Gambier Observer

The first periodical published by the Episcopal Church in the Midwest. Its founder and sponsor was Bishop Philander Chase, the first Bishop of Ohio. When it was first published on May 28, 1830, it was called the Gambier Observer: Devoted to the Interests of Religion in the Protestant Episcopal Church. It was published under this title until Nov. 8, 1837. The first editor was Professor William Sparrow of Kenyon College, later of the Virginia Theological Seminary. With the first issue of vol. 8 in 1837 the name was expanded to the Gambier Observer and Western Church Journal. In 1840 it was moved from Gambier, Ohio, to Cincinnati, and the name was changed to the Western Episcopal Observer. It ceased publication in the fall of 1842. Its tradition was carried on by the Western Episcopalian, which began publication in Aug. 1843.