The Sheboygan Press traces its roots as the chief news source of Sheboygan County back to Dec. 17, 1907, when the first edition of The Sheboygan Daily Press - as it was then known - was published.

That front page of that first issue included news of President Theodore Roosevelt dispatching the U.S. Navy's "Great White Fleet" on its historic cruise around the globe. Since then, the paper's front pages have carried news that resounded the world over; The sinking of the Titanic; the bombing of Pearl Harbor; the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the landing of the Apollo missions on the lunar surface. Those events of historic importance have always been leavened with news of as much significance to local readers; a deadly tornado that swept across the county; a lengthy, controversial strike at The Kohler Co.; damaging floods that devastated parts of the city in 1998 and the Green Bay Packers' triumphs in the Super Bowl.

The Sheboygan Press has also carried the news of the births and deaths of the residents of its circulation area, stories of their triumphs and tragedies and moments of joy and sorrow. That all began with a paper started by a job-printing company, A. H. Friese & Bros. in 1906. In those days, the Daily Press entered a busy market that included three weekly papers in the city and four others elsewhere in the county. Eventually the paper enlisted the financial help of Charles Weisse, a Sheboygan Falls businessman and congressman, who hired Charles E. Broughton as editor in 1908.

Broughton, more than any other person, was responsible for the paper's growth during much of its history. After a five-month hiatus in 1912 when Weisse had attempted to sell the paper, Broughton returned to Sheboygan and remained editor until 1951. Following Weisse's accidental death in 1918, Broughton purchased his interest in the paper. Ownership was shared with the Bowler family, who had invested in the paper in 1912. The Press grew in circulation over the decades, outgrowing three older homes before moving into its current location at the intersection of Center Avenue and Seventh Street in 1925.

The paper continued to be locally owned by the Bowler and extended Werner families until 1986, when The Press was sold to Ingersoll Publications Co. During Ingersoll's relatively short ownership, The Press added a Sunday edition. The paper was then sold to Thomson Corp. in January of 1990. In May of 1998, The Sheboygan Press' antiquated 50-year-old letterpress was retired. Subsequently the paper has been printed at a Gannett print facility in Fond du Lac.

Gannett, which purchased The Press in August of 2000, owns 10 daily newspaper in Wisconsin.

About Sheboygan and Sheboygan County

The city of Sheboygan is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, one hour south of Green Bay and one hour north of Milwaukee. The Sheboygan Press serves all of Sheboygan County and the paper's circulation stretches to the south into Ozaukee County. Southeastern Wisconsin, notably Sheboygan County, has become a tourist hotspot in the last few years as attractions such as world-class golf courses and a first-rate marina/harbor centre have been added to the Sheboygan scene.
Sheboygan was recognized by Reader's Digest as "The Best Place to Raise a Family" in the United States in 1995.