The papers were owned by Ottaway Newspapers Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co.

As previously reported, in February Ottaway said it reached an agreement to sell The Herald, along with The Free Press in Mankato, Minn.; The Daily Independent in Ashland, Ky.; and The Globe in Joplin, Mo. The deal was valued at $182 million.

Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., CNHI was formed in 1997 and is the parent company for daily, weekly and semiweekly newspapers published in more than 200 communities throughout the United States. CNHI now owns 109 daily newspapers, including the nearby New Castle News and The Meadville Tribune and 77 nondaily newspapers in 21 states with a daily circulation of more than 1.1 million.

Founded by two brothers, R.C. and James Frey, the first edition of the local newspaper was rolled out on April 14, 1864, under the name The Sharon Weekly Herald.

Over the years the newspaper has had a number of local owners.

After merging with the News-Telegraph, a competing newspaper, the first issue of the combined Herald was published on May 13, 1935, under the name The Sharon Herald.

The employee-owned paper was sold to Ottaway on June 30, 1971. It was about that time the paper's name was changed to The Herald.