CLEAVELAND GAZETTE & COMMERCIAL REGISTER, - The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History

The CLEAVELAND GAZETTE & COMMERCIAL REGISTER, Cleveland's first newspaper, appeared on 31 July 1818, 22 years after the settlement's establishment. It was a 4-column, 4-page weekly, edited, published, and printed by Andrew Logan of Beaver, PA, in a small shop at 220 Superior Ave. NW. Chief items of local interest in the inaugural issue were a list of ship arrivals and departures and an account of the sighting of a 32' monster in Lake Erie. Headed "The Lake Serpent," the latter was apparently intended as an allegory of contemporary economic conditions. Outspoken in its opposition to the U.S. Bank, the paper claimed 600 subscribers after a year of publication. Because of an undependable paper supply, however, its issues often appeared at irregular intervals. On 6 Oct. 1818, its name was shortened to the Cleaveland Register. Its last issue was printed on 21 Mar. 1820.

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