In 1862, the Chatham Courier was founded by Delos Sutherland of South Adams, Mass. He set up a small print shop in a barn on Kinderhook Street and put out a four-page paper every Thursday. A subscription was $1 a year.
By 1865, the paper had grown from five to six columns per page and Sutherland moved the Courier to a location opposite Stanwix Hall on Main Street in the village. In 1868, Sutherland sold the paper to Frank O. Sayles, who sold it three years later to Charles B. Canfield. In 1871, James W. Woolhiser became involved in the paper, but in 1875, they sold the paper to William B. Howland of Kinderhook.
By 1882, the Courier had become eight pages and 48 columns serving Columbia and Southern Rensselaer Counties. On April 1, 1883, Howland sold the paper to James Wallace Darrow (who operated it with his brother W. Porter Darrow). They increased the paper from six to seven columns. By 1896, Harry M. Doty had become editor. Doty was responsible for removing the advertisements that had run on the front page since the paper was founded, but he emphasized more photos and local news.
On April 1, 1912, Albert S. Callan Sr. purchased the paper. Callan doubled the paper to 16 pages. After a fire in the Courier building in 1940, the offices were moved to Depot Square and then Railroad Avenue in 1950.
His son, Albert S. Callan Jr., became editor of the paper in 1947. That same year, he also began writing the first of more than 3,000 of his “The Man in The Black Hat” columns, which were collected and published in a book in 2003.
Callan Sr. published the paper for 51 years until his death in 1963 when Callan Jr. was elected publisher and editor of the Courier. In 1964, the Courier merged with the Valatie Rough Notes. Callan Jr. died in 2005 after 58 years as editor and 42 years as publisher of the Courier.
In the 1970s, Albert Callan Jr. sold his weekly paper to the Register-Star.