Crosby Stuart Noyes was a remarkable product of a small Maine town.

Born in Minot in 1825, he developed a curiosity and a sense of integrity that earned him recognition as one of the country’s leading newspaper publishers when he owned the Washington Star.

He was raised in the home of his grandfather, Squire Nicholas Noyes, and his second wife, Susan Shaw. Squire Noyes was a devout, intelligent and well-respected member of the small rural community, and the home was an ideal place for children. Crosby learned a lot when he overheard “kitchen congresses” when neighbors sought the Squire’s advice and viewpoint.

Reading was encouraged, and young Crosby often borrowed books from “Uncle Joe” Washburn, a neighbor, and from Capt. William Ladd, Minot’s “Apostle of Peace.”

The boy was rather frail, and books were very important to him. In order to buy his very first book, “Robinson Crusoe,” he sold ashes.

By the age of 14, the small town of Minot had become limiting to his sense of adventure, so he headed for the city of Lewiston. He attended Lewiston Falls Academy, forerunner of Auburn’s Edward Little High School, and he used his farm skill of harness-making to earn money for his expenses. He also worked 12-hour shifts in a cotton mill, and stayed up late at night to write about all the new things he was experiencing. A Boston paper, “The Yankee Blade,” paid him a small amount for some articles about mill life.

He also produced his own newspaper, a handwritten sheet called “Minot Notions,” which promoted science, literature and the fine arts.

He decided he was fed up with Maine winters by the time he was 22, so he headed south in 1847. That was the year Dr. Alonzo Garcelon founded the Lewiston Evening Journal, and Garcelon offered Noyes a dollar a column if he would go to Washington, D.C., and report news from the nation’s capital.

He traveled by train to Philadelphia, arriving there with $2 in his pocket. He walked to Maryland, where a wagoner gave him a ride into Washington.

Soon, Noyes had a position with the Washington Evening News, and he rewrote the pieces he did for the Lewiston Evening Journal for several other publications, including the Saturday Evening Post.

In those days, reporting was a rough, slugging and sensational business. The articles were written by pen, not typewriter, and speed was vitally important in getting the news to the office, and he excelled at that.

Articles from Europe were becoming popular with American publications, so Noyes traveled abroad and sent his observations to the Portland Transcript. He was successful with the European venture, but he had left his heart in Maine . . . with Elizabeth Selena Williams, daughter of the pastor of the Poland Corner Congregational Church. He was back in Maine and married within a year.

His experience as a reporter, writer and traveler caught the attention of management at the three-year-old Washington Star. They liked his fresh ideas of speedy news, as well as sports reporting, which was largely frowned upon at that time. Circulation of the Star soared with Noyes’ news of prize fighting, of horse racing and of hunting and fishing. He also added another novelty . . . church news.

Noyes covered the presidential election of Zachary Taylor, and when the Civil War brought a new kind of correspondent to the news industry, he earned great respect for integrity when other newsmen were playing an anything-goes game.

The following years saw Noyes rise to assistant editor of The Washington Star. He purchased the paper for $100,000 (an astronomical sum in those days) and under his ownership it became one of the nation’s most respected and influential newspapers. With the power of the press, he was able to urge completion of the Washington Monument, and he crusaded on behalf of alcoholics.

Minot’s native son had risen to a position of great honor. He returned to his childhood home often, and he always gave credit to his early teachers and the town where he learned to be clear, honest and concise, which were the qualities supporting his success.

Dave Sargent is a freelance writer and a native of Auburn. He can be reached by sending email to [email protected]