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Ashland Kentucky Historical Walking Tour
Item 5 of 14
Serving the greater area of Ashland, the Daily Independent had its roots in Catlettsburg. It started as the Tri-State Independent in 1895 in Catlettsburg, before moving to Ashland to compete with the Ashland Daily News. Once it moved to Ashland, it slowly bought out and absorbed the rest of the newspaper companies in the area. It is still the main newspaper for the Ashland area, even after it was bought out by the Dow Jones Inc.

The Ashland Daily Independent, circa 1913.

The Ashland Daily Independent, circa 1913.

The Ashland Daily Independent today.

The Ashland Daily Independent today.

Story from the Iron Register that was in the Independent.

Story from the Iron Register that was in the Independent.
As Ashland and Catlettsburg grew as major cities on the Ohio River, the delivery method of information grew with it. There were multiple newspaper companies between Catlettsburg and Ashland including the Catlettsburg Daily Press, Ashland Daily News, and the Tri-State Independent. The Tri-State Independent was the predecessor of the Daily Independent and operated out of Catlettsburg. 

The paper moved to the Ashland area in 1900 to compete with the Ashland Daily, and it published its first issue in the same year. As the Tri-State Independent grew in popularity, it slowly absorbed both Ashland Daily and the Catlettsburg Daily Press, which led it to become the largest newspaper in the area. In 1912, the newly minted Daily Independent constructed its first building on 17th Street in Ashland. The building doubled in size during the1925 remodel. 

The Daily Independent grew with the town and only stopped production once, and that was during the great flood of 1937. The Ohio River made it impossible to even get to the first floor of the building. It maintained printing capacity even after the company was sold to the Dow Jones Inc. It covered more areas, and by the 2000s, it covered the greater Tri-State area. 

The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Lexington, Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky, 2015. 

About Us. Daily Independent. Accessed April 29, 2018. http://www.dailyindependent.com/.