The first weekly newspaper in Harford County did not last long. The Abingdon Patriot and Harford County Gazette became Harford County's first weekly newspaper on Sept. 17, 1805. Published in Abingdon by Daniel P. Ruff, the newspaper was published for less than two years. Its last issue appeared on April 21, 1807, and included the following editorial:
"The editor of the Abingdon Patriot subscribes to the doctrine that the will of the sovereign people should be the law of the land - and he is fully convinced, by eighteen months' experience, that it is the will and pleasure of the majority of the sovereigns of Harford County that no newspaper shall be published among them. ... The editor is now satisfied that he did not understand the true principles of his republican fellow citizens, and to show his sincere desire of cooperating with them in their laudable zeal against knowledge, he faithfully promises that he will never again publish a newspaper in Harford County."
