Putnam Courier and PCNR Close

After missing from the newsstands for several weeks and only printing digital versions of its newspapers, the Putnam County Courier and the Putnam County News & Recorder have announced that the papers have ceased publication as of April 1.

In an email to customers attempting to place legal notices, staff say the papers are “hoping to relaunch at a future date.”

According to its website, the first edition of the Putnam County Courier was published June 27, 1841, as the Putnam Democrat. It was renamed the Democratic Courier in 1850.

In the early 1900s, the paper became the Courier.

The Jewell family owned and operated the paper in the early portion of the 20th century, followed by John Mullen who died in a crash. His widow, Virginia, sold the paper to Howard “Buzz” and Lynn Burr, who operated the publication until 1989.

The paper was sold to the Housatonic Publishing Company, and a decade later, in 2000, Taconic Press assumed ownership of the publication. On Feb. 9, 2009, the paper printed its last edition under the Millbrook-based Taconic Corporation.

Meanwhile, the Putnam County News & Recorder began publishing in 1866 in western Putnam County by Charles Blanchard and, initially, the newspaper was called the Cold Spring Recorder.

The newspaper had a number of owners and several different names over the years. Blanchard sold the paper in November 1867 to Sylvester B. Allis. Other owners included Otis Montrose, George Seymour, W. Osborn Webb, Jack LaDue, Bob Ingram, and Brian O’Donnell.

Subsequent names over the years included The News Recorder; The Hudson, Putnam, and Harlem Valley News; The Putnam County News; and, finally, the Putnam County News & Recorder.

Elizabeth and Roger Ailes of Garrison took ownership of both papers from 2009 until 2016, when editor Douglas Cunningham took over as publisher and editor of both the Courier and the PCNR, with Sheila Smith Cunningham as majority owner.

In about 2023, the paper was sold to the Putnam Media group, which operated it until its closing.