The Grand River Sachem is the oldest newspaper in Haldimand and Norfolk counties, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

. It was started in 1853 as the Cayuga Sachem by Thomas Messenger.

Messenger sold the Sachem and moved his press to Caledonia, Ontario

Caledonia, Ontario

Caledonia is a small riverside community and former town located on the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada. Haldimand County is in the western part of the Niagara Peninsula, and had a population of 43,280 in 2001. The current mayor of Haldimand County is Ken Hewitt; Caledonia is...

 in 1856. He started a new publication called The Caledonia Advertiser. Later that year, the Cayuga Sachem moved to Dunnville, Ontario

Dunnville, Ontario

Dunnville is an unincorporated community of 6,000 people located near the mouth of the Grand River in Haldimand County, Ontario, Canada, near the historic Talbot Trail...

and changed its name, so Messenger renamed his Caledonia publication to the Grand River Sachem. In 1865 after a devastating fire, the Sachem moved to a new building where it is still published today. The Sachem was a paid-circulation weekly for many years, switching to free distribuiion in 2004 after its purchase by Metroland Media Group from owner/publisher Neil Dring.