the time. The office, according to advertisements in the first edition, featured a printing shop for “all kinds of job printing,” including posters, circulars, cards, tickets, pamphlets, letterheads and law cases.
When the county seat moved to Little Valley in 1868, the Cattaraugus Republican followed.
The actual move of both the county government and the newspaper was made Wednesday and Thursday, May 20 and 21, 1868. The Cattaraugus Republican at that time was published Thursdays. The last issue published in Ellicottville was dated May 21 but was actually printed May 19. The first issue with the Little Valley dateline was published May 28.
Neither the move of the newspaper nor the transfer of the county government was reported in great detail. This brief notice of the newspaper’s move appeared in the final Ellicottville issue:
“OUR REMOVAL — We issue our paper this week upon Tuesday, to enable us to effect a removal to Little Valley. We desire to lose no issue of our paper and are compelled to get ahead to accomplish our design. We commence the work of removal on Wednesday, and shall complete it on Thursday, and hope to be in good running order the next day after.
Our office will be located over Whitney’s Drug Store in new, convenient rooms, where we shall be pleased to meet our patrons from all sections of the county, when they may be visiting that town…”
In May 1873, Blanchard B. Weber of the Republican — then a junior member of the firm that published the Cattaraugus Republican at Little Valley — made his first visit to Salamanca.
This preliminary trip was for the purpose of looking the field over and meeting some of the leading businessmen prior to opening a branch office in Salamanca. It wouldn’t take long for this branch office to become the Republican-Press’s hometown for the next 100 years.
According to an article in the Sept. 1, 1926 edition, the Republican began business in Salamanca on July 1, 1873, with the office located on the second floor of 123 Main St., now Weast Insurance Agency. Its printing press, delivered a few days earlier, was the first press in Salamanca and made its initial public appearance in operation on a float as one of the exhibits in the industrial parade on Independence Day in 1873. The office operated on the second floor of the Vreeland building. Today, that space is the parking lot behind the Salamanca Area Historical Society Museum and Weast Insurance.
That following spring, an addition was made on the north side of the Hevenor block, once located on the north corner of Atlantic and Main streets, and The Republican moved into its second home in Salamanca.
In 1875, the press building was again materially enlarged, and the Republican secured commodious quarters on the ground floor. That October, the cylinder press on which the Republican was printed moved from Little Valley to Salamanca. The Republican’s Oct. 28, 1875, edition became the first newspaper actually printed in Salamanca.
THE HEVENOR BLOCK, including the Republican’s establishment, was destroyed by a fire Sept. 4, 1880. Its regular issue for the week had just been mailed, and, while the fire was still underway, the Republican rented an idle newspaper plant which happened to be in town at the time and a few hours later a special “Fire Extra” edition of the Cattaraugus Republican appeared on the streets.
When the Hevenor Building was rebuilt, the Republican moved back into it. Two years later, a three-story building was built across the street at 7 Atlantic St. It would be the home of The Cattaraugus Republican — as well as what would become the Salamanca Republican-Press in 1904 — until 1926.
THE PAPER PURCHASED the Ellicott O’Brien property at 36 River St. on Jan. 26, 1926. Less than a month later, the publication changed its name to the Salamanca Republican-Press. Construction began April 15 and continued through the spring and early summer, ending in late July.
In the July 31 edition, a front-page column read:
“This issue of the Republican-Press is the last which will be printed in the plant at 7 Atlantic street, which has been home of the paper ever since it was established in 1904.
A 16-page rotary, tubular newspaper press has been erected in the new plant and was given a trial run this afternoon, and multi-magazine linotypes also have been installed and are ready for operation. Removal of other equipment from the old plant to the new got underway early this afternoon and will be continued tonight and tomorrow, with expectation that the new plant will be ready for operation before Monday morning.
During the first few days, while problems of reorganization are being worked out and the new equipment is being limbered up and broken in, the plant will not be open to public inspection. After that period, visitors will be welcomed at all times.”
The new building on River Street was completed Aug. 1. With the additional space now available, the company took on the added task of job printing.
In the Aug. 1 edition:
“Looking toward a greater Salamanca — More than forty years ago, the publishers of the Cattaraugus Republican, the weekly newspaper which 24 years ago became the parent of the daily Republican-Press, erected the building at 7 Atlantic street which so long was the home of this publication. That building then was one of the finest in the little village which a few years previously had begun to spring up on the Indian reservation at the junction of the Atlantic & Great Western and Erie railroads.
It was built with a future. For many years it was more than adequate to the needs of the paper, and part of it was rented. As the village and business grew, the newspaper in time came to require the whole building. Then followed a period during which the old home was increasingly inadequate. Several years ago the securing of additional space became imperative, and the publishers of the Republican-Press, which in the meantime had outstripped the weekly Republican, purchased the property adjoining the west and used the old frame building theron as an annex.”
An ad from the publication itself ran a few inches away:
“Located in new River St. home — The Republican-Press is issued today from its new plant at 36-42 River street, to which it removed over this weekend.
Its appearance has been considerably changed with the removal to the new quarters and the installation of new equipment and other changes will follow from day to day. The complete new ‘dress’ afforded by new Linotypes cannot be fashioned into the desired shape immediately.
Changes in the arrangement of news matter as well as in the typefaces also will be noted. They are occasioned by the change from printing direct from type to printing the stereotyped plates. Further shifts from day to day are probable during the experimental period.
The publishers bespeak the consideration of readers during this adjustment period.”
FOR NEARLY 50 years, the Salamanca Republican-Press’ home on River Street stood unchanged except for minor upgrades inside.
In 1975, the Republican-Press finished remodeling to make room for its new equipment.
On Oct. 1, 1976, the Weber family’s stock in the newspaper was sold to a group from Bradford, 110 years after its first publication, 72 years after its first printing as the Republican-Press in Salamanca. Bradford Publishing Co. — which also prints the Olean Times Herald, The Bradford (Pa.) Era and The Gowanda Press — continues to operate The Salamanca Press to this day.
In 1984, The Salamanca Press announced it and the Pennysaver, previously at 39 Atlantic St., would be relocated under one roof. The offices of The Press were increased by 1,600 square feet for the addition. In 2007, The Press announced completed renovation work to its location at 36 River St.
The printing of The Salamanca Press has moved around in recent years. It first moved to The Bradford Era and then to the Olean Times Herald more than a decade ago. In 2011, it returned to Bradford.
The Press’ newsroom, advertising office and sale counter remain at 36 River St., celebrating its 91st year there in 2017.
