The Times-Journal

The first issue of the Cobleskill Times appeared April 14, 1877, but was known as the Cobleskill Herald. The first owners were Johnson and Roberts of Oneonta, who saw an opportunity to establish a new paper in a rapidly growing county. The Herald championed the Republican cause and the venture succeeded despite Cobleskill and Schoharie County were heavily Democrat.

The original paper was four pages and eight columns in width. 1200 people resided in Cobleskill at the time. Miles G. Graham purchased the paper a few years later. As stated previously, the paper was pro-Republican, but it was noted as mild until 1883, by which time it represented a more vigorous political policy. In 1883 Charles T Conover bought the paper. Mr. Conover was a native of Esperance.

Mr. Conover put the paper on firmer grounds thanks to his ability to write fluently and well. He improved the paper fiscally. A year later, though, Conover left the paper, and moved to Seattle to invest in real estate. R. S. Keyser was the next owner of the paper, but after some time he became the principle of the Middleburgh High School, and he place his brother, Lynn, in charge. Things went terribly, and in 1885 Erwin B. Hard bought the paper.

Mr. Hard was a newspaperman. He was well trained, energetic, and a hard worker. Soon after he bought the newspaper he changed it’s name to the Cobleskill Times. In 1892 new equipment was bought for the paper. Hard lead the paper to prosperous times. The next publisher was Frank A. Linster, who became such in 1905. Linster purchased the first linotype machine for the paper, marking a great step forward-1908. The old way was setting the type by hand and typewriter.

Soon after, a group of fifteen people bought the paper, hoping to voice a strong pro-prohibition statement. But they soon realized that they couldn’t run a paper on sentiments alone, which lead to the sale of the paper to George W. Jones in 1915. But Jones found the paper too much trouble and sold it to Joseph R. Browne. Under Mr. Browne’s leadership, the paper did well, even during the hard days of WWI.

On August 4, 1919, Charles L. Ryder purchased the paper. Mr. Ryder, who had also published the Cherry Valley Gazette and the Sharon Springs Record, merged these papers with the Cobleskill Times. A paper, called the Schoharie County Journal, merged with the Times in 1946, to form the Times-Journal. The Ryders owned the paper until, well, at least 1976.