Although Thurmont and Emmitsburg are only 7.5 miles apart, in the early 18th century, it was probably a 2-hour trip from one town to the other. While a person could make a round trip in a day, it wasn’t something people wanted to do daily if they didn’t have to. It was a distance that made the communities neighborly, but they operated separately. This could be seen in the publishing of different newspapers, a separate one for each community. Emmitsburg was the first of the two communities to get a newspaper. “The first paper, the ‘Emmitsburg Banner’ was published in 1840 by a Mr. McClain. The Banner was published only a few times before it ceased operation,” according to a 1951 article in the Emmitsburg Chronicle. The second newspaper in Emmitsburg was the Emmitsburg Star, published in 1845. It was Read more…