The printed word has been a part of our local history since 1850.  As Dr. Falge describes in his “History of Manitowoc County”, “of an active temperament, with natural ability coupled with a good education, wielding a trenchant pen, and above all, equipped with a ‘nose for news’, C. W. Fitch had all the hardy qualifications needed for a pioneer printer.”

During the 1870s, G. V. Nash actively compiled and published county maps. In 1873, he assisted E. M. Harney compile maps of Racine, Kenosha and Winnebago counties. Harney published a wall map of Manitowoc County in 1872. Nash collaborated with others on maps of Washington and Ozaukee (1874), Juneau and Portage (1876) and Pierce (1878) counties. Nash & Morgan’s Sectional Map of Wisconsin was published in 1878.

"In accordance with public anticipation, we this day issue the first number of the first newspaper ever published in this county. ... When we agreed to hazard the undertaking, we had never set foot on the soil of Manitowoc, or even seen an inhabitant of the county. We did so from reliable representations of its past history, present position, business advantages and prospective advancement." Those words were written by C.W. Fitch, the first editor and printer of the Weekly Herald, considered the first newspaper of the growing Manitowoc community.