Events in and around Strathroy have been recorded on the pages of weekly newspapers serving the community since 1861. The early pioneer events were preserved on the pages of the The Home Guard which was established as the pioneer newspaper in West Middlesex.
A few years later in 1865, C.H. Macintosh purchased it and changed the name to The Dispatch. Speaking of those times years later he said, "Our office was in the top flat of a little frame building. At that time the stumps were not yet removed from Frank Street, and in wet weather mud was a foot thick."

The Tory Standpoint
  In 1873 the Dingman family (later of the Stratford Herald) became proprietors; in 1887 they sold to George and R.F. Richardson. During all these years, the paper was a sturdy exponent of the local views from a Conservative standpoint. The Richardsons sold the paper to The Age in 1921.
  The Age had been founded in 1866 by William F. Luxton who, for many years, was editor of the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1867 it was purchased by George W. Ross who conducted it briefly until April, 1868, when it was again purchased by its founder, Mr. Luxton. He continued in charge only until the first of August when Hugh McColl took over. When he was appointed postmaster of Strathroy, Mr. McColl sold to John S. Saul in April , 1876.

The Liberal View
  It again changed hands July 1, 1882 when the Evans brothers took command. Outside of London, it was the leading Liberal paper in the county. An 1892 newspaper said,"The Age's job room is one of the best equipped and best patronized in Western Ontario." One of the Evans brothers, Fred, was with the firm for 61 years, and his nephew, Ewart D. Evans, was associated with him until 1936.
  At that time The Age Dispatch was purchased by E.A. Spence, who had spent a number of years as editorial writer and parliamentary reporter for The London Free Press. Except when "Chick" Spence was overseas in the Second World War (at which time his wife Agnes took over) he continued as editor and publisher of the town's only newspaper until 1960. The paper was sold to Kenneth R. Campbell who had a varied background in the newspaper field. He continued as owner/publisher of the paper until 1989 when The Age Dispatch was sold to Bowes Publishers of London which is part of the Toronto Sun Corporation.

An Historic Building
  The Age Dispatch is located in the former "Age" building which was constructed at the corner of Front and Caradoc Streets in the fall of 1914. Early reports indicate The Age was one of the first weeklies in the area to put in mechanical typesetting equipment. In the early 1960s The Age was also one of the first papers to install electronic engraving machines to make printing plates for pictures on plastic. On June 10, 1965 The Age Dispatch severed its connection with letterpress printing, the method used since its founding, and switched in one week to offset printing. Along with a few other pioneers the Strathroy paper then launched into the era of central plant printing for newspapers in Western Ontario.
  From then until 1994 the paper was printed at the Webco plant in London. The offset printing method allowed the paper to introduce use of color on its pages along with superior reproduction quality. The paper is currently printed on similar presses at the St. Thomas Times Journal plant.
  Along with the changes in printing procedures, the newspaper has also kept pace with the computer revolution and has continually upgraded production equipment to ensure that a top quality newspaper is produced each week.

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