FAIRFIELD — It all started when the first copy of the Benicia-based Solano County Herald rolled off the press in 1855.
Since then, the Daily Republic, under one name or another, has covered central Solano County’s news for more than 157 years, from when the area was little more than farmland and orchards just before the American Civil War to today’s much more urban, high-tech society.
The Daily Republic has since served as the window to the community and the world for its readers, as well as receiving accolades as the best newspaper for its size by the California Newspaper Publishers Association.
Whether it is in print or online, the Daily Republic has consistently brought its readers all the news that affects its circulation area covering from Vacaville to Rio Vista and to Green Valley.
The paper currently hits the doorsteps of about 14,500 paid subscribers in Fairfield and Suisun City as well as Vacaville and Rio Vista. Its website does brisk business as well.
The Daily Republic prides itself on giving its readers a wide offering of local, state, national and international news along with sports, entertainment, commentary and business.
The Solano County Herald, which moved to Suisun City from Benicia in 1858, and the Solano County Press, which started printing in Suisun City in 1862, were the Daily Republic’s predecessors.
These newspapers consolidated into the Solano Republican not long after. The Solano Republican was bought in 1919 by David Weir, who was not only a journalist, but a historian who published travel books and the biography of infamous clipper ship captain and Fairfield founder Robert Waterman.
J. Clifton Toney bought the newspaper in 1949 and sold it to Dean McNaughton in 1960. The McNaughton family has been involved in the newspaper business since the 1920s.
Under Dean McNaughton’s guidance, the Solano Republican’s readership grew and changed from a weekly to a five-day-a-week paper and then to a daily publication. When it changed to a daily, its name changed to the Daily Republic.
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ithompsondr.
Daily Republic at a Glance
- President/CEO: Foy McNaughton, 427-6972, [email protected].
- Co-Publisher: T. Burt McNaughton, 427-6943, [email protected].
- Managing Editor: Glen Faison, 427-6925, [email protected].
- Advertising Director: Richard Esposito, 427-6983, [email protected].
- Circulation Director: Dealton Brown, 427-6931, [email protected].
- Address: 1250 Texas St., Fairfield, P.O. 47, Fairfield, CA 94533. Office hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
- Phone numbers: Circulation: 427-6989; Classified/Front Office: 427-6936; Display Ads: 425-4646; Subscriber services and delivery problems: 427-6989; Sports Department: 425-4646, ext. 264; newsroom: 425-4646.
- Website: www.dailyrepublic.com.
